The Adventist Way of Life

PART ONE    - Updated to now include part two!

Today more than ever there is a health craze! And what are people focusing on? Diet! People are looking for the “Holy Grail” diet. More books, articles, and magazines on how to eat better, what to eat, and even when to eat. People want to live longer, and many are.

National Geographic’s November 2005 issue titled; “The Secrets of Living Longer” did a piece on the Seventh Day Adventist health message including a picture of 100 year old, Marge Jetton pumping gas at a local gas station. This brings us to the question;

Does God want us to be healthy? Does He care about our diet?

First off, before I go on any further let me say right from the get go; The kingdom of Heaven is not a matter eating and drinking. What does this mean? To Seventh Day Adventist Christians it simply means that what we eat is indeed part of the Gospel message and part of Christian maturity but it is not something to be used in judging your neighbor or even your brother and sister in Christ.

As Christians we are taught to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. [Romans 12:1] What does this mean? It simply means we respect the “vessel” that God has given us to operate in. We should not abuse our bodies. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” [1 Corinthians 10:31]

Did you know that the first diet that God intended His children to eat was meat free? Yep! No killing animals, no eating dead animals at all! Let us look at God’s own words regarding this issue;

Genesis 1:29 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. “

According to the Word of God, man was created to live forever and would have without sin. After Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden of Eden, God said that they would surely die. [Genesis 3:3] But before sin even entered the picture, God informed His children to eat what He originaly intended them to eat; grains, nuts,herbs, fruits. We can bet that the water that they drank was the best that has ever been!

So what happened? Why are we eating dead animals today?

After the Flood of Noah, God added meat to mans diet.  God added specific animals, those that He termed “clean” to mans diet because while Noah and His family were on the ark floating around an earth covered with water there really wasn’t much to eat. God in his mercy provided “clean” meats during this time. Even in this God gave instruction that the blood must be drained from the carcass and the fat to be removed before eating it.

God said to His people; “You shall not eat any fat.” [Leviticus 7:23,24]

If we look at the life span of Humans before the flood, while they were eating the intended diet, we see a very long life span in people. As we mentioned, after the flood, God gave some meats to be “clean”. From that time on it took over 12 generations before the life span of man was reduced to about 120 years.  Why did it take so long? As man began to eat both clean and unclean meats his health began to dwindle and it, over time, effected his genetic make up.

God in His mercy allowed His people to continue eating the clean meats.  God instructed his priests to eat clean meat. The lamb was ultimately to become Jesus Christ.  He also told them not to eat the fat. He instructed them not to eat a number of animals and some seafood. Scavenger animals were not to be eaten! It is impossible for the flesh of any living creature to be wholesome when filth is in its natural element, and when it feeds upon every detestable thing.

Why? Because God cares! If you have children I am sure that you care for their health. How much more so does God care for our health? When Jesus came to this earth we know that He only ate the “clean” foods diet. He was obedient to God. He set us the example.

Doesn’t it make sense to eat like Jesus? In everything that He did he set an example of Godly living. So many people today want to be healthy, want to live longer..then let us follow Jesus and His example!

The prophet Daniel also set an example for us.

Daniel 1:8 (When Daniel and his three companions were carried to Babylon as captives) “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank.”

The “kings meat” would have included unclean meats, flesh with the blood and fat, and also foods first offered to idols.

Daniel 1:15 “And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.”  Indeed! Daniel was healthier than the pagan “flesh” eaters!

Look at what the New Testament says about our Christian bodies;

I Corinthians 3:16, 17 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

I Corinthians 6:19, 20 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Now, this brings us to “those verses” that seem to say that God doesn’t care what we eat. These verses are found in the New Testament and are used by many to justify eating “dirty” foods and even drinking alcohol. Let me start by saying this; If you are looking for excuses to drink liquor and eat unclean food you can make the Bible say what you want [out of context] to justify yourself. Only God knows your heart. But I challenge you to ask yourself this question; “Does my God want me to truly be the healthiest person that I can posibly be?” Hopefully the answer is; “Yes!”

Let us look at some of the verses used to justify eating poorly. The first one we could look at is found in Romans chapter fourteen, the same chapter people try and use to do away with the fourth commandment. [I have covered the Sabbath issue regarding this. Click here to read]

Romans chapter fouteen starts out; “Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. One person believes that one may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. The one who eats must not despise the one who abstains, and the one who abstains must not pass judgment on the one who eats; for God has welcomed him.”

We must recognize that the apostle Paul is addressing many Roman pagan converts in his letter to the Romans. They are now Christians and Paul wants them to understand that their old pagan customs have no power overthem regarding pagan “days” and pagan “foods”. The Roman food market contained meat for sale that had been offered to pagan idols. Some Christian converts would not eat this food. Paul addresses the same issue in 1st Corinthians 8:1-13. Let’s take a look at that;

“Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.

 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.”

This being said, we must recognize that the apostle Paul is not sanctioning eating anything but he is addressing the pagan food issue. The issue of Romans 14 is dealing with the situation between the Jewish and Gentile Christian converts over the eating of flesh that was not slaughtered by a rabbi, and in particular those animals that were sacrificed to idols as in 1 Corinthians 8-10.

Thus, the apostle Paul is not condemning vegetarians! Nor is he saying that vegatarians are “weak” in their faith. As a matter of fact, just like Daniel of old, todays vegetarians and “clean” food eaters are healthier and stronger than your average American. They are also living longer!

Lets look at another New Testament verse used as an excuse to eat poorly. It is found in 1st Timothy 4:1-5. Here again, in context, the apostle Paul is dealing with pagan practices and their relationship to Christian living.

