[b]MattBob_SquarePants wrote:[/b] [quote]And your extension of the analogy would work fine, if Christians really and truly understood that these rules are for our own good.. But I don\'t think they do. I don\'t think they really try to, most of them anyway. They read the Torah, as I think you yourself have stated, as a different covenant for a different people, in a different time. We aren\'t arguing about whether sausage containing pork is okay, we have people that see no problems, and want to limitations at all on their consumption of it, despite G-d\'s Word to the contrary. We aren\'t arguing whether it\'s okay to miss the Sabbath or a hioliday, if it means the difference in keeping one\'s job or not, we have a group of people that has altogether forsaken G-d\'s Shabbat and holy days, for those of their own making, which also DIVIDES G-d\'s house. And of course, we know that Messiah told us a house divided cannot stand. Yes, I agee, we would not have to \"preach the Torah\" the same way, and could leave it to individual conscience, if the body of Christ DID truly internalize all those rules as being put there over us all, FOR OUR OWN GOOD. Barry\'s recently mentioned his beard that he\'s growing. I didn\'t bug him about it. I don\'t know that anyone did. Because I know that the Spirit in working in him, that he does recognize G-d\'s laws as being there for a reason, by a loving G-d who wants what is best for Barry, I could have faith that G-d would lay on his heart, what He wanted from Barry. It\'s a different matter entirely, with people that don\'t recognize the authority G-d\'s Word has over us at all.[/quote] I\'m not arguing the authority of the Law, or whether we should follow it or scrap it. I\'m saying that we should look deeper rather than saying oh I can\'t eat pork because the Law says I can\'t. Doing that is like going to sleep at 9:00 the rest of your life. Sure it won\'t hurt, but it would be MORE usefull to understand the why, and put that into practice rather than the actual Law. In the case of pork, I would say, eat healthy. Don\'t eat crap. Take care of the body God gave you. That is what I follow. The Isrealites didnt have soda or anything like that, so their are no rules about it. It would be pointless to gorge yourself in soda and not eat pork. You are missing the heart of the Law if you do this. The heart of the pork Law is take care of your body.