Do Torah-observant Christians not bother with keeping Kosher

[maybeizfundie]

Re: pork. I think there are many Christians who have an aversion to is as the "biggie" when it comes to "unclean" things. Not necessarily that you never eat it or you'll burn in hell, but that it's probably not something you want to eat all the time. I think the squick factor is cultural more than anything. We still do have the cultural perception that pigs are stinky, dirty, garbage eaters, kwim?

I am not sure there are any pigs in dh's country. Large Muslim population, a culture deeply influenced by both Judaism and ancient Christianity, and pigs just don't figure in his reality. He acknowledges that there's no spiritual detriment to eating pork for a Christian, but he can't get past the cultural ingraining that pork=bad. So pork of any kind doesn't play a part in our family diet. But if we're visiting, and pork is served, we don't snottily refuse to eat it or make a big deal out of it. I don't have any problem eating it, and dh will eat some so as not to offend our hosts, but try to fill up on other food items that are served.

Also, both bacon and pepperoni come in non-pork forms. :) Dh is OK with pork pepperoni occasionally because it's a pretty minute portion of the food, more of a flavoring than a fill-up-your-belly thing.

[thoughtful]

As far as kosher, a lot will mix meat and dairy because the actual verse says don't eat a calf boiled in it's mother's milk, and they see that as specific and the meat/dairy thing as a man-made addition.

Reminds me of a joke I've heard for years, which I think illustrates well how some people (regardless of belief) need to make something more than it is, and love rules and rituals, like many of our fundies:

Conversation with G-d and Moshe on top of Mt. Sinai....

G-d: And remember Moshe, in the laws of keeping Kosher, never cook a calf in its mother's milk.

Moshe: Ohhhhhh! So you are saying we should never eat milk and meat together.

G-d: Um, no -- what I'm saying is, never cook a calf in its mother's milk.

Moshe: Oh, Lord forgive my ignorance! What you are really saying is we should wait six hours after eating meat to drink milk so the two are not in our stomachs.

G-d: No, Moses, what I'm saying is, don't cook a calf in it's mother's milk!

Moshe: What you mean is we should have a separate set of dishes for milk and a separate set for meat and if we make a mistake we have to bury that dish in the dirt outside...

G-d: Fine, have it your way....

:D

[Elaine]

Here's a secret: I like to wind Brandy up on her boards and wait until she flounces. I think it might have been me who took her out this time.

Oh, do tell! I must know what it took this time!