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods which God  created to be received, with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”

We must understand that Paul here groups many issues together. The idea of “free love” is here addressed.  Some gnostic “Christians” practiced orgies. Those “forbiding to marry” was referrence to those couples who chose to live together and go from partner to partner without being married, much like many do today. This same pagan [probably gnostic sect of Christianity] was telling people to “obstain from certain foods”, most likely those which had been offered to idols.

The key to understanding this verse is that Paul says regarding the foods to eat are those “which God has created to be recieved“, and what foods did God create to be received? The “clean” foods of course! He also says it this way; “Every creature of God” which is to say; “Those from God, for us to eat.”

We also see that it is those foods that are “consecrated by the word“, that is, those foods that the Word of God sanctions.

Here again, we must take the whole Bible. Every verse regarding food is to be considered. Some people like to take just one verse and make it say something without the consideration of the whole Bible. The Bible is one book! How does God instruct us to study His word?

“Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” [Isaiah 28:9,10]

Here we see God instructing us to “rightly divide” the word of Truth. So again, we must understand context and the Bible’s message over all regarding food in order to see the clear picture.

Let us look at one more passage from the New Testament used to vindicate the eating of “dirty foods”. It is found in the New Testament book of Acts. The Acts of the Apostles! In Acts chapter 10 Peter gets a vision regarding an issue that he had. It seems that Peter had some trouble gathering with those “dirty Gentiles”. Now we must remember, Peter walked with Jesus. Peter up until this time was still not eating “dirty foods”. What? You mean the New Testament Peter after Christ had come and gone was still not eating those “dirty foods”? Yep. Because Jesus never taught him to!

Peter receives a vision in Acts chapter ten where he sees unclean food coming out of the sky and God commands him; “Kill and eat.” To which Peter responds; “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” So after awakening Peter wondered what the vision meant, not some literal aspect dealing with the invitation to eat dirty food.

“Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean..” [Acts 10:17] We find out that the unclean animals represented those “dirty gentiles” and the fact that God has accepted them. God was using a Hyperbole!

No where do we see God saying that the conclusion of this vision means that His children can now eat “dirty foods”. Remember what I said at the beginning of this article; If you are looking for excuses to eat unclean foods you can make the Bible [out of context] say anything that you wish.

In conclusion, I hope to continue this article with the reasons why most of todays “clean” foods are really unclean. We will look at the local meat markets and what they are putting into the foods. Yikes! You will be shocked!

May God open your eyes to the fact that He wants you healthy!

Written by, Eric William King [June 4th,2007]

PART TWO

Well, we have looked at some important verses in part one. In this second part I wish to start off by showing yet another New Testament scripture that some people use to claim the idea that God does not care what you eat. So sad that many think that God doesn’t care what one of His children eats. As Christians we serve a God who cares!

Let us look at the gospel of Mark chapter seven and verses one through nineteen:

 ”The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”

 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
   ” ‘These people honor me with their lips,
      but their hearts are far from me. 
 They worship me in vain;
      their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

 ”And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’ “

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

So, here is the scene, Jesus and His disciples are eating food and some Pahrisees walk by. We notice that they are not upset because they see unclean foods on the table but they are upset because the disciples did not follow the tradition of ceremonial hand washing. What is interesting is that the Jews had incorporated a practice that was originaly ment for the High Priests of old. They had applied Old Testament injunctions originally designed for priestly washing at the moment of a temple sacrifice.

The Pharisees believed that in addition to the written law there were “tradition laws” handed down by word of mouth. This idea is much like modern Roman Catholicisms stress on their church traditions for the securing of salvation.

So the subject was about this ceremonial washing as we read in verse three & four; “The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) “

Jesus goes on to point out other traditions that they practiced and how their traditions had twisted the true Word of God. After giving this teaching Jesus concluded: “For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)” [verse 19]

The apostle Mark adds the parentheses statement. We must understand the context. Mark’s conclusion is regarding the foods in question in verses one through five. The Pharisees believed that the disciples had somehow contaminated the clean foods by skipping the ceremonial washing. But Mark contends that this is not so. Jesus by skipping the ceremonial washing concluded that all foods on that table were still clean.

Now many skip the whole context of this passage and only stress verse nineteen. Why? Because that want to justify eating poorly. I have always stated that in Biblical reading, “context controls meaning”. And oh’ how very true this is!

Now, I said at the end of part one that I was going to show some reasons why even todays Biblicaly sanctioned foods are not very good for us to eat. We eat meat but meat was never intended for man to eat from the very creation of man.

Please consider the following portions of a letter sent to me:

Animals in factory farms are treated like meat, milk, and egg machines.

Chickens have their beaks seared off with a hot blade, and male cows and pigs are castrated without painkillers.

All farmed chickens, turkeys, and pigs spend their brief lives in dark and crowded warehouses, many of them so cramped that they can’t even turn around or spread a single wing. They are mired in their own waste, and the stench of ammonia fills the air.

Animals raised for food are bred and drugged to grow as large as possible as quickly as possible—many are so heavy that they become crippled under their own weight and die within inches of their water supply.

Animals in factory farms do not see the sun or get a breath of fresh air until they are prodded and crammed onto trucks for a nightmarish ride to the slaughterhouse, often through weather extremes and always without food or water. Many die during transport, and others are too sick or weak to walk off the truck after they reach the slaughterhouse. The animals who survive this hellish ordeal are hung upside-down and their throats are slit, often while they’re completely conscious. Many are still alive while they are skinned, hacked into pieces, or scalded in the defeathering tanks. Learn more about the factory-farming industry. By switching to a vegetarian diet, you can save more than 100 animals a year from this misery.

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.… Well-planned vegan [pure vegetarian] and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.