Can I Eat This Turkey?

I took my mom to the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving 2011 so she could get some things for the Thanksgiving meal. On the way back to her place, she mentioned she had a turkey she needed to return: a Butterball frozen turkey. I asked why the need to return a turkey? She said she discovered all Butterball turkeys were "halal certified" under the Muslim custom, so she felt she couldn't eat it. After talking for a little bit, I learned that she understood the Scriptures to say if one has knowledge that meat was a part of a non-Christian religious ceremony, one could not eat that meat.

Halal in the Muslim religion simply means "lawful" or "permissible" and is used in connection with food to indicate whether or not it can be eaten by a faithful Muslim (just as kosher refers to foods that can be eaten by faithful Jews). The turkey goes through a special process that is done swiftly with respect and compassion to avoid as much as possible any pain or discomfort for the animal. However, it is prayed over in the name of Allah, and this causes a lot of concern for some Christians. It has to do with those interesting passages in the Bible concerning the eating of meat sacrificed to idols.

The Bible instructs us concerning eating meat sacrificed to idols (or in the name of false gods and false religion):

1. There is only one true and living God who knows no other god besides Him (Isaiah 43:10). He is the creator of the animals. An idol or false religion is nothing and is simply empty practices and customs (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

2. Paul says there is nothing wrong with eating meat sacrificed to idols if you know and understand point #1. The instruction from the Holy Spirit to the Gentile converts in Acts 15:29 was for brand new converts who needed to distance themselves from their pagan backgrounds. As they grew in the faith and matured, they would understand that idols and pagan religions are nothing and the eating of meat sacrificed to idols would be no big deal anymore. Paul calls those "weak-minded" and basically immature who think eating meat sacrificed to idols has significance (1 Corinthians 8:7, 10, 12). A mature Christian can eat anything and give praise to the only true and living God for it without worrying if it was sacrificed to an idol or prayed over in the name of Allah.

3. There are those who need more growth in the faith and still think false religion has significance. For their sake, do not eat meat sacrificed to idols in front of them. They could give in to what basically amounts to peer pressure (following your example in order to fit in) and eat with a guilty conscience, and you in essence sin against Christ because of it. Eating meat sacrificed to idols in the presence of someone who thinks it is wrong (or drinking alcohol or smoking a cigarette or anything else here applies) drags the gospel of Jesus Christ through the mud. Be VERY mindful of your brother and sister in Christ (1 Corinthians 8:9-13; 10:24). If a brother or sister notes something as wrong, for his or her sake don't do that in front of him (1 Corinthians 10:28-29). It doesn't matter if you think it will help him grow. It doesn't matter if you think he is wrong. It doesn't matter if you feel you have the right to do so in Jesus Christ. DO NOT DO IT or you yourself will be sinning against Christ! As well, there's no need to broadcast the fact that people are eating a "halal certified" turkey. Just don't do anything that will destroy a person's faith or hurt a person's conscience. And if you just can't help it or if there is any question, then for the sake of those who think eating a "halal certified" turkey is wrong, just make other arrangements.

4. When you buy meat or when you are invited to an unbeliever's house for a meal, don't ask questions. There's no need. Just buy the meat or eat what is set before you and give thanks to God. Otherwise, you will end up looking like a jerk and offending your host and the gospel will lose a lot of its power in that situation (1 Corinthians 10:25-27). As well, there is no need to write Butterball or any other provider of meats and ask religious questions. If you have real concerns about it, instead of writing and sending letters, read the letter Paul already wrote to Corinth with Spirit-inspired instruction concerning idols and false religions (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). Spend time meditating on that instead of filling people's minds with a disgust toward Muslims or other religions--I don't care how many Muslims are trying to kill Americans. Christ wants them all to hear His gospel and see it in practice so they have that much more of an opportunity to come to Him!

Eat your hams and turkeys and beef and whatever else this holiday season in good conscience. Always give the praise to God through Jesus Christ, and always think of others before you think of yourself.

To the only true and living God, always faithful, full of patience and love for those who call upon His name, to Him we will always praise and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you have any questions, post below or email me.

Misconceptions in the Christmas Story

We get a healthy dose of the story of Christ's birth this time of year:

A very pregnant Mary and her fiancee Joseph travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and Mary is riding on a donkey.  As they are entering Bethlehem city limits, Mary starts going into labor, but they find there is no room at all in any inn.  They have to settle for the barn out back, and, surrounded by talking cattle, sheep, chickens and other animals, Jesus is born and placed in a manger to sleep.  And this newborn did not make a sound. 

Meanwhile, there are shepherds in the field, and a myriad of angels appears and begins singing in Latin!  And then three kings from eastern countries come to Jerusalem by following a wandering star that later shows them the way to Jesus by stopping and shining over the barn where the baby Jesus is sleeping.  The shepherds and kings together kneel in worship, and Jesus is presented with the gold, frankincense and myrrh.    

