The one on a little Christianity

One week ago I made a post on Haram, or the Muslim term for prohibited, during which I realised how little I know about Islam. In fact, I realised I don't have much in-depth knowledge about all the religions, and that is something I think is very important in a multi-racial, multi-religious society like Singapore.

So today (as promised) I shall delve into Christianity. Before I begin, here's a little disclaimer: I do not know much about Christianity. This post does not, in any way, promote or degrade Christianity, but its just a little effort to understand this wonderful religion better. Hence if I make any mistakes feel free to correct me. ;)

Ok, as a start I shall go into something that (almost) all Christians say - Amen. The word Amen is said many times during a church service and after prayers, but what does it mean? What do you mean when you say "Amen" at the end of a prayer? Amen is derived from a Hebrew word pronounced the same way, that has actually been translated to English spelling. Common English translations of the word amen include: "Verily", "Truly", "So be it", and "Let it be". The Hebrew root word implies "firmness, solidity and sureness." while a modern day expression equal to this might be, "That's right." Hence, Amen is used to indicate agreement and acceptance of that which another has expressed and it is understood.

Now, last week I posted about the prohibitations of Islam with regards to meat, and after some research on Christianity, I found some similarities in their prohibitations. Apparently, pork is also considered unclean in the Bible, as well as a number of other meats.

"Do not eat anything that the Lord has declared unclean. You may eat these animals: cattle, sheep, goats, deer, wild sheep, wild goats, or antelopes - any animals that have divided hoofs and that also chew the cud. You may not eat camels, rabbits, or badgers. They must be considered unclean... Do not eat pigs... They must be considered unclean... Do not eat any of these animals or even touch their dead bodies. You may eat any kind of fish that has fins and scales... You may eat any clean bird. But these are the kinds of birds you are not to eat: eagles, owls, hawks, falcons; buzzards, vultures, crows; ostriches; seagulls, storks, herons, pelicans, cormorants; hoopoes; and bats." [Yes, bats are listed here as a type of bird!]
Deuteronomy 14:3-18 (also Leviticus 11:1-47)

So apparently, it is okay to eat meat, but not all types. But seeing most modern christians eat almost any form of meat, I think this is not a really well observed rule.

However, some christians are advocating a vegetarian diet for saying that based on compassion, it is a more suitable diet for all christians. We all know about the cruelty of the meat industry, how chickens are kept in small coops, how pigs have their throats slit and made to run till they bleed to death, and how certain birds are de-beaked and de-clawed all without the use of anesthetics. So on grounds of compassion, all humans should be vegetarian, not to mention the health reasons. In fact, in the beginning the Bible mentions this:

He created them male and female, blessed them, and said, "Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds and all the wild animals. I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food" - and it was done. God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased.
- Genesis 1:27-31

So it seems that God intended that humans (Adam and Eve) as well as the animals to be vegetarian. And that humans would live in harmony with the animals. Well, this is getting a little confusing, so should christians be allowed to eat meat or not? Well, I guess the answer is yes and no, which basically means its all up to you.

Personally I am not a christian, but I follow one basic rule on meat (or fish) - if the meat comes from an animal that is already dead/slaughtered before I ordered it (eg at the wet market or supermarket) then I will buy and eat it. What this means is that I will not buy live chickens and slaughter them, nor will I order live seafood and ask the chef to cook it for me. Basically, in my view, what's dead is already dead, whether you eat it or not, its dead. Of course it'd be great if all of us were vegetarian and hence no more cute furry animals had to be killed, but what are the chances of that? And as long as there is a demand for meat, the animals will be slaughtered, and so I would rather eat their meat than let the meat rot and let their death be in vain...

Click here for more information on Christianity and here for more on Amen.