Ramadan

[Zoroaster (imported)]

My favorite bit of willful ignorance on the part of people whose religions say not to eat pork is their willingness to continue using non-kosher table salt. If it's not kosher salt, part of the process involves cured pork fat (which is why there's such a thing as a kosher pickle), and is therefore verboten.

Of all the various Jews, Muslims, vegans, Jehovah's Witnesses (and other vaguely Christian non-pork-eating cultists) I've known (maybe fifty or so), not a single one of them cared.

It should be noted I don't know any Hassidic or seriously Orthodox Jews. I'm told they DO care - see kosher pickle - but then, like the similarly insane Amish, they also only have sex through a hole in a bedsheet, so I have a hard time taking anything they do or say seriously...

[SunLord (imported)]

So why doesn't Islamists want to eat PORK ??? It is good food and when cooked properly it should be SAFE to eat. What is the "problem" they have "about "PORK or HAM or BACON" ??? I just keep wondering ... N3RF

Well besides all of the above Pork is the worst food source that a human can ingest bar one! Neither the jews or the moslems will eat it. Another humun is number 1 on the list.

So while y'arl hoggin' in to ya pork, think about it killing you faster than anything else y'arl eat today other than the boy next door!

[Blaise (imported)]

A Hindu man successfully sued McDonald's because they use an extract of beef in their fries, which the man had eaten for years thinking the fries were vegetarian.

Many major religions seem to have food taboos. Hindus don't eat beef; Jews and Muslims don't eat pork; Roman Catholics weren't supposed to eat meat on Fridays, etc. Christians who believe in the Miracle of Transubstantiation think that they eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus when they take Communion.

The taboo against eating human flesh is almost universal, though a small religious sect in India believes it's a sacrament to eat a bit of their departed relatives. In parts of Africa, people believe that if you eat the raw liver of your enemy, you'll absorb his strength. During the recent civil war in Liberia, many captured soldiers were slashed open with machetes and their livers torn out and consumed while they were still alive. The late Emperor Bokassa I of what's now the Congo kept an entire meat locker stuffed with the partially devoured corpses of his enemies. After he was deposed, France welcomed him.

The French, of course, will eat anything if it's accompanied by the right wine. The Marquis de Sade says much about eating shit (a favorite of his), blood, urine, and cannibalism - he favored eating the penis and testicles of victims.

Well, this has given me an appetite. Think I'll fix a snack.

Ah yes, Louisiana. My wife was French. She liked for me to () her but she did not () me.

[A-1 (imported)]

...

but then, like the similarly insane Amish, they also only have sex through a hole in a bedsheet, ...

Hey, that is not such a bad idea. Some of those freakin' women from that sect are UUUGGGLEEEY!

...some may even be "TWO SHEETERS"



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[bobov (imported)]

Dear Zoaroaster, you know nothing whatsoever about Jews or Judaism, which is the only thing that forgives your comments. The word and concept "kosher" is solely and originally Jewish, so logic might lead you to conclude, even though you don't know, that Jews care very much whether foods are kosher or not. That you know irreligious Jews who ignore Jewish beliefs shouldn't surprise you - every religious group this century is rife with non-believers. How widely followed are Christian beliefs? Few people calling themselves Christians today even know the specific proscriptions and requirements imposed by their church.

Neither Jews nor Amish are "insane." They simply have beliefs that you and I don't share. I can tolerate and respect them because I understand the human and emotional appeal of religion, even though I think them mistaken. Why do you feel a need to ridicule and demean those who don't believe as you do?

Your statement that Jews have sex through "a hole in a bedsheet" is simply absurd. That you believe such a thing implies that you're more eager to think yourself superior to others than to defend the integrity of your own mind.

P.S. I hope you know your pen name - Zoroaster - is the name of the prophet who founded the chief historical religion of Persia. Zoroaster is also a form of Zarathustra, though I doubt that you and Nietsche are on speaking terms. Was it a deliberate irony to take the name of a prophet?

[Blaise (imported)]

Good question. I had this discussion with a Muslim family I teach. They won't even eat ice cream with marshmellows because marhmellows contain pork..bone marrow or something...don't really care so I don't need everyone correcting me about what marshmellows have.

The reason is that the pig is not a pure animal and eats the scrunge, etc. Therefore, when it is digested into the body, it "filth" will impure the thoughts that a person has. Thus, not eating the animal will help purify a person.

Nice idea but if ya want to be "purified" a high enema with Castille Soap will purfiy you and do the same thing.

Gotta git now...my pork tenderloin is ready...it's just about time for the fast to end now for the day.

Studlover

When I was young, television stations broadcast performances by "gospel quartets" from Augusta, Georgia (also home of James Brown and Jessye Norman). One quartet sang a commercial for a laxative. The lyric for the commercial song was “Feel fresh and clean inside, feel fresh and clean inside, Black Draft makes you fresh and clean inside.”

[Blaise (imported)]

As someone who took his major in religion, I am well aware of defects in religions. However, I feel uneasy about some of the negative comments about religious groups in this thread.

For the record, I deeply admire the Mennonites. I attended school with Mennonites. I know the depth of faith of those with whom I attended school. Further, I think we need to take great care in demonizing Islam. I realize that I know too little about it to criticize the religion. I more easily embrace the insights of Buddhism than those of Islam, but that does not mean I know enough to judge with tradition.

[SplitDik (imported)]

The main problem with pork is the fact that they are a vector for disease and parasites. In many regions, and in the times when the Old Testament was written, people lived very close with their farm animals. This is why cross-over bird flus and such still originate in China. Pigs for some reason are closer to humans than many other mammals, in the sense that their diseases often transfer to humans. So the fairly common proscription against pork in various religions (Taoists too!) makes sense.

The other proscriptions, such as against shellfish, also make sense for societies where food handling is questionable.

[SplitDik (imported)]

As someone who took his major in religion, I am well aware of defects in religions. However, I feel uneasy about some of the negative comments about religious groups in this thread.

For the record, I deeply admire the Mennonites. I attended school with Mennonites. I know the depth of faith of those with whom I attended school. Further, I think we need to take great care in demonizing Islam. I realize that I know too little about it to criticize the religion. I more easily embrace the insights of Buddhism than those of Islam, but that does not mean I know enough to judge with tradition.

I think anyone who practices a religion/philosophy consistently and without hypocrisy deserves some respect. I expect that is what you saw with the Mennonites.

[A-1 (imported)]

Dear bobov,

...ugly women are NOT specific to one religion or sect.

it is just that the dress codes of some religions do nothing to help them, either.

Is it intentional?

...I don't know...must be. It's hard to lust for an ugly woman...but I guess that it is possible...

:shakemitk

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