> The cleanliness laws in Leviticus (much quoted of late) were designed
> to protect the community. Shellfish can make people sick. Pigs are
> genetically close enough to humans to share diseases. Unsafe sexual
> practices were strictly forbidden. They were “toevah.” Although
> “toevah” gets unfortunately translated “abomination” in some versions,
> it doesn’t signify intrinsic evil, but rather ritually unclean. > Foreign.
>
> Moses uses the word when talking to Pharoah: Hebrew rituals are
> “toevah” to the Egyptians. They’re foreign. While Yahweh clearly
> forbade these practices, they were not considered evil. Just, well,
> pagan.
>
> I was reminded of the importance of these laws last weekend in
> Galveston. Oysters, mussels and clams are off the menu for the rest of
> the year down here, thanks to an algae bloom. Sherlfish, the great
> garbage collectors of the ocean suck this up and produce a toxin that
> can make us humans really, really sick. So the Texas Department of
> Health has shut down shellfishing. It’s unclean: nausea, vomiting,
> cramps and so on. (Bloom spells doom for oysters
> http://www.khou.com/news/neighborhood-news/Galveston-Bloom-spells-doom-for-oy…
> )
>
> There’s an important shift that takes place in Acts 11. In Peter’s
> vision God says not to worry about the unclean stuff anymore. This
> must have been a shocking shift for orthodox Jews. Paul had been
> trained as a Pharisee. I can’t imagine how he felt when he first ate
> pork. Guilt?
>
> The early Christians felt the cleanliness codes of the Old Covenant
> were not applicable given the new freedom in Christ. They were
> burdensome.
>
> So Paul says boldly, “If you are led by the Spirit you are no longer
> under the law
> to protect the community. Shellfish can make people sick. Pigs are
> genetically close enough to humans to share diseases. Unsafe sexual
> practices were strictly forbidden. They were “toevah.” Although
> “toevah” gets unfortunately translated “abomination” in some versions,
> it doesn’t signify intrinsic evil, but rather ritually unclean. > Foreign.
>
> Moses uses the word when talking to Pharoah: Hebrew rituals are
> “toevah” to the Egyptians. They’re foreign. While Yahweh clearly
> forbade these practices, they were not considered evil. Just, well,
> pagan.
>
> I was reminded of the importance of these laws last weekend in
> Galveston. Oysters, mussels and clams are off the menu for the rest of
> the year down here, thanks to an algae bloom. Sherlfish, the great
> garbage collectors of the ocean suck this up and produce a toxin that
> can make us humans really, really sick. So the Texas Department of
> Health has shut down shellfishing. It’s unclean: nausea, vomiting,
> cramps and so on. (Bloom spells doom for oysters
> http://www.khou.com/news/neighborhood-news/Galveston-Bloom-spells-doom-for-oy…
> )
>
> There’s an important shift that takes place in Acts 11. In Peter’s
> vision God says not to worry about the unclean stuff anymore. This
> must have been a shocking shift for orthodox Jews. Paul had been
> trained as a Pharisee. I can’t imagine how he felt when he first ate
> pork. Guilt?
>
> The early Christians felt the cleanliness codes of the Old Covenant
> were not applicable given the new freedom in Christ. They were
> burdensome.
>
> So Paul says boldly, “If you are led by the Spirit you are no longer
> under the law
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