For many, the dietary laws in the Bible, particularly those concerning clean and unclean animals, can seem perplexing. These laws have historically distinguished followers of biblical guidelines. Some scholars believe these laws reflect God's concern for the health of His people. However, the scientific reasoning behind these dietary laws is often overlooked, leading many to dismiss them as outdated regulations. This article explores the biblical basis for these dietary laws and their potential benefits for health and environmental stewardship, offering a comprehensive understanding of the "Bible diet."
Understanding the Basis of Biblical Dietary Laws
Scripture offers several reasons for the dietary laws. God chose Israel for a specific purpose (Exodus 19:5-6), and the dietary laws were part of that purpose, setting them apart from other nations. Leviticus 20:24-26 states that God separated the Israelites from other peoples, instructing them to distinguish between clean and unclean beasts to be holy, as God is holy.
Environmental Stewardship and Resource Management
The dietary laws promote wise and efficient management of environmental resources. The distinction between clean and unclean animals plays a role in helping us "tend and keep" the land as good stewards of God's creation (Genesis 1:28; 2:15).
Defining Clean and Unclean Animals
Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are the primary biblical passages that describe the dietary laws. These chapters offer specific, easy-to-understand principles.
Clean Land Animals
Leviticus 11 specifies that animals that may be eaten are those "which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud-that you may eat" (vv. 1-3). These plant-eating mammals, known as ruminants, have four-chambered stomachs that convert grasses inedible to humans into nutritious protein (meat and milk). Examples include cattle, sheep, goats, deer, bison, moose, antelope, gazelles, caribou, and giraffes.
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These guidelines make sense from an environmental perspective. Rangelands, which cover vast areas of the globe, are often unsuitable for crop production. Clean animals can produce nutritious food in an economical and ecologically sound way in these areas.
Unclean Land Animals
The dietary laws prohibit the consumption of carnivorous animals. Carnivores play a role in controlling the populations of other animals. For example, wolves and mountain lions help maintain the health of deer herds by culling out older or sick animals.
Pigs are specifically mentioned as unclean and unfit for human consumption (Leviticus 11:7-8; Deuteronomy 14:8). Swine are often nocturnal animals that root for food in the wild, minimizing contact with humans. Domesticated pigs have been used as scavengers around human settlements for centuries.
Rabbits and rodents can transmit tularemia to humans through contact with their meat and body fluids. This bacterial disease is endemic in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Bats and monkeys, also prohibited, have been implicated in the spread of the Ebola virus in Africa, while bats and camels have been linked to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Consuming unclean animals such as bats, pigs, civets, and other "exotic" animals has been implicated in the origins of flu epidemics and pandemics like SARS, Swine Flu, and COVID-19.
Trichinosis, a disease caused by a parasitic roundworm, is transmitted by swine and other unclean animals. In addition to pork, bear and walrus meat have been sources of infections in humans. Tapeworms, which affect millions worldwide, are another health concern. While beef and fish can contain tapeworms, the pork tapeworm is more dangerous. The most effective way to avoid these diseases is to avoid eating unclean animals.
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Clean Aquatic Creatures
Biblically clean fish generally swim freely in bodies of water.
Unclean Aquatic Creatures
Most unclean fish are either bottom-dwellers or predatory scavengers. The prohibition against eating fish without scales protects against consuming fish that produce poisonous substances. Many poisonous fish have odd shapes, hard skin, tiny mouths, small gills, and small or absent belly fins.
Shellfish, lacking both fins and scales, are excluded by the biblical dietary laws. Lobsters are nocturnal foragers and bottom-dwelling scavengers that eat dead creatures and debris. Crabs are scavengers that eat almost anything, preferring dead fish and carrion. These organisms serve as "garbage collectors" for aquatic environments.
Clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops are filter-feeding mollusks that pump water over their gills, trapping tiny pieces of food. They act as "vacuum cleaners" for aquatic environments. The Food and Drug Administration has stated that "raw oysters, clams, and mussels account for 85 percent of all the illnesses caused by eating seafood." Outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A, Norwalk virus, salmonella, and paralytic shellfish poisoning have been linked to consuming these mollusks.
Birds, Insects, and Reptiles
Unclean fowl are generally birds of prey or scavengers, such as vultures and seagulls (Leviticus 11:13-19). Carnivorous birds can transmit disease, and predatory, fish-eating birds accumulate high levels of toxic chemicals. Reptiles are also listed as unfit for human food (Leviticus 11:29-30; 42-43). Among insects, only those from the locust and grasshopper family are permissible (vv. 21-23).
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Prohibition of Blood Consumption
The consumption of blood as food is forbidden by the biblical dietary laws (Leviticus 3:7; 7:26-27). The blood carries many diseases from animals. First-century apostles instructed New Testament Christians, including Gentiles, not to eat blood (Acts 15:20, 28-29).
Misinterpretations and Clarifications
Some passages have been misunderstood to suggest that the dietary laws are no longer applicable.
Mark 7
In Mark 7, Jesus explained why His disciples ate without following the Pharisees’ ceremonial hand-washing tradition. Some Bible translations suggest that He declared all foods clean. However, Jesus' point was that orally ingested dirt does not spiritually defile a person, since it does not enter the "heart" (vv. 18-23). The dietary laws were not being discussed.
Acts 10
Some cite Peter’s vision in Acts 10, where God showed him unclean animals and told him to "eat." Peter declined because he believed eating those animals would be wrong (vv. 13-16). Peter concluded that God wanted the Gospel to go to the Gentiles and that they were to be accepted into the Church as equals (v. 28). Peter does not conclude that the dietary laws have been abolished.
