Not Eating Pork (Biblical Reason?)

Actually the only thing to worry about with pork is a roundworm that burrows into one's muscles and can remain there indefinitely. Here is a Wikipedia article: Trichinosis
We don't know any long term problems, but God might.

Why couldn't the Israelites eat pork, was it due to how it was raised, worship related, to be different from the surrounding people and religions, or what? Was it strictly for dietary reasons that God said not to eat them (because they are bad for health)?

Is pork today the same as it was then? Or is it healthier now, depending upon feed? Or is it as terrible as some people suggest, saying it is "not fit for consumption"?

[youtube]4Y5UUeusgm8:54]

The prohibition was eating meat of any animal with a cloven hoof. Pigs have 2 main toes with the hoof seperatly on each toe. Scientifically pigs get an embryo of a bug embedded that when the meat is eaten invade the body that ate the meat. Only with the advent of modern medicine was this found. Therefore the recommendation that any pork be well cooked. Rare pork is an invitation to get this problem. There were some wealthy Jews who were stricken with this. It was found that the kitchen women got the pork under their fingernails at home and didn't wash their hands very well. It contaminated the salad they made.

The thing about religion: If anyone is doing things differently, they are implying others are wrong by inference. It is the nature of the beast.

Actually, it is true that pigs do not sweat. However, according to scientists, pigs get rid of toxins from their bodies the same way humans do... through the liver and kidneys. Raised outside, in a natural environment, pigs will not "wallow" in their own feces and urine. They are actually pretty fastidiously clean animals.

There is a slight chance of getting trichinosis from eating raw or undercooked pork, but there is the chance of getting salmonella or e coli from undercooked eggs, chicken, beef, etc...

Studies have shown that pigs raised outside, naturally, without hormones, etc, actually produce very healthful meat and fat.

there's a certain amount of relativism for the free -

this is in re: food sacrificed to idols, specifically, and prefacing the remark he states that not everyone has the knowledge that there is one God through whom all things came -- and their consciences are stained, being not far removed from idolatry. i'm not trying to take this out of its context and apply it whole-cloth to dietary law, but it appears to me to establish a ruling principle in this matter, in fact the very same one expounded throughout Romans ch. 14

we don't have to imply judgement and condemnation on everyone who disagrees with us about things. that is the human way of thinking, and in certain matters it really is crucial to be on the same page - we don't have fellowship for people who hate Christ, obviously - but there are many things which truly are inconsequential and many things which are a matter of growing in knowledge of God, such that for one person a drop of liquor is sin, and another can take it thankfully & enjoy it as a gift, without hedonism.

I agree with you posthuman. I do what I do because I think is pleases my Lord. I have worked with missionaries that believed quite different than me. But we had more in common than we did with the worldly people. People that get huffy with you because you believe differently are judging on minutiae.

We should have a certain understanding on what evil is and not worry about the little things others do for God. Sure, we have to monitor our ranks to keep evil out and we should stop there. What someone eats is not evil. We have guidelines on judging evil, let's stick to those and fellowship on what we have in common.

I can't believe some of these posts....no one is suppose to eat flesh from a sick animal. Just as eating a spoiled tomato...will kill you.

Yes, that's one of the reasons we're told to cook pork thoroughly.
The video is grotesque and misleading. If there are worms in pork, or beef for that matter, the raw meat, it is because the animal wasn't healthy and the meat after slaughter was not treated properly. I have a feeling the first segment of the video was excerpted from some infool-mercial seeking to sell a parasite cleanse and judging from the way it ended.

Why couldn't the Israelites eat pork, was it due to how it was raised, worship related, to be different from the surrounding people and religions, or what? Was it strictly for dietary reasons that God said not to eat them (because they are bad for health)?

Is pork today the same as it was then? Or is it healthier now, depending upon feed? Or is it as terrible as some people suggest, saying it is "not fit for consumption"?

because that's what your position has God telling Peter to do in Acts 10, get up and sin, using a specific command to do something wicked, intending Peter to disobey His evil command which He spoke presumptuously and insincerely.
you're looking for God Himself lying and enticing His own children to blaspheme, requiring His followers to do what He hates and forbids them to do.