{"id":828,"date":"2014-05-14T17:05:51","date_gmt":"2014-05-14T22:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/?p=828"},"modified":"2015-08-11T18:20:13","modified_gmt":"2015-08-11T23:20:13","slug":"why-christians-dont-keep-kosher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/2014\/05\/why-christians-dont-keep-kosher\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Christians Don’t Keep Kosher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"File:Peter's<\/a><\/p>\n

The fourth Monday of Easter is the Feast of the Bacon Cheeseburger, when we commemorate the divine lifting of the Jewish dietary laws:<\/p>\n

Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,\u00a0\u201cI was at prayer in the city of Joppa\u00a0when in a trance I had a vision,\u00a0something resembling a large sheet coming down,\u00a0lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me. \u00a0Looking intently into it,\u00a0I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,\u00a0the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.<\/p>\n

I also heard a voice say to me, \u2018Get up, Peter. slaughter and eat.\u2019<\/p>\n

But I said, \u2018Certainly not, sir,\u00a0because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.\u2019<\/p>\n

But a second time a voice from heaven answered,\u00a0\u2018What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the whole story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

It is to be conceded my spiritual life suffers from too much focus on bacon.<\/p>\n

All facetiousness aside, a question that puzzles many Bible readers is how to make sense of the various laws and regulations handed down in the Torah. Are all to be observed? Some? \u00a0None? \u00a0Do Christians entirely set aside the whole shebang, then get a Christian Law of some kind from a different source?<\/p>\n

One does not set aside a divine commandment lightly. \u00a0That said, in our ordinary lives, we all understand the difference between, say, a law against rape and a regulation about the proper forms for filing one\u2019s building permits. \u00a0The one is a universal moral commandment, the other a means to a reasonable end.<\/p>\n

What shall we think about keeping kosher? \u00a0The Old Testament is scattered through with story after story of Jewish heroes risking all \u2014 even unto torture and death \u2014 rather than eat the bacon. \u00a0Were they misguided?<\/p>\n

No. \u00a0Not at all. \u00a0The context in these incidents is always one of reverence for God, and a refusal to compromise with some other power in order to protect one\u2019s comfort and status. \u00a0Comfort-and-status meaning even one\u2019s very life.<\/p>\n

The variation on the old joke: Would you violate one of God\u2019s commandments for a million dollars? For your life? \u00a0For your childrens\u2019 lives? \u00a0Then how about for $1? For a few chocolate bars?<\/p>\n

We aren\u2019t holy because we\u2019re willing to obey God in small things. \u00a0That\u2019s a starting point. \u00a0But when it costs, really costs, that\u2019s when we see what sort of faith we truly possess.<\/p>\n

Fortunately God is merciful, and can and will make up for what we lack, if we let Him.<\/p>\n

Artwork by the illustrator of Henry Davenport Northrop\u2019s \u2018Treasures of the Bible\u2019, 1894 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fourth Monday of Easter is the Feast of the Bacon Cheeseburger, when we commemorate the divine lifting of the Jewish dietary laws: Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,\u00a0\u201cI was at prayer in the city of Joppa\u00a0when in a trance I had a vision,\u00a0something resembling a large sheet coming down,\u00a0lowered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,13,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catechesis-2","category-catholic-qa","category-stick-that-corner"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Christians Don't Keep Kosher<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The fourth Monday of Easter is the Feast of the Bacon Cheeseburger, when we commemorate the divine lifting of the Jewish dietary laws: Peter began and\" \/>\n<meta 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