I have been wanting to write an article on the issue of eating Halal food for a long time but haven't really gotten around to doing it. However, recently Pastorius posted an excerpt from an article that was published on Jihad Watch. I was really happy that someone else had written an article about this whole thing and so I wouldn't have to do it. But then Epa commented and my hopes of being lazy were shattered. Pastorius summarized Epa's comment as follows:
"Who gives a crap? It's only food."
However, this is what Epa actually said:
“Halal OR Kosher for that fact are manifestations of 'what you have to do to safely eat meat/fish in a low/no tech desert or warm environment'”
Well, he said more (you can follow the link and read the whole thing) but this is what prompted me to pick up my pen (keyboard) and start writing this lengthy article.
I will first deal with whether Halal food is just like Kosher, a way for us to eat safe, clean food in a desert or warm environment or is it a ritualistic way of slaughtering meat in Islam, hence “food sacrificed to idols”, in the section “HALAL MEAT: ISLAM'S WAY OF SACRIFICING FOOD TO AN IDOL”. Then I will deal with whether Christians and Jews are to eat food sacrificed to idols or not in the section “BIBLICAL REASONS FOR NOT EATING FOOD SACRIFICED TO IDOLS”. And lastly, I will deal with why people in the West should boycott Halal meat for political purposes and not just for religious in the section “POLITICAL REASONS FOR BOYCOTTING HALAL MEAT ALONG WITH ANY OTHER PRODUCT PRODUCED IN ISLAM OR BY MUSLIMS”. Let us begin!
HALAL MEAT: ISLAM'S WAY OF SACRIFICING FOOD TO AN IDOL
This section should not take me long. The only thing I want to address here is Epa's comment. I am proposing that Halal is not just a way to eat clean meat (fish does not have to go through any religious sacrifice or prayer, Muslims can eat it right out of the water) but an offer and a thanks to Allah for providing the meat. Here is what the process entails.
Apart from making sure that the animal (or bird) has no blemishes and your knife is sharp, you have to lay down the animal and make sure it faces Makkah (Mecca). Then you have to say “Bismillah-e-Allah-u-akbar”, which means, literally, “In the name of Allah, Allah is greater”. And that's when you make a sharp cut in the animal's throat (without severing it completely) and let the blood drain. That completes the slaughtering part. Then you skin it and cook it, just like anybody else would do.
This sacrifice is Haram (not acceptable) if it is not done properly: if there was a blemish in the animal, if the animal didn't face Mecca, if Allah’s name was not recited and if the whole procedure was done by someone who is not a pious Muslim (a pious Muslim is one who offers prayers to Allah 5 times a day, pays Zaka', fasts during Ramadan, goes for Hajj at least once in his lifetime if he has the means to do so and most importantly, says the Shahadah, that is, “La-ilaha-ilAllah-e-Muhammad-ur-Rasul-Allah”, which means, “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet/apostle/messenger).
What concerns me is not the facing of Mecca (as to me that is a joke), neither the blemishes (because I would rather eat an animal without any blemishes than one with some) but the part about invoking the name of Allah and it is that part that the Quran specifically tells Muslims to follow. Rest of it has been added through the Hadiths and later traditions (as far I know).
The Quran talks about invoking Allah's name in the following ways.
Sura 2. Verse 173: He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah.
Sura 5. Verse 4: They ask thee what is lawful to them (as food): say: Lawful unto you are (all) things good and pure: and what ye have taught your trained hunting animals (to catch) in the manner directed to you by Allah; eat what they catch for you, but pronounce the name of Allah over it: and fear Allah; for Allah is swift in taking account.
This is the stuff that matters the most to me. I can not, and I will not, eat anything that is sacrificed in the name of an idol and Allah is nothing other than an old Meccan idol, there is no doubt about that.
This concludes the discussion about whether Halal (which just means “acceptable”) meat has been sacrificed to an idol, namely Allah, or not. To me the above verses leave no doubt about it at all. I am sorry Epa but this does not sound to me like a way to keep meat clean in the desert climate of the Middle East.
Now onto Biblical reasons as to why we shouldn't eat meat sacrificed to idols.
