WHY CHRISTIANS EAT PORK


Muslims claim that Christianity is false since Christians are permitted to consume the flesh of swine which is strictly forbidden under the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law is also known as the Law of Moses. Muslims use this as evidence not only to condemn Christianity but also to promote Islam since it likewise prohibits the eating of the flesh of pigs. It is time to expose their lies and deception. Muslims frequently quote the following verses from the Bible to validate their claim:

Leviticus 11:7-8: Also the pig, because it has a split hoof and a cleft in the hoof but does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat any of their flesh or touch their dead body. They are unclean for you.

Deuteronomy 14:8: Also the pig because it has a split hoof but does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat their flesh or touch their carcasses.

However, Muslims will never quote in full the complete dietary restrictions in the above verses. This is because they know that doing so will expose the hypocrisy of their argument. We will now expose their deception by reading the above verses in context, in their entirety. We will read Leviticus 11:1-8.

Leviticus 11:1-3: Then Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron: “Tell the Israelites, ‘These are the living creatures of the earth that you may eat: Every animal that has a split hoof and a cleft in its hooves and that chews the cud may be eaten.

Leviticus 11:4: But you must not eat from among those that chew the cud or from among those that have a split hoof: The Camel because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof. It is unclean for you.

Leviticus 11:5: Also the Rock Badger, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof. It is unclean for you.

Leviticus 11:6: Also the Hare (Rabbit), because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof. It is unclean for you.

Leviticus 11:7: Also the Pig, because it has a split hoof but does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you.

Leviticus 11:8: You must not eat any of their flesh or touch their dead body. They are unclean for you.’”

Let us now read Deuteronomy 14:6-8.

Deuteronomy 14:6: “You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided into two and that chews the cud.  

Deuteronomy 14:7: However, you must not eat from among those that chew the cud or from among those that have split hooves: The Camel, the Hare (Rabbit), and the Rock Badger, because they chew the cud but do not have split hooves. They are unclean for you.

Deuteronomy 14:8: Also the Pig because it has a split hoof but does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat their flesh or touch their carcasses.”

The commandment is clear. As we can see, both the flesh of swine and the flesh of camels are equally forbidden in the Torah. This is because the camel does not have a split hoof while the pig does not chew the cud. So both these animals are equally unclean for consumption in the Torah. In fact, the following translation of the Quran not only acknowledges these dietary restrictions in the Torah but it even clarifies the specific types of animals that are prohibited for the Jews:

Surah 6:146: And to those imbued with Jewish doctrines and principles We forbade every animal with undivided hoof – camels, rabbits, hares – and of the oxen and the sheep We forbade them only their fat except the fat covering their backs and their entrails and the fat attached to the bones. (Al-Muntakhab)

As it can be noted, the camel is specifically mentioned as one of the forbidden animals for the Jews. This fact is also confirmed in the Tafsirs of numerous well-known scholars of Islam. We will consider just two out of the many to verify this fact.

Tafsir Jalalayn on Surah 6:146:

And to those of Jewry, that is the Jews, We forbade every beast with hoof, that is every beast that does not have divided toes such as camels and ostriches.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Surah 6:146:

Allah says, We forbade for the Jews every bird and animals such as the camel, ostrich, duck and goose.

The Quran clearly testifies that just like the flesh of pigs, the flesh of camels is also forbidden in the Torah. Yet, Muslims consume the flesh of camels. Are they not then guilty of the very same offense that they accuse the Christians of committing?  Camels which are considered unclean for consumption under the Mosaic Law are approved in the Quran. Islamic scholars deliberately conceal the verses in the Quran that violates the dietary laws of the Torah. One such verse is the following:

Surah 22:36: And the camels and cows did We make lawful for you to use in the event of your oblation of thanks giving and in your offering. They serve as a store from which you obtain advantages in plenty. Therefore, pronounce Allah’s Name on them as they are lined up, slaughtered and laid on their sides. You may eat there from and feed him who is content and satisfied in mind despite poverty. (Al-Muntakhab)

Since the Torah strictly prohibits the Jews to eat the flesh of camels, how can Allah then make it lawful for the Muslims in the Quran? What justification can Muslims provide to reconcile this contradiction between the dietary laws in the Torah and the Quran? While Christians eat the flesh of swine, Muslims eat the flesh of camels. Yet, both are forbidden in the Torah. Worse still, Muhammad even prescribed camel urine as medicine to his followers.

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 71, Number 590:

Narrated Anas: The climate of Medina did not suit some people, so the Prophet ordered them to follow his shepherd that is his camels, and drink their milk and urine as a medicine.

Another verse in the Bible which Muslims frequently quote to accuse the Christians of violating the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law is Matthew 5:17. Let’s read this verse:

Matthew 5:17: “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill.”

Muslims cite this verse as evidence to prove that Jesus did not abolish the dietary laws in the Torah. If true, then Muslims have only dug their own graves. These very same dietary laws in the Torah also forbid the eating of the flesh of camels. Since Muslims claim that Jesus did not abolish the dietary laws in the Torah, will Jesus then approve the eating of the flesh of camels in defiance of the Mosaic Law? Can Jesus legitimately condemn the flesh of swine without condemning the flesh of camels? Muslims must be extremely desperate to use this self-condemning argument to justify their case. Why is it permissible for the Muslims to break the Mosaic Law but not the Christians? Well, what did Jesus mean when he said that he came to “fulfill” the Law? What does the expression to “fulfill” actually mean? To illustrate:

A builder “fulfills” a contract to complete a building, not by destroying the contract, but by finishing the structure of the building. However, upon completion of the project to the satisfaction of the client, the contract is fulfilled and the builder is no longer under obligation to it. Likewise, Jesus did not destroy the Law but rather he fulfilled it perfectly. Once fulfilled, that Law contract was no longer binding on God’s people.

