Sunday, 23 January 2011

What the Halal is this?

Over the past few months I have been aware of fellows Christians and fellow Brits unrest at some produce in supermarkets being unmarked Halal meat. I have read articles and petitions demanding that we know if we know whether or not we are eating Halal meat.
This issue is the closest thing we have in the UK to the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols. The animals used are clean animals according to Islamic law and are killed ritualistic upon the saying 'In the name of Allah'. Paul deals with a similar issue with the Corinthian church dealing with a varied group who on one side knew that idols are nothing and that eating the meat would do them no harm. And on the other side he had Christians who were very much against eating meat sacrificed to idols. I too find myself in this position today with my fellow conservative Christians demanding that we know if the meat we are eating is Halal.
There are a few principles that Paul lays out.
1) Eat according to your conscience (1 Cor 10:25)
2) Don't eat with someone with a weak conscience (1 Cor 8:10-12)
3) Eat anything in the market place and don't ask where the meat came from (1 Cor 10:25)
It is this last point that really asks me to question the demands of my fellow conservative Christians. If we don't know whether the meat is Halal our conscience is clean. Having said that, if I knew a piece of meat was Halal I would not eat it for my conscience sake. However, if I found out I ate some accidently it would not bother me. Nor do i have problems with other christians eating Halal meat. I just urge people to take the advice of the Apostle Paul and eat anything in the market and do not ask where is came from. And also in the wise words of my mother 'shut up, eat your dinner and stop asking questions'.

1 comment:

  1. The problem with this is not so much the meat perse, but the fact that by purchasing Halal meat we actively finance Islam--and a certain amount of this money finds its way into the hands of organisations like the Moslem Brotherhood who foment terrorism in the Middle East!

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