BIBLICAL REASONS FOR NOT EATING FOOD SACRIFICED TO IDOLS
I have been avoiding food sacrificed to idols for the last couple of years now. My primary reason for not eating food sacrificed to idols is simple: Biblical. However, my secondary reason is political. So this discussion should cater to both Christians/Jews and atheists/agnostics/theists. I will first start with the religious significances.
I know there is always a lot of debate amongst Christians whether this rule applies to us in this modern day and age. Many actually don't even think that there is any religion any more that sacrifices food to its god/gods so there isn't any food out there that can be labeled as “food-sacrificed-to-idols”. If we, as Christians, are ever to venture into the matter of idolatry committed through food that is sacrificed to idols, we should ask what the Bible has to say about it.
I am going to start with Paul, who is everyone's favorite when it comes to food sacrificed to idols. Before I begin, however, I just want to say that I have my reservations about Paul. Where sometimes he sounds like the smartest guy in the world, at other times he sounds like someone that has no idea at all what God said about a certain issue (I realize that it is quite possible that I have misunderstood Paul here, but so far I haven't heard a plausible argument to prove my misunderstanding). One of those issues is food sacrificed to idols.
Let's see what he has to say:
1 Corinthians 8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God. 4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
I highlighted the things that I think are related to the discussion at hand. (I just have a side-question: What the heck were the believers doing in an idol's temple in the first place?) Where I disagree with Paul is this. It is God who cares about food sacrificed to idols, it is not about someone's sensibilities. Read the following:
Deuteronomy 32: 15 But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. 16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. 17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. 18You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
Revelation 2: 13 I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead.
Now, as far as idols being no gods but demons or nothing, I agree with Paul as that is what God seems to be saying too. However, where I don't agree with him is when he seemingly makes it all sound like, “we should care about idols only in case someone is offended by it”, as if that was the only thing that mattered here, which, as we have seen above, is clearly not the case. So, either Paul is wrong here or he is just misunderstood; I am hoping it is the latter (I would really appreciate plausible explanations to this passage in case I am wrong). Now that I have made my viewpoint on this popular passage from Paul clear (hopefully), let us see what the Church was told about food sacrificed to idols (apart from the verses from Revelation).
Acts 15: 22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."
As we can see clearly, the Apostles didn't think it was their decision, rather that it was from the Holy Spirit. Another reference goes as follows:
Acts 21: 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”
I don't know whether what I have pasted here is sufficient evidence for it or not but it is enough for me to be convinced that I am to stay away from food sacrificed to idols.
My case stands more for the Christians. The reason there isn't a lot on food sacrificed to idols in the Tanakh is that the Israelites were told not to even deal with the idolaters around them. In fact, they were told to annihilate them once they conquered their land to avoid any idolatry within Israel. They weren’t even allowed to speak out the name of any other god.
This is it for the religious part of this discussion. I will post the section “POLITICAL REASONS FOR BOYCOTTING HALAL MEAT ALONGWITH ANY OTHER PRODUCT PRODUCED IN ISLAM OR BY MUSLIMS” later as this is already getting way too long for a blog post.
29 comments:
Hi.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;
3 Do not have any other gods before me.
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,
"You shall not bow down to them or worship them"By eating Halal food you bow down to the commands of their God !As a Christian it is against the fifth commandment.
Will,
As a Jew it is against the fifth commandment.
I understand the Church's viewpoint but the Law was given to Moses by God specifically for the people of Israel. But yeah, that is a discussion for another time and place.
I do agree with your conclusion though that eating Halal food means bowing down to Allah.
I disagree that the "Law" was given only for the children of Israel to obey. The Law was given to the children of Israel to carry, obey, preserve and give to the nations. But, like you said, that is a conversation for another day.
Even if you maintain that the "Law" was given only to the children of Israel, the command against idolatry is a Noahide command; and therefore, the prohibition against idolatry is applicable to all people, not just the physical descendants of Jacob/Israel. And, as you note, eating Halal can be construed as a form of idolatry; and is therefore, prohibited for all humanity under either perspective on who is to obey the "Law."
Well, I wrote the article so I do agree with you that eating Halal food is idolatry.
Whether we agree on the rest or not is a moot point as far as this article is concerned.
