What should christians eat

Now, a longer-term version of the Daniel fast is being promoted by the California-based Saddleback Church, the seventh-largest church in the U.

In , 48 percent of Americans described themselves as Protestant. In , 58 percent of the South and 44 percent of the Midwest described themselves as born-again or evangelical. If the Daniel trend takes root, it has the potential to reshape the eating habits of huge swaths of the American Christian population, who some studies show are more likely to become obese than their secular peers.

Soon, she was back to her old habits. Little by little, she ate the entire batch in three days. One night, crying over spoonfulls of dough, she began surfing overeating websites and wondering why snacks held such power over her.

He was the only thing I loved more than food. Rowe then took on what she calls the Covenant Diet , a plan to do a modified version of the Daniel Fast—largely vegetarian and strictly without sugar—for the rest of her life. Here are two forbidden foods in the Bible Christians should avoid. Leviticus contains the longest running list of what animals are considered clean and unclean. Certain sea creatures are said to be off-limits, such as crustacean crab, lobster, shrimp, or barnacle.

Leviticus 11 also makes it a point to list which birds should not be eaten by the Israelites. Owls, ravens, hawks, storks, etc.

Bats are also included at the end of this list. They are also excellent carriers of diseases. Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

Christians generally do not pay much attention to the list of forbidden foods in the Bible. Kenneth Ortiz M. Paul, MN, a Ph. Skip to content Skip to primary sidebar. Genesis In the Old Testament, it is obvious that we are not strong enough to follow every rule and regulation that the Lord sent to the Israelites.

Animal Products To be considered kosher, animals must fall into one of the following categories, and meet certain requirements. Certain animals may not be eaten at all, including pigs, shellfish, rabbits, and reptiles.

Mammals that have split hooves and chew their cud, including cows, sheep, goats, bison, and deer are kosher. Fish must have fins and removable scales to be considered kosher. Specific kosher bird species are listed in the Torah, but there is more ambiguity about the requirements a bird must meet to be considered kosher. Generally speaking, birds of prey are not kosher. Milk and eggs from kosher animals are kosher. But no-one is obliged to give up meat or alcohol because they are Christians.

Drinking alcohol Some Christians choose not to drink alcohol. There are some Christian denominations which are strictly teetotal — every member abstains from all alcohol. This has been more common in the past where beer and gin were safer to drink than water and levels of drunkenness were much higher. Alcohol abuse fuelled an array of problems in society in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Christians in the United States, appalled by the problems alcohol was causing, founded the Temperance Movement.

At first it campaigned for drinking in moderation but eventually pressed for the ban which resulted in prohibition in the early 20th century. The Bible suggests that Jesus did drink alcohol. His first recorded miracle was at a wedding, when he miraculously turned water into wine.

But the Bible is very clear in condemning drunkenness as well as gluttony. Food, drink and celebration Food and drink play a role in significant moments of Christian life. Once the waters receded, God clarified what people could eat. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Whether people ate meat before the flood and God was clarifying this was allowed, or whether they had not and God was permitting it, is not clear.

This point is that God formally approves the consumption of meat, except that which was still saturated with blood. Under the Levitical law, there were restrictions on what those who followed the God of Israel could eat. Certain foods were deemed clean and unclean. These foods were mostly outlined in the Book of Leviticus.

It addresses creatures on the earth, insects, birds, and creatures of the sea. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. Other restrictions include swarming things, with a few exceptions, and snakes. Many of the animals that are unclean under this system are scavengers in some way, able to survive by consuming dead animals, and many of the fish forbidden by the Law are bottom feeders.

The handling of carcasses, both human and animal, is what a large portion of the cleanliness laws address. Pork, which comes from pigs, under these restrictions would be deemed unclean. While they have the parted-hoof, it does not chew its cud, like a cow does. Chewing the cud is a process where certain animals chew their food, digest part of it, and chew some of their partially digested food. Pigs do not chew the cud and can be scavengers.

Under the Levitical law, pork is not allowed.