Is any of this true?  The only place we can find anything concerning the events of the birth of Jesus are Matthew 2 and Luke 2.

1.  Did Mary go into labor as soon as they arrived in Bethlehem?  Maybe, but the Bible actually indicates they were in Bethlehem for a time before she went into labor.  "...while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth"  (Luke 2:6).

2.  Did Mary ride on a donkey?  Maybe, but the Bible does not say.

3.  Was Jesus born in a barn or stable?  A manger is quite common in a stable or barn--it is a feeding trough for barnyard animals.  But the Greek word translated as "inn" in Luke 2:7 is used only 3 times in the New Testament.  The other two times, it is translated as "guest room" (Mark 14:14; Luke 22:11).  It is more likely that Joseph and Mary stayed with relatives in Bethlehem, and preparations had not been made to welcome a baby into the world, so a manger was brought inside, washed out, and used as a crib.  Or maybe the room in which they stayed was too small to have a crib, so a smaller manger was employed.  Jesus was probably not born in a stable.

4.  Did the animals talk at Jesus' birth?  This point is far less common than the others covered here, but I remember it from my childhood.  Maybe it was in a cartoon or something, but I've always carried around with me the idea that the animals actually spoke in amazement at the birth of Jesus.  Given that He was probably born in a house rather than a stable, this becomes moot, but the Bible does not say whether the animals talked when Jesus was born.

5.  Did Jesus cry when He was a baby?  I figure Philippians 2:7 might indicate that He did--He was the Word made flesh.  His flesh gestated in Mary's womb just like every other baby.  He was born just like every other baby.  Why wouldn't He cry like every other baby?  I think some people have this perfect little idea of infant Jesus looking up at Mary with big blue eyes and saying in a British accent, "Mother, don't worry about feeding me.  I shall command the birds to drop manna on my lips until I am filled.  And do not worry about changing diapers.  I shall manipulate my physical aspects to do away with diapers altogether!"  No, He cried!  If Jesus wept when Mary told Him of Lazarus' passing (John 11:35), He cried as a baby.  He had smelly diapers.  He was human in every aspect so that He could say to any one of us on the planet that He is one of us!  He gave up His godhood and became a man.  This is the gospel in its purest form.  If Jesus didn't get scared at animal noises and cry (which is not a sin or anything to be embarrassed about), how was He human?  But that's all beside the point--the Bible doesn't mention anything about whether He cried or not.

6.  Were there shepherds in the fields the night of December 25?  Maybe.  Some say Winter was not a time to have sheep out in the fields, but the climate of Judaea south of Jerusalem in the winter months could support it.  But they were more likely out in the fields with sheep from March thru September,  and I believe that Jesus was born at or closer to Passover.

7.  Did the angels sing for the shepherds?  Well, they praised God, and that's all the Bible says.  One angel appeared to the shepherds and told them where to look for the new King.  And then myriads of angels appeared and began to praise God--probably in Hebrew or Aramaic or Greek (depending on the language of the shepherds--they would have praised in a manner that the shepherds understood what they were saying).

8.  How many kings or wise men were there?    The Bible calls them magi which was a group of wise men.  The Bible never calls them kings.  They brought three different types of gifts--gold, frankincense and myrrh.  This doesn't necessarily mean three wise men each gave a gift (though it is possible).  It could be that a group of wise men presented gold, another group presented frankincense, and another group presented myrrh.  The Bible just doesn't place any importance on how many wise men there were.  But you know the saying, though--"The more, the merrier."  What if a large number of wise men came to Bethlehem to see the new king--a large enough party that, when they ignored Herod's request to inform him of Jesus' whereabouts, Herod became threatened enough and paranoid enough to attempt to murder the new King?

9.  Did the star wander around in the sky until it stopped over the place where Jesus lay?  Most likely not.  Following the stars was the GPS of the 1st Century.  Constellations were identified and used to determine direction at night, and the magi were simply doing this.  The wording in English in Matthew 2:9, however, makes it seem like the star moved around.  Apparently, there was a bright star that was an indication to the magi of a new king born in Judaea.  And they simply used this star as a navigation point in the sky.  My translation of Matthew 2:9 is:

"When they heard the king, they left, and, BEHOLD!  the star they saw in the east led them until it showed itself fixed over the place the young child was."  

10.  Did the wise men show up the same night Jesus was born?  Probably not. The way Matthew records the event, it seems the magi came to Jerusalem later. Herod slew all the male infants in Bethlehem that were two years old and younger according to the time the magi told him the star appeared. So Jesus was probably six months to a year old from birth before the magi came. I've written elsewhere that I believe Jesus was born around Passover of 1 B.C., and there was a noted eclipse that occurred December 29, 1 B.C., and Herod died soon after that. I think Jesus and family left for Egypt about this time, which means Jesus was about 9 months old at that time, but 18 months if they continued to reckon his age from conception as the ancients had done for over 3500 years.