I'm with Paul's explanation here. He rightly states everything in it's proper perspective. The spiritual is paramount, whereas the flesh is nothing more than a manifestation of the spiritual. Paul was not personally hindered from eating anything by the Holy Spirit and says so as long as one acts in faith.
He famously states that whatever is not of faith IS sin. He could eat such food because he knew that it was nothing whether or not it was sacrificed to an idol. Having said so he realizes that not everyone has his type of faith. He wouldn't have eaten bread if some brother was to be injured thereby.
The cases that you use to show that God himself is offended or against food offered to idols; it's not the offering to idols which bothers him, it's that people feel it is offered to idols and put some weight on that fact. It goes exactly with what Paul says. It's the spiritual attitude and not the actual offering that is sin.
As far as the Apostles thinking it was the Holy Spirit's command to abstain from food, well they also thought that He wanted new converts circumcised at some times.
Personally I won't eat Hell-all food for mainly political reasons.
I know that I could eat Hell-all food sinlessly in the spiritual sense. However, I feel that no aid or comfort of any type (moral or material) should be afforded to that Satanic system because doing so would be wrong (sin).
Proper definition of "CHOSEN":
"The Law was given to the children of Israel to carry, obey, preserve and give to the nations. "
Thanks Anon.
Emphasis on "GIVE", not conquer, whack your head off, and or tax while taking all wimmin' as property for slavery, and all property for yourself and instituting laws designed to utterly strangle your religion SOONER OR LATER
My views on halal can be summed up quite quickly.
I refuse to eat anything that had to die listening to the same horrid pedophile worshipper chanting that the people aboard the four planes on 9/11 had to endure. They heard the chanting, and then they were slaughtered by muslims, so their flesh was, for all intents and purposes, halal. And they were consumed by islam. Nummy nummy huh?. Fucking not.
If I ever see a piece of filthy halal "food" I will probably vomit as I will surely visualize dead people which is, after all, the goal.
Not unlike soylent green.
Should have added that some aboard the planes even had their throats slit and then they were roasted in fire. Honestly I'd rather eat a steaming plate of Michael Moore's shit than a single bite of halal.
I agree with cjk up until his stated point,
"Personally I won't eat Hell-all food for mainly political reasons.
I know that I could eat Hell-all food sinlessly in the spiritual sense."
My opinion is this, the food has been sacrificed to an idol. Muslims know that, and they let you know for a reason.
Therefore, you are supporting them in their sin by knowingly eating Halal food.
You can eat it if you don't know it is Halal. But, if you know, if there is a sign in the restaurant window, or if it says it is Halal on the wrapper, then you are supporting Muslims in their sin. That is what Paul says.
we know that(H) "an idol has no real existence," and that(I) "there is no God but one." 5For although there may be(J) so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"— 6yet(K) for us there is one God, the Father,(L) from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and(M) one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and(N) through whom we exist.
7However, not all possess this knowledge. But some,(O) through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and(P) their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8(Q) Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care(R) that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block(S) to the weak. 10For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating[c] in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged,[d] if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11And so by your knowledge this weak person is(T) destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12Thus, sinning against your brothers[e] and(U) wounding their conscience when it is weak,(V) you sin against Christ. 13Therefore,(W) if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
Here's another:
Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”[f]
27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
HALAL - SHMALAL !
You are all wrong !
Go and pay a visit to a Jewish 'KOSHER' slaughter house !
You will come out a FANATIC VEGETARIAN !
All I'm interested to know is if the animal wasn't poisoned or died from SYPHILIS !
And I want to see this :- http://goo.gl/tt5fE
My last kill was a chicken ! I dropped the tank commander's hatch cover on her neck !...
The chicken died instantly !... ( my driver killed his chicken with a hand grenade ! he didn't pull the pin out !)...
.
Pasto:You're missing my point. Eating hell-all food in and of itself isn't sinful. Having said that it's difficult to do without sinning because of the effect on others.
Example: If I were to find a hell-all burger left aside and no one saw me eat it, I think that would be okay. God is greater than any devil or human rite.
Pastorius,
I agree with you (and Paul) there a 100%. If you don't know that the meat was sacrificed to Allah, aka, Halal then you can eat it all you want. For example, here in Dubai there are supermarkets that sell meat without the declaration that it is halal (this is usually meat imported from Australia and New Zealand), and so I eat it without a problem. However, if any meat is labeled halal, I don't wat it and it is not because I am worried about fellow believers and their weak faith (as much as I am to love people, God always comes first), I do it because it is outright idolatry. Period.
