What's wrong with pork, anyway ?

[kahunabean]

Why do neither the Jews nor Muslims eat pork and pig meat ? How serious a 'sin' is it to bow to the temptation and have a bacon sarnie for yer brekkie ?

[Cetti]

In Jewish Law pigs are regarded as one of the 'unclean' animals (Leviticus11v7)but it also makes good sense. http://www.happinessonline.org/MoralCode/TheJewsLi
veWithTruth/p11.htm

[chijiki]

Muslims don't eat pork because it states in the Qur'an that Allah commanded "...... avoid the blood and flesh of swine .......". The Jewish people don't eat pork for similar reasons i.e. it states in the Bible (Leviticus 11 ) what they cannot eat. Any true believer of either of those faiths wouldn't want to break their religious laws and will avoid pork or anything that has been in contact with it.

[Cetti]

For some reason this bit didn't appear the first time.

Pigs are scavengers, and as such eat almost anything. In so doing, on occasion they ingest the parasite Trichinella spiralis, which is the cause of trichinosis in humans. Pigs also are known carriers (as intermediate hosts) of the tapeworm, Taenia solium, and of the parasite Echinococcus granulosis, which causes tumors in the liver, lungs, and other parts of the body. Raw or undercooked pork can be very dangerous when consumed by humans. Pigs can provide safe meat, if they are fed properly and if the muscle tissue is well cooked. But such conditions often did not prevail in ancient times.

[RCP]

A muslim friend of mine used to abstain from her beloved bacon butties for the three months of the year that her mother stayed with her. She'd really pig out (sorry) the day after she'd left. Religion was basically the best way to keep people healthy (makes a change to be able to give religion some positive press!).

[DavidUK]

So, basically then, it's nothing to do with religion or belief in God - just sensible dietary advice. In which case, why is it part of these religions. And, why did it stop at pork? Why didn't Allah command "...avoid certain mushrooms" or "...it's a sin to eat the green bits on potatoes"?

[Britney_UsA]

Also cannibals in south america and other places call human meat "long pork" because of the similar taste, texture and resemblence to pork from a pig....but bacon ..mmmmmmmmm ;0) thats another story

[chijiki]

DavidUK, I think that you have misunderstood. The original question specifically referred to PORK. It is a religious thing for both Muslim and Jewish people. The references to the Qur'an and the Bible go on to list other types of food that shouldn't be eaten. I think that you should try to understand the difference between morality and dietry advice.

[stanbee]

"Though an ancillary hygienic benefit has been attributed to the observance of kashruth, ( kosher) their ultimate purpose and rationale is simply to conform to the Divine Will as expressed in the Torah. " more here http://www.ou.org/kosher/primer.html

[KARL]

One answer to this is "God forbids ...." and that is the end of any discussion with those who give this answer because they are locked into unquestioning faith. To them it is abhorrent to ask "but why....?" because to do so amounts to blasphemy. Others will suggest that all (the main) religions were manmade by well-meaning thinkers in olden times, based on knowledge of their time and their desire to influence their society in a good direction. They laid down laws in the name of their chosen God, most or all eminently sensible, such as don't kill, don't steal, be considerate, stay clean, eat what is good for you, etc. Because the natural habitat and diet (anything, including sewage) of pigs leaves them likely to pick up all parasites going, their meat can be potentially seriously harmful. With today's knowledge and methods it is entirely possible to rear parasite free pigs and harvest healthy food products from them.

[KARL]

Part 2. It is a sin in both religions to eat anything from a pig but (at least until recently) pigs are reared in Israel and bacon is fairly popular there but stricter Jews want to stamp out the practice. Many Muslims do not worry unduly about whether pig products find their way into their food unbeknown to them, others eat pork although mostly in private if not strict secrecy. Arising from issues such as these, is the often seen accusations and arguments as to who is more religious (just like in some Christian communities) - who is the "better" Jew or Muslim. Some people leave the matter between the individual and his God but some take it upon themselves to judge and punish in their God's name. Again, sadly, religion is used to intimidate and oppress - not everyone's idea of the will of God. Sorry, ABeditor, this seems to be the only way to get around the inconvenience of losing the entire answer if it exceeds your limit - one has no way of knowing what needs to be edited out, short of laboriously counting the characters before, fingers crossed, submitting.

[stream]

In response to KARL, whilst certainly most real adherents to a faith folllow rules blindly, this is not the full picture. In all cases the individuals concerned feel certain in their faith due to questioning the vast majority of the rules laid down by that faith. They will have considered each law in turn and arrived at the conclusion that the laws could only have been made by a superior being. however, most religions i know of, and cetainly judaism and islam believe in some sort of grand reward/punishment scheme. what is the point of rewarding someone for agreeing with common sense? if you are happy to abide by the user's guide to life (of which in judaism and islam there is only one version)because they agree with it then where does belief and fith come in. I work with ms excel everyday and wouldn't expect anything to happen except what is described in the users guide. as such jews and muslims believe that certain laws were given to humankind to allow them to serve g-d out of pure devotion, not just because it is the only sensible option. this does not mean that the rules make no sense, rather the sense behind the laws has been obscured to allow the true believers to make room in their intellect for pure faith, yet the criteria on which they judge their faith are based on full analysis and debate of the facts.