The Convincing Evidence Brought by Science
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it." —Flannery O'Connor
Now let us take a few moments to see why God
would have made these laws. Has science shown any evidence proving
God's declaration that certain creatures are unclean is valid? I
think you and I will agree after looking at the following studies
that God is acting out of love by withholding these things from our diets.
Pork
Dr. Rex Russel states in his book, What the Bible Says About Health,
In the United States 3 of the 6 most common food-borne parasitic diseases of humans are associated with pork consumption. These include toxoplasmosis, taeniasis or cysticercosis (caused by the pork tape worm, taeniasolium) and trichinellosis. 1
Speaking about food-borne parasites, look at this amazing fact:
The average American consumer eats at least 200 [trichinosis] infested pork meals during his lifetime. Death in the Kitchen, Joe Crews, Library of Sermons No.20, page17.
A Reader's Digest article entitled, "Must Our Pork Remain Unsafe?" stated,
A single serving of defective pork, even a single mouthful, can kill or cripple or condemn the victim to a lifetime of aches and pains. For this unique disease, trichinosis, there is no cure. Ibid, pg. 16.
Perhaps a greater percentage of people afflicted with rheumatism and arthritis are really suffering from yet another side effect of "hogitis" than we would wish to think.
A man who worked at a meat-packing plant said that he would get infections in his hands and arms, such as red lines running up his arms, just from handling the dead pigs. 2.
And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass. Deuteronomy 14:8 (emphasis added.
The before mentioned Dr. Russell stated,
Pigs have eaten Philadelphia's garbage and sewage for more than 100 years, saving the city $3 million a year in landfill costs. What the Bible Says about Health, pg. 160. 3
Because pigs do not sweat, the toxins and poisons quickly build up and are simply transferred to the consumer.
A currently well-known preacher and evangelist shared this story. At the time of the story he was a hippie who had recently become a Christian. He had a small business selling meat, and he made a point to sell only the best—the grade A's. Although he only sold various cuts of beef, one of his customers asked him if he could get her some pork. He asked some of his butcher friends for some prime, grade A pork, only to be told,
The Department of Agriculture doesn't think you should feed that stuff to your dogs. They're not going to grade it. That stuff's swarming with bugs (trichina larvae). The Richest Cave Man, Doug Batchelor, pg. 94.
What a loving God! He knew from the very beginning how deleterious eating these creatures would be to us! He loved us enough to say no! If only we had loved Him enough to take Him at His word. But finally now, after years of unnecessary sickness, pain and death, we are coming to see that God was fair and loving in making these restrictions.
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"Life isn't how long you live, but how you make the journey."
Is pork the only meat that has vindicated God's decree as unclean, or has science found others? Indeed, it has. Not too long ago, Prevention Magazine carried an article entitled, "Shellfish Are Dirty and Dangerous."
They're succulent, they're delicious, they're even nutritious, but, because of the nature of the mollusk and the sewage-like pollution of its habitat, we must in good conscience
advise you to avoid shellfish, no matter how much they tempt you.1
Why are shellfish so dangerous? Because they are many times more polluted than the filthy waters they inhabit...unfortunately, they choose to live and multiply in estuaries along coastal regions. These estuaries are particularly subject to discharge of sewage and other water-borne pollution from municipal discharges....The polluted aspect of their habitat is one danger, the fact that they are filter feeders compounds the danger. Oysters, for instance, because of their way of obtaining and absorbing food, have been found to concentrate polio virus up to 20-60 times the level of the surrounding sea water. 2
A former crab fisherman shared that his
greatest catch was
early in the morning—right in the docks where the boats were
kept. He soon realized that the reason for the quantity of crabs in
that location was because the boats where dumping their toilets into
the water and the crabs were enjoying the feast! 3
Again, Dr. Rex Russell points out in his book, What the Bible Says about Health, pg. 157,
The largest cholera outbreak in the U.S. occurred in Louisiana from August to October 1986. (The symptoms of cholera are explosive diarrhea leading to rapid
dehydration, unconsciousness, hypotension and death.) What had the stricken people eaten? The incriminating meals were found to include: rice noodles with shrimp, pork, mussel soup, pig blood coagulated with vinegar, and salty brine shrimp with mixed vegetables. 4
Also, the state legislature of California proposed a new law requiring the food industry to label shellfish with a warning: "This food may be hazardous to your health." 5
In his book Open Secrets, Don Gray reveals amazing research done by Dr. Bruce Hallstead, who spent years doing research for the Army and Navy to determine which fish were safe for human consumption and which were poisonous. Servicemen who are shipwrecked or stranded in deserted areas need to know which fish are poisonous and which they can eat for survival. In 1965, his work was printed in three large volumes by the U.S. government. After all his research was done, Dr. Hallstead concluded that the rule of thumb was, simply, of all aquatic life, they could eat anything with fins and scales. Isn't that interestingly similar to what God said? 6
These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales. And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you Deuteronomy 14:9,10 (NKJV).
Just think how much time, money and health could have been saved had we studied and taken God at His word in the first place. But as we so often do, we take the time to really look at the operating manual only after all else has failed.
All rights reserved Copyright © 2006 By J. Lee