Serious question here. In Leviticus it says if you eat pork you are unclean until the even and then you must wash.
I know the first testament isn't the Torah word for word but for my understanding Leviticus means you can eat pork, just make sure you clean yourself properly so you don't spread any diseases from the animal later.
2012-04-24T22:26:11Z
Well, the first 13 answerers didn't read the question.
Note I said that "you will be unclean until the even"
That means you can eat pork, just wash afterwards and make yourself clean.
So again, why don't they eat pork?
robb2012-04-25T19:30:12Z
Favorite Answer
Seriously? You need to read that again. No, Leviticus says no such thing. You are confusing touching the carcase (Lev 11:24) with eating (11:4). In other words both eating and touching the animals listed as unclean are forbidden. If you should somehow come in contact with the carcase you are unclean until evening and must immerse but it NEVER says that you can eat and then immerse.
8 Of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch; they are unclean unto you.
46 This is the law of the beast, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that swarmeth upon the earth; 47 to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.
Notice these verses say "....SHALL NOT EAT..." and "......MAY NOT BE EATEN". Thats not that hard to understand, is it?
ADDED: the problem isn't that "the first testement isn't the Torah word for word". There isn't even a Christian translation that implies what you are stating. Here is verse 8 from the KJV: Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they [are] unclean to you. Notice in this case the verse reads almost exactly the same as the 1917 JPS posted above.
Leviticus 11:7-8 "And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you."
Clear? True Christians dont eat pork. But from Leviticus 20:9 , true Christians shouldnt have much problem killing their unruly children
"Clean" does not mean that it's not dirty or contaminated. Judaism is about creating holiness. In order to do that we separate things -- the holy from the profane. In the words of the Psalm: keep yourself from evil. Strive to do what is good and right. And seek holiness every day.
The Hebrew word usually translated as holy, kadosh, means "set apart" or "separate." Robert Alter explains, "Holiness depends upon distinction, upon being set apart and setting things apart. Israel has been set apart by God to be holy, to be different from other nations. Israel in its turn is enjoined to realize its distinctive character by relinquishing the indiscriminate consumption of all living things and setting apart the unclean from the clean" (The Five Books of Moses, 634).
The Bible lists many forbidden foods, one of which is pork. .
I think the belief that pork is bad comes for the belief that the cloven hoof is related to the Devil which really started from the fact that when the rule was developed pig meat was unclean and carried diseases. I would interpret that scripture as referring to more of a spiritual cleansing or a baptism of sorts and the reason that you should eat pork is because it's kind of like a sin. Other than that the reason may be that it's so engraved in the minds of the followers that it's just become taboo.