Perhaps there are other misconceptions and ideas that you can think of, but these are the ones I'm familiar with.  If you know of others, let me know.

The Eclipse of Herod and the Birth of Jesus

"In the third year of the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, in the month called December, in the morning of the 10th day of that month, an eclipse of the moon could be seen over the city of New York."

Perhaps if we were living in ancient days, a historian would account for this morning's eclipse in that manner. Or, he could link it to an event--"A man tried to steal a car from an off-duty Newark, NJ, police officer and was shot in the chest. And that very morning, there was an eclipse of the moon." You can read the article about this carjacking here--I didn't just make it up. ;-)

Eclipses and other astronomical phenomena (not astrological, mind you!) are used just as God decreed--"let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Genesis 1:14). Eclipses especially can be used to date certain historical events prior to the anno domini calendral system. The ancients placed tremendous stock in eclipses as omens of impending doom or death. Thanks to this, we have many eclipses recorded by ancient historians and can use these to try to determine when a particular event happened.

The First Century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus recorded an eclipse in connection with some atrocities commited by Herod (the baby killer). Some people had learned that Herod was not recovering from his horrible illness, so they decided to tear down all the things Herod had built in Jerusalem that were contrary to the Law of Moses. Herod had these people executed by being burned alive. "And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon" (Antiquities 17:167).

The significance of this eclipse is two-fold: 1) It is the only eclipse Josephus mentions, and 2) he mentions it unknowingly in connection with events surrounding the birth of Jesus. Scholars throughout the ages have focused on this eclipse in attempting to determine the year in which Jesus was born. That date ranges from 10 B.C. into the early years of the First Century A.D. (as we know it).

At the risk of writing something that is absolutely boring, this is simply a presentation of my conclusion with supporting evidence based on my own study: Jesus was born at Passover in 1 B.C., and Herod died soon after the eclipse of December 29, 1 B.C. but before the Passover of 1 A.D.

These are the facts as presented in the Bible:

1. Jesus was about 30 years old at His baptism (Luke 3:23). This does not mean he was in his late 20's. This means he was 29 about to turn 30, and He turned 30 at the Passover of John 2.

2. The ministry of John began in the 15th year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1-2).

3. Jesus was born in the days of Herod and of Augustus (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:1).

What we must do first is establish with certainty when the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius occurred. Regardless of whether or not Tiberius co-reigned with Augustus a certain amount of time, both Suetonius and Tacitus, First and early Second Century Roman historians, record Tiberius' death as occurring during the consulship of Proculus and Nigrinus (37 A.D.) in the 23rd year of his reign. Likewise, Josephus gives a reign-length of 22 years, 5 months, 3 days (Tiberius had reigned 22 full years and then reigned 5 months and 3 days of his 23rd year). All three are reckoning his reign from the death of Augustus in 14 A.D. Additionally, both Suetonius (Tiberius, 73) and Tacitus (Annals VI) say Tiberius died in his 78th year. Suetonius (Tiberius, 5) says Tiberius was born in the year Lepidus and Plancus were consuls (42 B.C.). Tiberius, then, reigned from 14 A.D. and the death of Augustus to his own death at the age of 78 in 37 A.D. This means his 15th year was from mid August 28 A.D. to mid August 29 A.D.

Jesus turned 30 at or around the Passover of 29 A.D., so 30 years previous was 1 B.C.

The eclipse happened at sunset on December 29. Sunset occurred about 4:45 that evening, and the moon was rising in the east. And being that early in the evening, it would have been widely visible and people would certainly have connected it with the horrible act Herod had committed that day. It was a partial eclipse, but being a full moon and that the Jews had used the moon for 1500 years to maintain their calendar, the partiality did not matter.

It was probably about this time that Herod ordered the babies in Bethlehem killed as well. Josephus records following this eclipse that Herod "grew so choleric that it brought him to do all things like a madman" (Antiquities, 17:173). Josephus then notes that Herod ordered all the principle men of the land shut up in a tower and killed upon Herod's death just so there would be mourning in Israel after he died. He also killed his own son Antipater and then died himself five days later (January of 1 A.D.). So it is no wonder that, upon hearing of the birth of the King of the Jews and being shunned by the wise men that Herod lashed out in insanity against the children of Bethlehem.

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble now. I needed to write about something technical to take my mind off of some things. Of course, with the study of ancient history, dates are subject to change pending new information surfacing and new understandings and interpretations. I might have something different to add to this post by this time next year ;-)