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From: davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Food Laws (was Biblical Sexual Morality)
Message-ID: <Apr.4.00.54.35.1991.14855@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 4 Apr 91 05:54:37 GMT
Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu
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Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

Regarding the reference to N.T. texts that supposedly dispose of the
Health Laws of Moses:

1) These are really texts that show that these health laws are not
   salvation laws.  If the New Testament clearly said you should not
   smoke tobacco whould you enter a smoke filled room in the context
   of witnessing - Paul would clearly say yes.  Would Paul advise
   you to go home and become a chain smoker?  No!  That was intended
   to serve as an illustration and not to claim that the N.T. speaks
   out against smoking.  I have read stories of Christians who have
   never touched alchohol before or since, but under singular
   circumstances have swallowed such beverage.  I know of health
   lecturers who are adament against Pork from a health perspective
   who have eaten Pork for the sake of Christian love.  But they do
   not return home and start to indulge in Pork.

   If we accept that the principles are health and Christian love then
   what about drugs?  Would we inject drugs for the sake of Christian
   love?  I have not heard of such examples.  So, it is purely
   hipothetical and yet worth considering.  The Bible does not
   specifically speak out against drugs and yet this is accepted as
   a Christian principle.

2) Peter's vision of the unclean animals illustrates the problem of
   working with Gentiles and not a dietary vision.  If you read the
   whole chapter and the 1st half of the following chapter it becamse
   clear that Peter's pork vision was really about the Gentiles that
   were so popularly shuned.  God wanted Peter to get busy and take
   the message to the Gentiles.  Peter had a tougher time of this
   than did Paul.

3) Jesus was asked about divorse.  His answer was that Moses was allowed
   to grant such laws of divorse, but God would rather humans did not
   need such laws.  In the wilderness they grew tired of the heaven
   sent Manna and adamantly called on God to serve them up the flesh
   pots of Egypt.  And so the Quail.  In the Bible we find other
   examples of God allowing humans certain things that are not the best
   for them.  We can search out these minimums and apply them or we
   can search out how God would really like to have us live - without
   the need of divorse, for example.

God has a far greater plan for us than the minimums that can be searched
out of the Bible.  God knows best what it takes for us to live happier
and healthier lives for Him.

Dave (David E. Buxton)