Cover Story

by Dale Grauman

The most common foods forbidden by Leviticus 11 are pork and shellfish

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Author says 'No Thanks' to
Crab Cakes, Hasenpfeffer, Pig Feet

Copyright 2005. --First Fruits of Zion, photo

Most Christians might only consider their thighs before downing a Sausage McMuffin. However, Hope Egan, author of "Holy Cow! Does God Care About What We Eat?" believes that eating foods forbidden in the Old Testament is a matter of spiritual health as well.

Mrs. Egan is an editor for First Fruits of Zion publishing. The company subscribes to what she calls a "Hebraic roots" movement. "We like to think that all of the Bible's commands are still in play," Mrs. Egan said. These commands include Sabbath observance, circumcision, Hebrew religious holidays, and dietary laws.

"There's an entire chapter in Leviticus 11 that's dedicated and outlined by God as to which animals he intends for us to eat and which ones he doesn't," Mrs. Egan said, "and I just can't find any really good reason why they wouldn't apply [to Christians]."

Although she follows Old Testament laws, Mrs. Egan does not like to label herself kosher. "It's like a Rorschach test," she said, "Everybody has their own idea of what [kosher] means."

A strictly kosher lifestyle, as viewed in mainstream Judaism, would include precautions such as owning two sets of dishes, one for dairy and one for meat, to avoid the Exodus 23 prohibition against boiling a young goat in its mother's milk. Mrs. Egan does not bother to segregate her cookery.

The most popular foods forbidden by Leviticus 11 include pork and shellfish. Rabbits, monitor lizards, and insects also populate the list.

Foods and ingredients derived from unclean animals are also considered unclean. "Lard is generally made from hog fat, so that is considered off-limits," Mrs. Egan said. "Things like resinous glaze and shellac are made of ground up bugs used to coat candy." Insects are also used for some food dyes and natural flavors.

Mrs. Egan adds, however, that her concern is not to nitpick at Christians' diets, but to help them consider eating as a possible issue of Christian obedience.

Mrs. Egan grew up in what she calls a "secular Jewish" household, and her family did not observe biblical dietary restrictions. "I always thought I could eat anything I want as long as I exercise enough to offset the calories," she said.

After a car accident left her temporarily unable to exercise, Mrs. Egan realized that she had developed compulsive eating habits. She combated impulsive, three-a-day trips to the office candy machine by attending a 12-step program. "That's where I discovered that the God of my ancestors was still alive and well, working in peoples' lives," Mrs. Egan said.

The 12-step program was a success. She adopted a healthy diet and became a Christian shortly thereafter.

As a young Christian, Mrs. Egan continued to eat pork; ribs were one of her favorite foods. This began to change when she overheard a Christian friend ask a waiter if a bowl of split-pea soup contained ham.

"I immediately just assumed that she was a vegetarian, but when I asked her about it she explained that she followed the meat guidelines found in Leviticus 11," Mrs. Egan said. "I had never heard of taking some aspect of traditional kosher and following only a small part of it, but it made sense because that was what was actually in the Bible."

The last time Mrs. Egan ate pork was a mishap involving a turkey-and-bacon sandwich. "Mid-chew I got up and spit it out," she said, comparing the feeling of eating pork to accidentally ingesting a rat.

Dr. Karl Kutz, professor of Old Testament and biblical languages at Multnomah, believes that this perspective "oversimplifies the relationship between the laws of unclean foods and the rest of the Torah." He points out that the purpose of food laws centers on God's effort to make the Israelites a distinct group of people.

Dr. Kutz understands the dietary laws as part of the old covenant, which the author of Hebrews argues has been replaced. "Hebrews brings up the point that if you change one aspect of the law code, you change the whole thing," Dr. Kutz said, also noting that Hebrews portrays Jesus' priesthood as a departure from the Mosaic law.

Mrs. Egan does not believe that diet is an issue of salvation, but one of obedience. "[My book] is addressed to believers," she said. "We're all in, so let's talk about what living it out looks like."

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