Unlike the deceptive and contradictory claims of the Muslims, the Christian position is clearly substantiated in the Bible. The abolishment of the Mosaic Law with the coming of Jesus is clearly verified in numerous verses of the Bible. The following are two such verses:

Romans 10:4: For Christ is the end of the Law, so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness.

Colossians 2:16-17: Therefore, do not let anyone judge you about what you eat and drink or about the observance of a festival or of the new moon or of a Sabbath. Those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.

The Mosaic Law came to an end with the coming of Jesus. Thus, Christians have a valid basis for not submitting to the dietary laws of the Jews. In fact, the Quran confirms this vital truth. It clearly testifies that the restrictions which the Jewish Christians were subjected to previously under the Mosaic Law were removed with the coming of Jesus. In the following Quranic verse, Jesus declared:

Surah 3:50: I have come to you, to attest the Law which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was before forbidden to you. I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear God, and obey me.” (Yusuf Ali)

Surah 3:50 clearly confirms that Jesus will make “lawful” for the Christians what was previously “forbidden” under the Mosaic Law. Of course, this cannot mean that Jesus will now make it lawful for the Christians to practice what is morally wrong in the Torah. Surah 3:50 must therefore be referring to the ceremonial laws which include the dietary restrictions stipulated under the Mosaic Law. This is verified by what Jesus himself stated in the following Gospel account. Speaking in the context of what defiles a person spiritually, Jesus stated:

Matthew 15:10-11: With that he called the crowd near and said to them: “Listen and get the sense of it. It is not what enters into a man’s mouth that defiles him, but it is what comes out of his mouth that defiles him.”

And in the following parallel account, Jesus clarified:

Mark 7:18-23: “Are you not aware that nothing from outside that enters into a man can defile him . . . That which comes out of a man is what defiles him. From the inside, out of the heart of men, come injurious reasonings, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, greed, acts of wickedness, deceit, brazen conduct, an envious eye, blasphemy, haughtiness, and unreasonableness. All these wicked things come from within and defile a man.”

Jesus clarified it is not what a person eats that defiles him spiritually but “that which comes out of a man is what defiles him.” The Bible clearly testifies that with the coming of Jesus, Christians will no longer be subjected to the Law Covenant but to the Law of the Christ. As such, it was no longer mandatory for the Christians – both in the past and in the present – to observe the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law. If Muslims insist that the Christians must observe the Mosaic Law as the Jews do, then the Quran becomes false instantly. It becomes false since Surah 3:50 specifically testifies that certain restrictions will become obsolete for the Christians with the coming of Jesus.

Muslims fail to understand that Surah 3:50 is actually testifying to the abolition of certain restrictions which were obligatory for the Jews under the Mosaic Law. Thus, this Quranic verse exonerates the Christians from the baseless accusations of the Muslims. In fact, Christians would be acting in disobedience if they continued observing the restrictions which God removed and made “lawful” through Jesus Christ. Therefore, Muslims who insist that Christians must observe the dietary restrictions are actually denying the teachings of the Quran in Surah 3:50. In fact, even while the Law Covenant was still in force, Jehovah foretold that in time it will be replaced with a New Covenant.

Jeremiah 31:31-32: “Look! The days are coming when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt which they broke, although I was their true master,” declares Jehovah.

The Law Covenant became obsolete when Jesus instituted the New Covenant.

Hebrews 8:13: In his saying “a new covenant,” he has made the former one obsolete.

Hebrews 9:15: That is why Jesus is a mediator of a new covenant, in order that because a death has occurred for their release by ransom from the transgressions under the former covenant.

If Muslims are truly consistent in their accusation, then they must put their Prophet on trial for violating the divine laws of God in the Torah. In total violation of the Mosaic Law, Muhammad consumed the meat of animals which are strictly forbidden in the Torah. Muhammad consumed the flesh of camels and rabbits which are considered unclean according to the dietary laws in the Torah.

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 44, Number 665:

Narrated Rafi bin Khadij: We used to offer the ‘Asr prayer with the Prophet and slaughter a camel, the meat of which would be divided in ten parts. We would then eat the cooked meat before sunset.

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 47, Number 746:

Narrated Anas: We chased a rabbit at Mar-al-Zahran and the people ran after it but were exhausted. I overpowered and caught it, and gave it to Abu Talha who slaughtered it and sent its hip or two thighs to Allah’s Apostle. The narrator confirms that he sent two thighs. The Prophet accepted that. The sub-narrator asked Anas, “Did the Prophet; eat from it?” Anas replied, “He ate from it.”

Allah claims in the Quran that he revealed the Torah to the Jews. In other words, it was Allah who decreed in the Torah that the flesh of camels is unclean for food. Then why did Allah contradict himself in the Quran? If that which was “haram” for the Jews is now “halal” for the Muslims, then why do Muslims deny this same privilege for the Christians? Why do they find it suddenly unacceptable for that which was “haram” for the Jews to likewise become “halal” for the Christians? Why the double standard? This is hypocrisy! Let us look at the Quranic verse where Allah claims to reveal the Torah:

Surah 5:44: Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light. (Pickthall)

Of course, it is not Allah but Jehovah who revealed the Torah to Moses. He is the Author. There is no denying this truth. Allah is but an impostor. Instead of finding fault with the Christians, Muslims should first examine the discrepancies and contradictions in their own religion. If anything, the Quran vindicates and exonerates the Christians.