Halal meat is usually clearly labeled (except in Britain apparently) and so Christians and Jews should abstain from it.
My writing the article does not mean that I am declaring people that eat Halal food to be non-believers or non-Jews or whatever, it is not in my hands to do so. But halal food is a form of idolatry and about that there is no doubt.
As for people that may believe that Allah and our God are the same, well, my message to you is that you are not only mistaken but ignorant of the Scriptures as they describe God.
CJK,
Since you seem to discard what the Apostles said and stick to only Paul's version of things, I am going to start with the following before I address the rest of your comment:
1 Corinthians 10: 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Now I just want to say that as I wrote in the article, I would truly appreciate an attempt at setting my "misunderstanding" of Paul here straight but that does not mean that I am ready to ignore the rest of the Bible just so I can give Paul some breathing room.
This is what I am talking about.
CJK said: "As far as the Apostles thinking it was the Holy Spirit's command to abstain from food, well they also thought that He wanted new converts circumcised at some times."
I think you are confusing "some believers" in Acts 15 with the Apostles. In fact, it was Paul and none else who circumcised Timothy (right after Peter and others in Acts 15 said that circumcision was not necessary for the Gentiles, yet Paul does it to Timothy in Acts 16 anyway to please the Jews).
As for the letter written up by James; it was distributed all over by none other than our dear Paul. And the letter does not say "don't worship idols", it just says "don't eat food sacrificed to idols". In the same manner, the letter says to abstain from eating blood and also from sexual immorality. So my question here to you and to Paul is, is sexual immorality, like eating food sacrificed to idols, dependent on your concience too? If you think its not a sin to commit sexual immorality, then is it just fine to go ahead and sleep with prostitutes and your neighbor's wife? Should you just abstain from sexual immorality when a brother whose faith is weak is looking?
As for whether this letter was a result of the Holy Spirit's guidance or not. I can only say that I believe that it was. Even Paul seemed to accept it as he was willing enough to spread it around.
I would say more but I think I would just be taking up word space here. I am just going to ask you to read Acts 15 for yourself and then read Acts 16 to see Paul's actions.
CJK said: The cases that you use to show that God himself is offended or against food offered to idols; it's not the offering to idols which bothers him, it's that people feel it is offered to idols and put some weight on that fact.
Now where I agree with you that it is primarily the intentions that matter. God did not just say, "Don't worship idols please", he said, "Don't make any images for yourself" even before he mentioned the worshipping part.
He also says: They made me jealous by what is no god
and angered me with their worthless idols.
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. Deuteronomy 32:21
I will stop eating food sacrificed to idols for God, as I said; people come later.
cjk,
You said: You're missing my point. Eating hell-all food in and of itself isn't sinful. Having said that it's difficult to do without sinning because of the effect on others.
I reply: Yes. I see you and I agree.
Sorry for misunderstanding you.
:)
AA,
You wrote: I am worried about fellow believers and their weak faith
I respond: I'm not so worried about fellow believers as I am worried about propping up the wrong beliefs of Muslims.
That is how I read Paul. I would be causing Muslims to stumble even further by eating their food which has been sacrificed to idols.
Pastorius,
I think there is a little misunderstanding here :-).
I said: However, if any meat is labeled halal, I don't wat it and it is not because I am worried about fellow believers and their weak faith (as much as I am to love people, God always comes first), I do it because it is outright idolatry. Period.
By the way, that "wat" was meant to read "eat"**
AA: It wasn't some believers, but Peter himself who Paul went up against.
Also Paul only circumcised Timothy because of appearances only, not because of God's command.
Of course it is sinful to worship idols or even acknowledge them in any form as deserving deference. I am against all types of idolatry 100%. However, Paul isn't talking about any adoration of idols nor am I. In fact if you really think about it Paul is bringing forth the supremacy of God and the spiritual over the fleshly.
That sacrifice to allah the devil means nothing when I know in my heart that God's power trumps all and indeed makes everything clean to me regardless of what allah or all his demons might do.
