Welcome Paul. This was something that I decided a while back after learning Yah's prescription for diet and reasoning. The answer is quite simple according to my current knowledge - the foods (such as pork) that Yahuwah stated is unclean is because they were never originally intended to be food, and consequently is harmful to us if eaten. Yah cares about us in our entirety - body, mind, and spirit. More in depth, pigs do not fully digest the foods that they eat and the bacteria they consume could end up harming us, amongst other reasons I'm sure. Hopefully this will help :)

A scientific study of the flesh of "clean" and "unclean" critters. Anything below 75% is toxic and utterly confirms what Yahweh said is food in Leviticus 11 & Deuteronomy 14.

http://members.dslextrem.../hollymick/Macht1953.pdf

Welcome, Paul!

It was a major step for us to turn away from eating the animals Yahuwah prohibits in Leviticus 11, but the actual doing has been surprisingly easy. This passage might be instructive regarding how Yahuwah regards the eating of pork:



I am not as interested in what others have to say about the whys of not eating this or that as I am in obeying my Father in Heaven. Nevertheless, science has indeed shown that those animals which He forbids us to eat are certainly not worthy to be called food for human beings. One book I found informative and entertaining is "Holy Cow!" by Hope Egan. Ms. Egan is a vegan, which I am most certainly not, and she lauds Judaism, which I despise. But her facts seem to be in order and I enjoyed her book. Another, which may be out of print now, is "None of These Diseases" by someone whose name I have forgotten. If you can find it, read it. It deals with, among other things, how adhering to Yahuwah's instructions regarding diet pretty much guarantees that we won't fall prey to the diseases of Western Civilization. In that same vein was another book, "The Save Your Life Diet", again perhaps out of print.

The main point is that we ought to do what Yahuwah says just because He said it. We should not wait to obey until man has proven that Yahuwah had a good reason for commanding what He commands. That is my opinion on the matter. That and a few dollars might buy you a cup of coffee in the Pacific Northwest ...

Richard

Thanks so much everyone, lots of useful information here. I want to say that we're not waiting on reasons that Yah has for not eating pork, we've already begun eliminating it from our diet. I was merely curious to learn what it is that sets pork apart and makes it unclean. I trust Yahweh completely, but knowing him as I do, I know that he encourages us to question and learn, seek if you will. I want to be able to explain it to my young daughter and others who may ask why we no longer do the things we have done.

Thanks again, I now have a lot more reading than time to read it. :)

Paul

Hi -just thought I'd share our pork journey too


I've grown quite used to my husband coming in and saying I think Yah wants us to this, or that but was really surprised when we were all sat down to a lunch of sausage and mash he told me Yah said we shouldn't eat pork anymore!

Initailly we looked at the passages which describe what animals are unclean - for most we could come up with a reasons why why shouldn't eat them....many of the creatures are scavengers or cleaning animals that eat any old rubbish. Lions would probably eat you before you ate them, badgers carry tb and stuff, camels and horses are more use alive than dead. But pork we couldn't really figure out But knowing that Yah has never asked us to do anything for no reason we kind of just accepted that if pork was on the list with all these other things then Yah obviously had his reasons.

Anyway we also googled pork and found some fascinating and disgusting things out about it - like if you pour cola on raw pork worms crawl out of it, their digestive system is really basic and toxins from what they eat go straight into their flesh, also those stories (don't know if they are for real or just on telly!) of dead bodies been feed to pigs because they eat the whole lot leaving no evidence! That was enough to put us off pork for life. All the animals Yah designates as food eat natural stuff like grass and have complex digestive systems eliminating all the bad stuff from their bodies.


We haven't eaten unclean foods for several years now and it is actually really easy. We thought pork would be the hardest to lose but its been surprisingly easy. The smell of pork turns our stomachs and from the day we decided to follow yahs advice we have not wanted pork once. Its very normal to our kids and not a big deal. They were really young when we stopped eating pork so didn't really know the difference between meats which was challenging, we wrote to school and told them they were not allowed pork and put them on packed lunches because they were a bit little to know what they were eating. Now they are older they can choose for themselves what is suitable when we are out.

We have always been really honest with the children and explained in simple terms why we do the things we do, so for now their understanding is that pork is not good for you and that yahweh tells us not to eat things that are bad for us. When they are older I'm sure we will go into more detail with them. But actually it is as simple and childlike as that -Yah tells us what is good for us to eat, and that's what we do. He is our daddy and knows what is best for us :)

Duly noted...





They must think you are muslims.

My kids and I always have a big laugh when we are traveling through south Georgia, USA on Interstate Highway 75. We make a big deal about taking the "Pharisee's Bypass" (I-475) so we don't have to drive through the town of Macon, which sounds like bacon. My wife just rolls her eyes...

I find it interesting that other than bacon, pork is called ham. Of course you have Ham the son of Noah, and then you have Abraham.

What is really interesting to me is that in spanish pork or pig is called "marrano." Play with that word and you'll get Moran (i.e. last name), murano (dark or dark skinned), and Moron as in idiot.

and from wikipedia we get this:

Marranos or 'secret Jews' were Sephardic Jews, or Jewish people living in the Iberian peninsula, forced to convert to Catholicism-Christianity or be expelled from the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon (Spain). This designation officially began in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree, reversing protections in the Treaty of Granada (1491), and used for conversos, or ' confirmed converts', at first. However, soon Marranos was used for people that continued to practice Judaism secretly, crypto-Jews preserving their Jewish identity, 'the secret Jews' or judíos escondidos. In Hebrew, forced converts were known as Anusim, which means unwilling ones, though the term would also include those who did not retain their Judaism.

