Does God Care What We Wear or Eat?
9 This question really goes to the heart of the minute and rigorous laws that some religions have about the most innocuous parts of our lives, not limited to just clothing and eating restrictions. 2These types of rules are found in many religions, even those that are otherwise considered to be very liberal and free from dogmatic concepts. 3The question is simple: why do these things matter?
Foods That Are Prohibited
40ut of the major mainstream religions, Judaism has the most restrictive rules about diet. 5These come specifically from the book of Vayikra (Leviticus in the 0ld Testament of the Bible). 6Though these rules are found in the Bible, Christians on the whole have come to accept that these rules are no longer required by God, following the coming of Jesus. (71t is interesting how they have chosen to ignore this part of the Bible.) 8The term kosher is used to describe the diet as laid out in the Torah.
9Vayikra 11 is where you will find the most rules about clean versus unclean animals. 1OThe entire section is too long to quote here, but it basically outlines a rather complex list of animals based on whether they have cloven hooves or chew their cud. 11Certain fish may or may not be eaten depending on whether or not they have scales:
“Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water you are to regard as unclean. And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you. (Vayikra 11:2 – 12)
12Jewish tradition has taken it one step further and also forbidden the consumption of meat and dairy at the same time. 13They even extend that to mean these foods can never physically touch, and cannot be cooked in the same pots or stored in the same coolers. 14This is not a rule explicitly laid out in any scripture, but comes from a rabbinical interpretation of one single verse in Shemot:
“Bring the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother s milk (Shemot 12:19)
15From this single line, the lives of kosher-keeping Jews are affected. 16They seem to overlook the fact that the Torah also states that all plants and animals are given to us to eat:
“Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. (Bereshit 9:3)
171slam is known for its cultural restrictions, but there are only a few rules when it comes to diet. 18Pork is forbidden as is the blood of any animal. 19Animals must also be slaughtered a certain way to ensure that no blood remains in the meat (this applies to Jewish kosher laws as well). 20Alcohol is also forbidden. 21The Quran does make it clear that these laws can be broken if the believer has no other choice.
22This practice is also common amongst the Yoruba religion, whereby adherents are informed that their particular god does not like certain foodstuff. 231n order to appease the orisha, followers are advised to avoid certain foods so as not to anger the gods. 24Why this is so is not specifically known, but an explanation can be seen in the nature of these gods. 25Unlike the Abrahamic religions that see their God as omnipotent, these gods are said to harbour human-like traits; therefore, are averse to certain kinds of food. 26There is no belief that severe punishment will necessarily follow due to consumption.
Avoiding Violence with Vegetarianism
27This is one area where food rules do have a reasonable spiritual foundation. 28A religion that espouses a life of non-violence will naturally insist that followers abstain from eating food from animals. 29This is more about the actions behind the food, rather than the actual food itself though. 30Depending upon the faith, there are often exceptions for eggs and dairy products, since the animals that produce them are not killed.
31Many Hindus follow a vegetarian lifestyle for these reasons, though the dietary rules laid out in their many sacred texts can be contradictory. 32Beef is usually restricted or forbidden but not because it is considered unclean in anyway. 331n fact, the cow is considered a very holy animal, and as such they choose to protect it.
34A very extreme version of this is found in Jainism. 35Their philosophy of non-violence extends to plant life as well as animals. 36For example, root vegetables are not eaten, because their harvest will not only kill the plant, but also many insects in the process of digging up the roots.
Hygiene Concerns
370ne possible explanation for some of the food rules found in the 0ld Testament is that they were included more as health warnings than for a true spiritual purpose. 38Perhaps at the time, certain foods were more likely to make people ill, so they were advised to avoid them. 391t would have been a better choice to say so truthfully, rather than make a Godly edict about which foods must not be eaten. 40However, there are some scriptural references that make this an unlikely explanation:
“You will make yourself unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening (Leviticus 11:24)
41If this were about germs and other health-related matters, then why would a person only be unclean until the sun goes down? 42It would appear that there is much more to this than just germs.
43The concept of being spiritually unclean, versus physically unclean is an odd one to understand. 44If the spirit transcends the body, then it couldn t possibly be affected by the foods we eat.
Modesty
45Again, some rules do have a somewhat reasonable explanation behind them – from a moral perspective for instance. 46When it comes to clothing, the idea is that believers of many religions must be modest in their attire.
47The concept of being modest is not extreme in itself, and is found throughout many mainstream and even alternative religious paths. 48But why would that be? 49Why is it so important to God that we hide parts of our bodies? 5OIf we have been made in his image, why should modesty even be an issue?
51Though the clothing restrictions are on the whole harmless, when they become so drastic as to require a person (usually a woman) to cover their heads and/or faces in order to be appropriate in public, this runs into the area of subjugation.
52It s worth noting that most of the rules apply to women much more than to men. 53In many cases it has become a way to control women and keep them in a lower status in society. 54Dress restrictions are well known in Islam, yet the Quran offers only a handful of vague rules about modesty. 55The need for a woman to be covered in black from head to toe is a cultural rule rather than a spiritual one.
560ne example of a spiritual dress code that isn t based on modesty is the turban of the Sikhs. 57It is prohibited in their faith to cut one s hair. ( 580f course, this could fall into one of these minutiae rules itself. 59Was this rule really inspired by God?) 6O0ne of the last gurus declared that the turban must be worn as a symbol of being Sikh, though it is also simply a handy way to wear extremely long hair.
Other Minutiae Rules
61Though eating restrictions and dress-codes are the most common type of pointless rules found in mainstream religions, there are others.
62Here are a few examples found in Vayikra (Leviticus):
“Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head, or clip off the edges of your beard. (Vayikra 19:27)
“Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seeds. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of materials (Vayikra 19:19)
63The ironic thing is that Christians no longer follow these rules. (64Jews do.) 65Christians judge them to be immaterial in a modern world, yet insist other rules must be followed to the letter. 66Unless God himself decides to reveal more to us, how can people make these determinations in good faith?
Test of Obedience?
671t is often explained that these rules are ways to show dedication to God. 68But why would a deity put pointless restrictions on people? 69Just to see if they'll listen? 70As a form of testing devotion? 710ther explanations involve the viewpoint that God was trying to create a clear and visible boundary between believers and non-believers. 72How one feels in their heart is unseen so why would such arbitrary practices need to be followed to demonstrate dedication to God?
73With so many things that we could be doing or thinking, it makes little or no sense why God is concerned with clothing styles or food choices. 74You would think that a loving deity would be happy if you lived a good life and helped others, rather than fuss over what type of meat or vegetable one chose to eat – or not.