Well put, cjk.
The sacrifice to allah means nothing to you.
But, it means something to those who do the sacrificing, and that's why we ought not ever support Halal.
CJK,
I can't address stuff that you don't source. As for whether Paul went up against Peter regarding circumcision in Acts 15, well you're wrong. That's all I can say.
As for Timothy's circumcision, he did do it to appease others and that's where I have a problem with it. Where in Jerusalem he was fighting for the Gentiles to be spared from the burden of circumcision, he inflicts circumcision on Timothy right after that. And no, Peter didn't say you should circumcise Gentiles, he was against it.
Please read Acts 15-16 and then maybe we can talk about it.
We can talk about the rest, including idolatry (which is what this article is originally about) after you have read Acts 15-16.
And if you're going to make a claim, please quote sources, because I don't really know what you're referring to when you say "Paul went up against Peter".
Pastorius,
Would you care to step in here and give your opinion on the verses CJK and I seem to have a disagreement over?
I think maybe he is referring to Galatians 2.
I do not know the book of Acts well at all.
And, I tend to not concern myself with these kinds of petty (that's my opinion) laws.
I think we all agree that God is stronger than any idol. I think we agree that idols, even demonic idols like Ba'al/Molach/Allah have no control over us as long as we are following God.
Therefore, these rules are petty to me.
However, in the case of a mass incursion of Muslims into our lands, and the stealth Jihad they wage, and the overwhelming and evangelical presence of Halal, then I become concerned, and I make my opinion known.
NO HALAL
That's my opinion, for what little it is worth.
;-)
AA: First of all I do not approach our discussion as an argument or a struggle to be 'right', this is sincerely what I believe to be the truth. Pasto is correct on the scriptural reference. The main target of the Epistle to Galatians is a refutation of those who wanted new gentile converts to adhere to the old Mosaic laws. Please read the Epistle.
As concerns Paul circumcising Timothy, I just don't understand your point. It is obvious to me that he circumcised Timothy just for show. That goes along exactly with what he teaches in 1st. Corinthians. Paul didn't give a hoot as to whether Timothy was circumcised or not, but he knew that the Jews did.
Let me be a little clearer.
Paul may have circumcised Timothy for show because of the Jews who were still ignorant regarding the details of the New Covenant at that time, whereas he went against Peter to his face because Peter knew better than to teach what amounted to false doctrine.
Peter can't be compared to the 'Jews' as signified in Acts.
I'm sorry I haven't replied here in a long time. I have been busy with work lately.
I just want to say that I am not arguing for arguments' sake. This is something that matters to me. I see a lot of myself in Paul. He persecuted the church and then joined the church, for example.
Anyway, I am not anti-Paul, even though it might seem so from my comments.
I don't usually argue about Christian issues, different sects and different sets of little beliefs here and there. No matter how many differences we have as Christians, we still believe the same things when it comes right down to it. The Gospel is simple and that's the beauty of it.
However, this issue is important to me because Christians take Paul's words over anything else in the New Testament. This isn't a reference here to you, CJK, or Pastorius or anyone else. I don't know you guys personally. What I know about Christians mostly is from what I have seen here in Dubai.
I know Christians are not what the Church is. I know Church, as in the body of Christians worldwide, is not perfect. But still, there are things that we need to be careful about.
The way I read the Bible, its a little different than most people that grew up as Christians (i.e. going to Churches and Sunday schools etc). Even though I believe the Bible to be the word of God, I still question the scripture and refuse to blindly follow things.
Anyway, coming to the real reason why I am discussing this in the comment thread, it is that I don't see Paul's actions as representative of Christ. In fact, I see them as painting him as a hypocrite. But I realize that this discussion is deviating from the article. We all agree that we shouldn't eat Halal food, whatever our reasons, we shouldn't eat Halal food.
CJK and/or Pastorius, I would appreciate it if you guys can email me about this. I want to understand it but of course I will discuss and play the devil's advocate to get the facts straight for myself so if you don't want to get into that I understand.
As for continuing the discussion here, I don't want to do that anymore because 1) I am really busy and its easier for me to email 2) its deviating from the article.
Oh, I will write the last part of this article as I promised but I am really bogged down with work these days, so it will be a while.
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