Marrano in 15th century Spanish first meant pig, from the ritual prohibition against eating pork, practiced by both Jews and Muslims. During the Spanish Inquisition Marrano acquired the pejorative meanings: "filthy-pig" (sucio); swine (sin escrúpulos); and "filthy-dirty". In contemporary Spanish the word is no longer associated with Jews. In contemporary Portuguese the word refers only to crypto-Jews, with marrão meaning the animal pig or swine.

KP posted this some time back. You might find it interesting. http://members.dslextrem.../hollymick/Macht1953.pdf

bump

RobertMV,

Thanks so much! Actually, thanks to everyone here for being so helpful. Robert, your webpage is awesome and I'm going to be using it for this Sabbath's family lesson. This is just the type of info I was looking for, written in easy to understand language that even my 9yr old can grasp.

I'm amazed that this thread took off like it did, makes me glad I asked the question.

Paul

Note the prevailing theme that these types of critters are an abomination to us, not neccesarly to YHWH:
ISR 1998 (free for E-Sword http://www.isr-messianic.org/)
Lev 11:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying to them,
Lev 11:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are on the earth:
Lev 11:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are on the earth:
Lev 11:3 ‘Whatever has a split hoof completely divided, chewing the cud, among the beasts, that you do eat.
Lev 11:4 ‘Only, these you do not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have a split hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
Lev 11:5 and the rabbit, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
Lev 11:6 and the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;
Lev 11:7 and the pig, though it has a split hoof, completely divided, yet does not chew the cud, it is unclean to you.
Lev 11:8 ‘Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you do not touch. They are unclean to you.
Lev 11:9 ‘These you do eat of all that are in the waters: any one that has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas or in the rivers, that you do eat.
Lev 11:10 ‘But all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, all that move in the waters or any living creature which is in the waters, they are an abomination to you.
Lev 11:11 ‘They are an abomination to you – of their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you abominate.
Lev 11:12 ‘All that have not fins or scales in the waters is an abomination to you.
Lev 11:13 ‘And these you do abominate among the birds, they are not eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and the black vulture,
Lev 11:14 and the hawk, and the falcon after its kind,
Lev 11:15 every raven after its kind,
Lev 11:16 and the ostrich, and the nighthawk, and the seagull, and the hawk after its kind,
Lev 11:17 and the little owl, and the fisher owl, and the great owl,
Lev 11:18 and the white owl, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture,
Lev 11:19 and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
Lev 11:20 ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours is an abomination to you.
Lev 11:21 ‘Only, these you do eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.
Lev 11:22 ‘These of them you do eat: the locust after its kind, and the destroying locust after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.
Lev 11:23 ‘But all other flying insects which have four feet is an abomination to you.
Lev 11:24 ‘And by these you are made unclean, anyone touching the carcass of any of them is unclean until evening,
Lev 11:25 and anyone picking up part of the carcass of any of them has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening.
Lev 11:26 ‘Every beast that has a split hoof not completely divided, or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass is unclean.
Lev 11:27 ‘And whatever goes on its paws, among all the creatures that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass is unclean until evening,
Lev 11:28 and he who picks up their carcass has to wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening. They are unclean to you.
Lev 11:29 ‘And these are unclean to you among the creeping creatures that creep on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the tortoise after its kind,
Lev 11:30 and the gecko, and the land crocodile, and the sand reptile, and the sand lizard, and the chameleon.
Lev 11:31 ‘These are unclean to you among all that creep. Anyone who touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening.


....but yet in one the many prophesies regarding the Great day of YHWH (2nd coming of MessiYAH), we have this:

Isa 66:15 “For look, יהוה comes with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His displeasure with burning, and His rebuke with flames of fire.
Isa 66:16 “For by fire and by His sword יהוה shall judge all flesh, and the slain of יהוה shall be many –
Isa 66:17 those who set themselves apart and cleanse themselves at the gardens after ‘One’ in the midst, eating flesh of pigs1 and the abomination and the mouse, are snatched away, together,” declares יהוה. Footnote: 1See 65:4.

Isa 65:3 the people who provoke Me continually to My face, who slaughter in gardens, and burn incense on altars of brick;
Isa 65:4 who sit among the graves, and spend the night in secret places, who eat flesh of pigs1, and the broth of unclean meat is in their pots, Footnote: 1See 66:17.
Isa 65:5 who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am set-apart to you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day.

These various prophesies of that day seems to tie different element of those who don't love him & keep him commandments, nor trust him in defiance.

I turn this entire account back on them.


The entire account proves that Y'shua never mentioned one word to Peter about the food laws changing, and in fact, even though Peter had 3 visions from heaven.......He still refused to eat unclean foods!

I use the entire account on christians rather then letting them use it on me. Then I ask them why their religious guru never told them to read verse 28.

Quite frankly, I believe that one account destroys christianity if people truly think about it.

Even in these modern days it is still a problem... Thanks for the warning Dad!!


Alyssa Newcomb

By Alyssa Newcomb
@alyssanewcomb
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Nov 27, 2012 6:24pm
Study Finds Most Pork Contaminated With Yersinia Bacteria


A sample of raw pork products from supermarkets around the United States found that yersinia enterocolitica, a lesser-known food-borne pathogen, was present in 69 percent of the products tested, according to a study released today by Consumer Reports.

The bacteria infects more than 100,000 Americans a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but for every case that is confirmed with a laboratory test, about 120 more cases escape diagnosis. Symptoms can include fever, cramps and bloody diarrhea.



100,000 times 120 = 120,000,000 cases per year , perhaps a little exageration