Ruling on eating pork in Christianity as per Bible?

Question

I am very new to Christanity and so kindly bear with me if my question appears novice. I want to know what is the ruling on eating pork in Christianity as per Bible?

Answer 1

Unlike Judaism, Christianity has no rule prohibiting (or commanding) the eating of pork. In fact, in Acts 10:9-16, Peter has a vision where a sheet is lowered from Heaven with "all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds" on it. He is then commanded to get up, kill, and eat the animals. To this, Peter is shocked and replies that he has never eaten anything unclean (as per the Judaic Law). To this, God replies:

Acts 10:15 (NLT)
¹⁵ But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

There is of course a deeper meaning, but on the surface, God is telling Peter that nothing is unclean now (that is, no animals are unclean). This includes pigs and pork, so eating bacon and the like is perfectly acceptable (and happens quite often in the United States) among Christians. Another piece of support is that the four things still considered prohibited for Christians are listed in Acts 15:

Acts 15:29 (NLT)
²⁹ You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.

None of these four actions apply to typical ways to consume pork. So, as a Christian, it is perfectly fine to eat pork.

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As noted by waxeagle in a comment, not all Christians consider it acceptable to eat pork. Some sects maintain a kosher lifestyle whereas others abstain from meat entirely. However, these don't compose a significant portion of Christianity. The best course of action is to ask the Christian group you're part of.

Answer 2

Please excuse my comments to this answer as I was in a middle of a debate when typing them. My opinion is not relevant to the question.

Simply Jesus permits the food.

Mark 7:17-19 NIV

17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

AND

Matthew 15:10-20 ESV

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.[c] And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?[d] 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Answer 3

Act 10, Peter's vision was about MEN, not food. The whole point of the vision was that gentiles were to be included in the covenant, not to change non-food to food. The bottom line is this: Christians are supposed to be Christlike. If Jesus did it, we do it. If He didn't we don't.

Act 10:28 says ‘’ And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean’’.

So you can all see that it was not referring actually to food but Men because it was a vision. And No records in the bible that the Jesus Christ or His Disciples ate Pork Meat. Some Christians just reading the bible half way, read full chapter before concluding on issues.

Answer 4

Acts ten is about men, not food. Even Peter declares he has never eaten unclean food. thiis is obviously after everything Jesus accomplished on Earth during his first coming. This should be an obvious clue that Jew and Gentile alike are still under Mosaic Law. As to how the Law pertains to sacrifices, it specifically states who is to perform the sacrifices and where (God's Temple). He allowed his temple to be destroyed after Jesus returned to heaven which means we cannot perform those sacrifices. That is why Jesus came, to be the ultimate sacrifice.

Answer 5

@gpuguy, Jesus finished with "...until all is accomplished." Since he didn't go into detail about accomplishment, it might be a point of debate as to what this means. The two ideas I've considered are:

1. the end of time

   Based on other things, like what you've mentioned, it would be complicated to reconcile this statement with others that seem to say that the Mosaic law doesn't apply to us. It would seem that there is some sort of contradiction between being bound by the law and being freed from the law.

2. Jesus' mission on earth is finished.

   Whereas, if the accomplishment referred to Jesus' mission as a man (cf. Jn 19:30, "It is finished."), it is very straightforward (for me) to reconcile this with Jesus' own statements and those of Paul concerning the old law and the "new way." Jesus death (and eventual resurrection) has some strong suggestions that the Mosaic law ("the law of sin and death," as Paul says it; Ro 8:2) is a thing of the past, like the veil in the temple being torn in two. Jesus came to fulfill the law (which might, in itself, suggest that the law was no longer needed).

Jesus created a new covenant, separate and distinct from the Mosaic law.

Jeremiah 31:31 (NASB)
"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

Luke 22:19-20 (NASB)
And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood."

Paul asserts that the Law is good and had a purpose, but that it has been superseded:

Romans 8:2 (NASB)
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

I'm willing to entertain arguments about how we (all Christians) are still bound by the Mosaic law, but they would need to address the requirement to obey all of the law, including animal sacrifices (which seem completely unnecessary since Jesus is our once-and-for-all atoning sacrifice), temple worship, etc.

(EDIT:Added Conclusion)
To specifically address the question of whether Christians should abstain from eating pork: There's no reason why they should abstain, since the Christians are not under the Mosaic law.