1 Timothy 4:1-5
Some theologians use 1 Timothy 4:1-5 to suggest that the dietary laws are no longer valid for Christians. However, Paul was discussing false teachers who promoted asceticism and vegetarianism, abstaining from foods that God made for us to eat.
New Testament Perspectives on Diet
The dietary rules were never intended to apply to anyone other than the Israelites, and the purpose of the food laws was to make the Israelites distinct from all other nations. After this purpose had ended, Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19). Later, God gave the apostle Peter a vision that implied formerly unclean animals could be eaten: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15). When Jesus died on the cross, He fulfilled the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:15).
Romans 14:1-23 teaches that not everyone may be mature enough in the faith to accept the fact that all foods are clean. As a result, if we are with someone who would be offended by our eating “unclean” food, we should give up our right to do so as to not offend the other person. We have the right to eat whatever we want, but we do not have the right to offend other people, even if they are wrong.
In the New Covenant of grace, the Bible is far more concerned with how much we eat than what foods Christians eat. Physical appetites are an analogy of our ability to control ourselves. If we are unable to control our eating habits, we are probably also unable to control other habits such as those of the mind (lust, covetousness, unrighteous hatred/anger) and unable to keep our mouths from gossip or strife.
Christian Dietary Practices
Christian dietary laws vary between denominations. Christians in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Orthodox denominations traditionally observe Friday as a meat-free day and often fast and abstain from meat on Wednesday. The only dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals" (Acts 15:29). Paul the Apostle told the Christians in Corinth not to worry about eating food sacrificed to idols, since "an idol has no real existence" (1 Corinthians 8:4). The Seventh-day Adventist Church follows the Old Testament's Mosaic Law on dietary restrictions.
Most Christian denominations condone moderate consumption of alcohol and beverages, while the Adventist, Baptist, Methodist, Latter-day Saints, and Pentecostal traditions encourage abstinence from or prohibit alcohol consumption. All Christian churches condemn drunkenness as sinful.
Biblical Foods for Health and Healing
The Bible references the healing properties of herbs and foods. The importance of diet and food preparation was often seen as a spiritual act. The Bible diet consists of certain kinds of foods.
Acceptable Foods
- Fruits: All fruits are acceptable as long as they come from seeds.
- Plants that yield seeds: This includes anything that grows on plants that are not necessarily trees.
- Clean meat: Defined as the meat of every animal that has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud. Examples include ox, buffalo, sheep, goat, deer, gazelle, antelope, and mountain sheep. For seafood, everything with fins and scales is allowed. For birds, everything is allowed except eagles, vultures, kites, ravens, ostriches, seagulls, and owls.
Top Biblical Foods and Their Benefits
- Olives and Olive Oil: Used for healing, cooking, lighting lamps, soaps, cosmetics, and currency. Regular consumption contributes to heart, brain, skin, and joint health and may help prevent cancer and diabetes.
- Pomegranates: Contain anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-obesity, and anti-tumor properties.
- Grapes: Moderate alcohol intake, particularly red wine, may lower the risk of cardiac mortality due to atherosclerosis. Resveratrol, found in fermented grape juice, has antioxidant and flavonoid properties.
- Flax: Used to make linen. Flaxseeds provide a natural, vegan source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, lignans, and fiber.
- Sprouted Grains: Creating the “complete protein,” one that contains all essential amino acids. Sprouted grains enhance the level of vital nutrients, including proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
- Goat’s Milk: May prevent diseases such as anemia and bone demineralization.
- Lamb: The most revered animal and honored food in the Bible.
- Coriander: The seed of cilantro, a powerful antioxidant and natural cleansing agent. It has anti-diabetic effects.
- Vegetables: Nutrient-dense and safe to eat. Cruciferous veggies can help prevent cancer.
- Honey: Contains disease-fighting antioxidant flavonoids and supports the growth of probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract. It may also improve allergy symptoms.
Implementing the Bible Diet
The four classifications of food (trees that yield seed, plants that yield seed, field plants, clean meat) form the foundation of a Biblical diet.
Key Principles
- Water, sunshine, and exercise: Drink lots of water, get lots of exercise, and go outside.
- Eat safe, clean meat.
- Eat foods that are in season.
- Eat raw, unprocessed real whole foods.
Potential Rewards
- Weight loss: A diet high in unprocessed food, fruit, and vegetables is ideal for weight loss.
- A longer lifespan: Some ancestors who followed the Biblical diet lived for 120+ years.
- Energy and improved mood: Good dietary habits can improve overall well-being.
Practical Tips for Christian Women
- God designed food for our good. Fruits, vegetables, and clean meats are all from God.
- Ask yourself, “Did God make this-or is it man-made in a factory?”
- Learn what protein, carbs, and fat do.
- Replace man-made foods with God-made upgrades.
- Learning about food is part of wise stewardship.
- Retrain your body and mind to crave whole, God-given foods.
Addressing Confusion and Finding Clarity
Many diets talk about the bible but don't actually follow the true biblical principles. Instead of getting lost in the noise, consider these common pitfalls:
- Contradictory Advice
- Information Overload
- Unrealistic Expectations
- Hidden Agenda
- Not Biblical
The Bible Diet Collection
The Bible Diet Collection includes:
- Treasures of Healthy Living Digital Bible Study
- 40 Day Transformation Physically & Spiritually
- Fasting for Spiritual & Physical Transformation
- Bread-making: Baking With Ancient Grains
- Study of the Foods of the Bible
- Scripture Memory Cards
Testimonials
Follow Bible Diet students have seen success:
- Lowered cholesterol naturally
- Fewer cravings
- Meals that actually satisfy