Can I eat a Pig?

As a result of a statement I made on facebook, two friends of mine (who admittedly do not share my views) asked [respectfully] that I address the issue of the Old Testament and it's relevancey to today.I am grateful for their desire to hear my thoughts and hope I can make some sense for them. The question that came up dealt with the fact that in view of the same-sex marriage issue, many people are quoting from Leviticus chapter 18 where the view there is quite harsh on the issue. So if we take that literally, what about the dietary laws set in chapter 11 and the purity of blood issues (women's monthly visitor... ok, I know that's corny, but hopefully you smiled a little)and there are many other things that could be added to the list. Now, please understand, I am not a scholar or even a theologian but simply a lifetime student of the bible and I confess to you there is much I do not fully grasp & likely will not until I am made whole in eternity. Remember in Exodus, the book that preceeds Leviticus in our bible, Moses, by direction from God, has led His people from Egyptian bondage and are heading to the promised land. (Took them a while to get there due to there own lack of trusting what God had promised). In that time, God presented the commandments to Moses and then gave Moses specific instructions on constructing a tabernacle (which by the way means "tent" or "residence"). The tablets (10 commandments) were placed in a box (an ark, which means box) and on top of it were golden cherubim facing each other and that is called the mercy seat. The ark was placed in a special place in the tabernacle (of course the tabernacle was portible) and that is where God would meet with the priest when they would sprinkle blood on the seat for the atonement for sin. The tabernacle (and later the Temple) would become the place where God would dwell and meet with the High Priest on behalf of the people. The people we are referring to here are the Israelites who God had chosen. Remember it began when He made a covenant with Abraham and promised him a promised land...Caanan...Israel. Now, in Leviticus, God is giving instuction to Moses and to be passed to the Israelites on Holiness and purity. Understand at this point God is setting up standards for the Israelites that will set them apart from all other people groups (again they were His chosen people). These laws would not be easy and they may not make sense to our culture, but they were meant to be exclusive in their purpose of identifying and blessing the Jewish people. (By the way, there were provisions for non-Jews to become converts into that chosen people group...but that's for another day) So in Chapter 11, God deals with physical purity and he lays down the dietary laws. In Chapters 12 and 15 he refers to blood issues including the woman's purification period (which aint a bad idea to me...just saying... smile again). The important thing here is to remember these laws were specific to the Jews. Other people groups were not held to these standards. Then Israel shunned God for so long, constantly disobeying His desires and refusing His Blessings ... an example is the very journey in Exodus ... God promised the land, sent them to it, they sent 12 spies to check out the land and 10 came back with negative reports and refused to go in... 2 reminded them of God's promise,,,they wanted to kill the two positive spies. So they wandered for 38 more years (total of 40) in the wilderness... none of the men above 20 years old at that juncture made it into the promised land 40 years later except the 2 positive spies. That is indicative of how the Jews treated God and His cammands. There are 400 years of seperation from the last book of the Old Testament to the New Testament. 400 years of silence from prophets. The New Testament ushers in a major change God's plan. The focus is now starting to move off of the Jewish people. The Jewish leaders were not happy with Jesus' teachings and actions that seemed to go against the laws they knew (Now there were many laws that the Jews themselves had made up and were enforcing that did not come from God) . They even conspired to have Him stopped and killed if necessary. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that He did not come to DESTROY the law but to FULFILL it. So all that the law had been designed to do ... act as a mirror for people to see their condition, He now came to complete by offering Himself as the final and perfect sacrifice. In Mark 7:18&19 Jesus removed the dietary requirements that had been established in Leviticus. "...Thus He decalred all foods clean." (King James says "purifying all foods") [My quotes come from the NASV by the way... just a little more modern translation than the KJV] Then God affirms this new idea to Peter in Acts 10:15 when He tells Peter not to call what He had provided unclean. So, why would God change His mind about this? Good question. Remember, God made a covenant with the Jews and gave them boundaries (commandments) by which to lead them towards holiness. In Leviticus 11:44&45 He says "I am the lord your God. Consecrate (set apart) yourselves therefore and be Holy, for I am Holy, and you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on this earth. For I am the Lord (First time He has said this) who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be Holy for I am Holy." HERE IT IS... After this statement, He says those words "I am the Lord your God ... be holy as I am holy." about 50 more times in Leviticus. The issue is seperation from all sin and a lifestyle of seeking holiness. In Luke 19:41-44 Jesus entered Jerusalem which represents all of Israel and wept over the city because the nation of Israel never got it. At that point all things changed. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice to atone for sins once and for all. No more need for sacrificing animals as Jesus fulfilled all of that requirement. Now Jesus establishes His church and says the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. This does not mean the Old Testament is not relevant, it very much is. But the rules of seperation and purity for mankind is now found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me." Those are His words and leave no room for any other so-called diety. John 1:12 is also very clear where it says "But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." Romans 10:9&10 says "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (John 1:12) for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. So this is why I originally said on facebook that if I believed the bible to be true, and I do, wouldn't you be mad at me or hurt if I did not share it with you so you too could have eternity with Jesus. And if I am wrong then how much worse off is my life...none! But if you are wrong, how much worse off is your life and the answer to that terrifies me. Now in closing, so if Jesus fulfilled the O.T. requirement of dietary laws and animal sacrifices in the New Testament doesn't that apply to homosexuality as well? The answer is clear as you read from the New Testament in Romans 1:24-28. It not only supports the O.T. teaching on the subject, it clarifies it. I absolutely detest the idea of anyone abusing and physically attacking homosexuals. I would never ever, stand by and allow that to happen in my presence without involving myself. I have held the hands of many homosexual friends during their times of grief and will do so again. But I will also never support it as an acceptable lifestyle because of my biblical belief. I hope this helps to at least shed some light on my position and my heart. Thank you ladies for asking. One final thought... Paul tells us of a "peace of God" we can have in Philippians 4:7 which is made available to us whe we have made "peace with God" in Romans 5:1 ...by faith through Jesus Christ. So, I wish for all who read this ...Peace! P.S. The answer is yes! I can eat the pig... okay I would be better off perhaps if I didn't...but I can.