BUT ... "Man has an infinite capacity to rationalize his rapacity, especially when it comes to something he wants to eat..." —Cleveland Amory   Naturally, we despise change, especially when it comes as close to home as our diet. So it is only normal to try to figure a way around the inevitable and come up with some seemingly plausible excuses to try to keep ourselves comfortable where we are. That is what we will take a look at next.   Probably the most often stated argument is: "The dietary commands were given to the Jews only, therefore we do not have to obey them."   God made a clear distinction between clean and unclean animals from the very first sacrifice for sin. The distinction was still known, understood and carried out by Noah at the time of the flood. God found it necessary to repeat (in Leviticus and Deuteronomy) these same health laws again to the Jews. They lived for so long in a heathen nation they had adopted many of its customs, forgetting the wise rules established by God to keep them healthy. The comment on Moses' death is astounding, considering the era of sickness we live in today. ...Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated Deuteronomy 34:7.   It is important to remember that the rules of clean and unclean, the blood and strangulation, were in place even before the flood. They were perpetuated in the New Testament church, being specifically mentioned as binding to the Gentile Christians. God gave them not only to the Jews but to all mankind, because He wants all His children, whoever they are, to be healthy. These health laws were not a part of the ceremonial system which was done away with. The symbolical ceremonial laws all pointed to something yet to come—in Christ. When He came, they no longer had any purpose and were to be done away with (Colossians 2:17).   But the health rules came prior to any Israelite. When the Jews did receive them, they did not point foreword to anything. The laws regarding health in no way symbolized anything to come. Rather, they were given by God to all humanity because He loves His children and wants them to be healthy. He wants what is best for us so that we can live life to its fullest, without aches and pains, sickness and disease.   It must also be realized that God made humankind, not Jew and Gentile, black or white. All are equal, and the bodily functions are no more diverse than between individuals of the same ethnicity. God made us all to operate at the highest potential with a plant-based diet. It was never His intention for death to enter our world, much less that the maintenance of our life would necessitate the taking of another life. All rights reserved Copyright © 2006 By J. Lee