nlt@duke.UUCP (08/09/83)
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In the Old Testament there are very specific dietary laws
about what you should and should not eat. Many of these are
found in Leviticus. As I understand it, Christ came and changed some
of these laws, e.g., no eating pork but now pork is ok.
Can someone tell me where in the New Testament that Christ or
someone says it is ok to eat previously restricted foods?
Thank you.
Gene Foster
houxm!3363ewf
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As far as I can remember, Christ did not "repeal" any of the laws,
dietary or otherwise. His speeches regarding the Law were more to the
effect that the "spirit" of the Law, the Good described by the Law
but not fully contained therein, be upheld rather than merely the "letter";
and that we should go farther in our goodness than the Law demands.
Thus we hear, to paraphrase, "You have been taught, 'Thou shalt not kill;'
but I tell you, 'Do not even hold violent anger against another,'" and
so on. With the repeated breaking of the Sabbath, it was generally to
achieve some greater good, often to heal someone. The message seems to
have been not to forget the Law but rather that the ethic of the Kingdom
of God required more than a mere keeping of the Law.
I believe that the Church does not live by the Jewish Law primarily
because the Church is not a Jewish organization. True, Christianity
grew out of Judaism, and most of the earliest Christians were Jews;
but when Christianity began to attract Gentile converts, the Church
almost immediately had to face the question of whether Gentiles needed
to convert to Judaism in order to become Christians. The answer,
following a great deal of controversy, was that they did not.
The Jewish Law was part of a specific "covenant" made with a specific
group of people. We (Gentile Christians) are not bound by the Jewish
Law simply because we are not Jews. We are participants in a different
"covenant", if you will.
References (as requested):
Mt. 5:17-48, Mk. 7:1-23, Lk. 6:1-11, and others;
Acts 15:1-29, and the book of Galatians
Note: Obviously, I am writing with the assumption that the Bible is
a more-or-less accurate reference document with regard to the
teachings of Christ and the early Church. I recognize that
that is an assumption, not proven, and I do not attempt to
argue for that position here.
N. Tinkham,
Duke