How was it determined that animals were clean or unclean?
In Old Testament days there were
no antibiotics or other types of
medication that we use so freely
today. So, God's primary purpose in
calling some animals unclean and
forbidding their consumption, was to
keep the people healthy. People were
forbidden to eat scaleless
fish--crustaceans,
shellfish--because those animals
were created to clean the ocean of
its bacteria. People were also told
not to eat pork. This is because
pigs do not have sweat glands, so
the impurities remain in the fat of
pigs.
Today, not only are we not under
the Law, which forbade the
consumption of those foods and we
have built up immunities to the
bacteria that would have caused much
damage to those people. And when we
do get sick from fish, pork, or
other ways--we have natural
homeopathic, herbal and prescription
medicines to help us counteract the
occasional ill-effect from some of
these foods. Our methods of cleaning
and storing such foods, has also
gotten much safer.
