Food Law FAQ

[RedOctober]

1. Do Molokans observe a dietary law, if so, what is the basis?

Yes, as outlined in Genesis 9:1-9, Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14 and Deuteronomy 12:23. To briefly state it:

• Animals must both chew a cud and be cloven hoofed, such as a cow.
• Fish must have fins and scales...that rules things like octopus, shrimp, etc. out.
• There is a list of acceptable birds that can be eaten.
• Certain types of locusts and grasshoppers can be eaten.
• Above all, blood must not be eaten and care must be taken to remove much blood as possible from an animal.

Its important to note however, there are numerous interpretations by Molokans with varying degree's of how strict the laws are observed. For example, I've met Molokans who consider Jewish Kosher not kosher due to the fact it does not include a blessing/prayer invoking Christ. But the "standard" appears to be what everyone acceptable to have at church. Most here on the MU have coined the terms Molokan Kosher or Kosher Style to describe it.


2. Is it the same as Jewish Kosher (Kashrut)?

Believe it or not, even amongst the Jewish people there are a variety of interpretations. Hence why you see so many different Kosher symbols on various packaging, for example K vs. U. I asked a co-worker why the variance he said that its basically pick a leader....follow him.

But by in large, Molokan kosher is not as strict as Jewish kosher. They do not eat the back sinew of the hip (where sirloin, etc. comes from) as they interpret Jacob's wrestling in Genesis 32:23-32 to imply this prohibition.

Also, they have a prohibition of combining dairy and meat which is interpreted from Exodus 23:19 and 34:26. Most Molokans interpret it as a form of cruelty. Bad enough your going to have veal then you make a sauce from the milk of its mother?!

Furthermore, there are numerous edicts, rules, practices, etc. the Jewish people follow due to Rabbi decree, council, etc. It gets very complicated, everything from separate utensils, plates and even sinks.

3. Is it the same as Muslim laws (Halaal)?

As with the Jewish kosher standard, there are also interpretational differences amongst the Muslims. Here in the western world they paint the Islamic religion as if one in unison when in actuality they are very fractured and consider each other group as heretics.

I would say however, Molokan kosher is more strict. Halaal does not have a prohibition on most shellfish. I discovered that way back in college when a Professor who was Muslim relayed a great place for shrimp to the class For more reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halaal.

4. Do all Molokans observe the dietary laws?

Largely yes, some with more strictness others more liberally. Virtually all agree though that swine is in no way kosher. The common euphemism "Pork is no meat" is constantly reaffirmed. In the past due to the fact it was a main staple of the diet of peasants and converts needed constant encouragement in that area. And today, in the Hellenistic-Christian world where swine, once again, is a common staple of their diets.

5. Will I go to Hell if I don't uphold the food laws?

I'm of the viewpoint that a yes or a no are both incorrect. Simply put, its not our job to judge such things. You most certainly can't say yes and saying no is basically stating that its "OK" to consume swine.

When a person asks that question its usually fairly rhetorical as well as a subconscious one. They often already know what the law is and that the New Testament "justifications" are out of context. The best answer I've ever heard to this is:

"I'm not God, I'm only his servant doing his best and I know he doesn't want me eating things that are detestable and unclean. As he would want all his servants doing"


6. Why does the Catholic, Orthodox & Protestant religions ignore the dietary laws?

The most common passage cited is Mark 7:18-20

And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

Seems pretty clear. Only one problem, its a mis-translation and done so on purpose. If you google Mark 7:19 or "Thus he declared all foods clean" you can see there is a rather large discussion about it. But the grand consensus is that its not a declaration of all foods clean. In one online commentary, it even stated that the word "declared" doesn't even exist in Hebrew.

So what does it mean, in the preceding and later verses it discusses the tradition of washing your hands before you eat, the Pharisees were making that an issue and Christ implies that not washing your hands and possibly eating a little bit of dirt will not defile you, but rather, impure thoughts do.

But just for arguments sake, lets say that is the incorrect translation is the correct one. A problem still arises. Jesus was a Jew. And like all Jews, they did not consider swine, lobster, etc. food. Swine for all intents and purposes were ancient garbage disposals....would you eat your garbage disposal?

7. Why does Apostle Paul seem to play down food laws in Romans 14?

Well, its simple really. He was preaching to Gentiles and one thing you must understand, they consumed swine predominantly due to economic factors. Slaughtering sheep for food was bad economics, they were a source of income for their wool. Likewise, cattle provided the important staple of milk, so their goes your daily milk supply. Finally, sheep and cattle don't exactly reproduce in large numbers all at once. Swine on the other hand did reproduce in large numbers and their uses were garbage disposals and leather.

If Apostle Paul told them they had to immediately cease the consumption of swine, then he was basically saying to convert they would have to starve themselves to death first. If anything Apostle Paul was implying they could convert while they were still on their swine diet but change their lifestyle and habits as time progressed. It is further evidenced in Romans 3:28-31

[28] For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.
[29] Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
[30] since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised through their faith.
[31] Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Verse 31 pretty much makes it clear we still have to uphold the law and that will include the food laws.

8. If we have grace then why do we have to uphold the law?

I almost always want to roll my eyes when I hear this one. This question is separate from the food laws but I'll cover it here as it inevitably comes to play. Prior to Christ, one would have to present an animal sacrifice to the Jewish Priesthood for atonement of sins. Christs ultimate sacrifice ended that with the gift of grace and salvation. Its simply impossible to follow the whole law, you easily end up breaking one law to observe another.

If one truly loves God, then they will still attempt to keep his commandments. To use an analogy, if a spouse comes home late once from being with his/her friends, the other spouse may forgive them. But its not a license to come home late every night despite the grief of the other spouse. The unfortunate thing is too many people focus on the grace part and assume its a license to sin or don't bother to try and make themselves a better person in the light of God and others. Apostle Paul even states we shouldn't increase grace to just increase it (Romans 6:1-3), but sadly most ignore this and Romans 3:31.

9. Are there more references the Catholic, Orthodox & Protestant religions use to ignore the food laws? Yes, I will discuss each one after this question when time permits.