dsmith

Can anyone explain, in rational terms, why certain religions dont eat pigs ?

e.g. Is there a historical reason that 1000 years ago, in certain areas, pigs were genuinely unhealthy to eat and so prohibitting their consumption was actually doing the population a favour ?

I've found a few texts that site their eating offal as a reason. Was this actually the first public health steps against mad cow disease ? If so - isnt it about time modern standards of rearing pigs made the prohibition redundant.

By rational I mean something other than "god said so" by the way.

rik1471

For many, "because God said so", is a perfectly rational reason.

OllyK

Judaism is over 2000 years old, Islam more like 1400. Pigs are considered unclean, in the simplest terms because they happily roll about in thier own ****.

TelBoy

What about sacred cows then?

OllyK

That's hindus and IIRC it's becuase one of their gods takes the form of a cow - and eating your god is bad karma, unless you're catholic in which case it's madatory.

TelBoy

Madatory, Freud would be proud. Don't edit it.

OllyK

I wish I could say it was planned

Trout

iTrader: (1)

If you look through the Bible and other ancient texts, the majority of banned foods make perfect sense in that without refrigeration the would have been very unhealthy.

Pigs are not actually that happy rolling in their own sh*t, wild pigs are relatively clean. However they are prone to various fluke and worm infestations that would not be too comfortable passed on to a human.

The same with old texts prohibiting bottom feeding fish and most shellfish. All sources of horrendous food poisoning if eaten out of season or not completely fresh.

Clearly with some religions, such as Hinduism, it is about iconography.

Rannoch

kammy

Swine fever!

lpski1

did anyone else laugh at the tenous, rational - rashons part of the post ?

TelBoy

So Rannoch, are you suggesting that such doctrines are outdated, irrelevent and irrational in today's modern world?

Trout

iTrader: (1)

In the same way that the ancient texts ban the 'wearing of mixed fibres' absolutely

I mean polycotton is hard to avoid nowadays

DCI Gene Hunt

I think it all went down hill shortly after they "went to market"......

David Lock

As Rannoch said it was a hygiene/temperature thing. Very sensible at the time. I am ducking out of the question about relevance today dl

SJ_Skyline

Building a house out of straw was a BIG mistake!

Trout

iTrader: (1)

If you go to hot countries today, middle east, India and want to buy some lamb or chicken.

Go to the butcher, hang around until there are enough customers. When the time is right, lamb is brought out of pen, strung up and slaughtered in front of you.

It is then immediately and expertly butchered and on the stove within a couple of hours.

Guaranteed fresh, no worries.

With chicken you get to take yours home, still alive

David Lock

And bloody tough it is too, I bet

Drunken Bungle Whore

There's also a passage somewhere about evil spirits being cast out of someone and into a 'herd of swine' - I always thought that had something to do with it too.

David Lock

Where's Dot Cotton when you need her?

pwhittle

I was a 30 year old dad when I realised that the pig didn't go to the market to buy food...

DCI Gene Hunt

What the **** did he buy then......

OllyK

'Ho's

lightning101

The pig arrested speeding motorists of course

CoobyS

Perhaps a Muslim can educate us on why pigs are banned from their religion?

OllyK

As Christianity and Islam are derived from Judaism, it may be more interesting to ask why Christians deviated from the no pigs rule.

stevencotton

Have you not actually tasted a bacon sandwich with some HP?!

SJ_Skyline

It should be RED sauce!

OllyK

Of course, but I'm not bound by the rules of some sky daddy.

Iwan

I tend to make 2 sandwiches, one with red and one with HP.

CooperS

Here's why they don't eat pigs, as sent to me totally out of the blue last week by one of my colleagues, who is from Pakistan:

Bob: Tell me why is it that a Muslim is very particular about
the words Halaal and Haraam; what do they mean?

Yunus: That which is permissible is termed Halaal and that which is not permissible is termed Haraam
and it is the Quran which draws the distinction between the two.

Bob: Can you give me an example?


Yunus: Yes, Islam has prohibited ! blood of any type. You will agree"that a chemical analysis of blood shows that it contains
an abundance of uric acid, a chemical substance which can be injurious to human health. "



"Bob: You're right about the toxic nature of uric acid, in the human being it is excreted as a waste product and in fact we are
told that 98% of the body's uric acid is extracted from the blood by the kidneys and removed through urination.


Yunus: Now I think that you'll appreciate the special prescribed method of animal slaughter in Islam.



BobWhat do you mean?
Yunus: You see, the wielder of the knife, whilst taking the
name of the'Almighty', makes an incision through the jugulaveins,leaving all other veins and organs intact.

Bob: I see, this causes the death of the animal by a total loss of blood from the! body, rather than an injury to any vital organ.

Yunus: Yes, were the organs, example the heart, the liver, or the brain crippled or damaged, the animal could die immediately
and its blood would congeal in its veins and would eventually permeate the flesh.
This implies that the animal flesh would be permeated and contaminated with uric acid and therefore very poisonous; only today did our
dietitians realize such a thing.

Bob: Again, while on the topic of food; Why do Muslims condemn the eating of pork or ham or any foods related to pigs or swine.

Yunus: Actually, apart from the Quran prohibiting the consumption of pork,bacon (pig flesh); in fact the Bible too in Leviticus
chapter 11,verse 8, regarding swine it says, ""of their flesh of the swine another name for pig)shall you not eat, and of their
carcass you shall not touch; they are " unclean to you.Further, did you
know that a pig cannot be slaughtered at the neck for it does not have a neck;that is according to its natural anatomy. A Muslim reasons
that if the pig was to be slaughtered and fit for human consumption the Creator would have provided it with a neck.

Nonetheless, all that aside, I am sure you are well informed about the harmful effects of the consumption of pork, in any form, be it pork chops, ham, bacon.

Bob: The medical science finds that there is a risk for various diseases as the pig is found to be a host for many parasites and
potential diseases.

Yunus: Yes, even apart from that, as we talked about uric acid content in the blood, it is important to note that the pig's biochemistry excretes only 2% of its total uric acid content,
the remaining 98% remains as an integral part of the body.


Please forward to others............it may answer some of
their
questions.