Religion-only restrictions

[Ziggy Stardust]

Why would they forbid hot beverages.

 

[Farm Boy]

Were there situations where you really faced the temptation and had to havr a cold shower back-off

Yes.

or were you sensible enough to avoid that

No. Blue balls hurt. Do not recommend.

Also, was it self-imposed or laid on you by authority figures?

Not sure how this would have functionally be imposed beyond somebody telling me I shouldn't do it. Nobody chased me around as a monitor.

 

[Save_Ferris]

So, am I supposed to conclude that religions don't put any restrictions on it's members which they themselves would not put on themselves either?

Yes. It only makes sense.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Why would they forbid hot beverages.

Probably for the reasons above stated, i.e. that the writer of the Mormon book only knew of coffee and caffeinated tea as hot beverages. How he managed to avoid hot chocolate is beyond me. :/

 

[Save_Ferris]

Probably for the reasons above stated, i.e. that the writer of the Mormon book only knew of coffee and caffeinated tea as hot beverages. How he managed to avoid hot chocolate is beyond me. :/

I have a moral restriction against water-based hot chocolate. I do not believe that God intended for humans to drink crap.

 

[luiz]

Probably for the reasons above stated, i.e. that the writer of the Mormon book only knew of coffee and caffeinated tea as hot beverages. How he managed to avoid hot chocolate is beyond me. :/

And that explains it because... coffee is evil?

I can't understand going through life without coffee. And I can't understand going through winter outside the Tropics without hot beverages. I must say this Mormon God seems even more cruel than the Jew/Muslim God that forbids pork.

 

[kochman]

And that explains it because... coffee is evil?

I can't understand going through life without coffee. And I can't understand going through winter outside the Tropics without hot beverages. I must say this Mormon God seems even more cruel than the Jew/Muslim God that forbids pork.

The pork thing (and other creatures that were "unclean") was actually smart at the time, their meat, when not properly maintained, etc. can create a lot of illness. However, now that we have things like refrigerators, it may be time to rethink some of those restrictions!

 

[luiz]

The pork thing (and other creatures that were "unclean") was actually smart at the time, their meat, when not properly maintained, etc. can create a lot of illness. However, now that we have things like refrigerators, it may be time to rethink some of those restrictions!

Yep, a Jewish friend explained to me just like that, and he does eat pork.

Banning hot beverages though... Really, I can see no point other than sadism!

 

[downtown]

And that explains it because... coffee is evil?

I can't understand going through life without coffee. And I can't understand going through winter outside the Tropics without hot beverages. I must say this Mormon God seems even more cruel than the Jew/Muslim God that forbids pork.

Coffee isn't evil at all. God sometimes asks us to do things to set us apart and test our faith. Refraining from drinking coffee or tea is one of those things. It certainly isnt a sin for anybody else to drink it.

 

[holy king]

well, that's a rather creative god you have there.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I think God has a point there.
I'll often tell my dog to sit down without any other reason than to have him sit down.

 

[LucyDuke]

Coffee isn't evil at all. God sometimes asks us to do things to set us apart and test our faith. Refraining from drinking coffee or tea is one of those things. It certainly isnt a sin for anybody else to drink it.

I thought the idea was to avoid psychoactive substances?

 

[Formaldehyde]

The pork thing (and other creatures that were "unclean") was actually smart at the time, their meat, when not properly maintained, etc. can create a lot of illness. However, now that we have things like refrigerators, it may be time to rethink some of those restrictions!

They had refrigerators back when the NT stated those laws no longer applied?

The OT restrictions against pork and shellfish were due to what those animals ate. That is what made them "unclean".

The primary danger from pork has always been trichinosis, which can be easily remedied by simply cooking the meat sufficiently. It really has nothing to do with refrigeration. Most protein was caught or slaughtered immediately before eating so it wouldn't spoil. Salted pork also keeps for quite some time without spoiling.

But even so, I think you are right about the logic behind the religious laws banning them. Those foods were more dangerous and did cause more food poisoning and serious disease if not properly cooked or eaten immediately. However, they still had the same risk when Christians started eating them...

 

[downtown]

I thought the idea was to avoid psychoactive substances?

That is also part of it, but there are plenty of loopholes around that. The act of faith/setting apart/obedeince is more important.

 

[kochman]

They had refrigerators back when the NT stated those laws no longer applied?

The OT restrictions against pork and shellfish were due to what those animals ate. That is what made them "unclean".

The primary danger from pork has always been trichinosis, which can be easily remedied by simply cooking the meat sufficiently. It really has nothing to do with refrigeration. Most protein was caught or slaughtered immediately before eating so it wouldn't spoil. Salted pork also keeps for quite some time without spoiling.

But even so, I think you are right about the logic behind the religious laws banning them. Those foods were more dangerous and did cause more food poisoning and serious disease if not properly cooked or eaten immediately. However, they still had the same risk when Christians started eating them...

Yeah, cooking better, etc, that all falls under the "ETC" part of my post.
Christ didn't really change the laws regarding certain meat. Basically, people in the areas that were not Jewish, they were already eating those animals, and continued to...

Spoiler :

The administrative change from the Levitical priesthood to the ministry of Jesus Christ did not void God's expectations that His people obey His law of clean and unclean meats (or any other law) as part of their sanctification or separation as people of God (see Leviticus 11:44-47 [44] For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
[45] For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
[46] This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:
[47] To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.


See All...; 19:2; 20:7, 22-26; 21:8). Peter and Paul both spoke of the continuing need for God's people to be holy (Ephesians 1:4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

See All...; 1 Peter 1:14-16 [14] As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
[15] But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
[16] Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.


See All...).

Scholars acknowledge that members of the early Church continued to observe the distinctions between clean and unclean meats. Because of the common misconception that the New Covenant abolishes much of God's law, many assume these food requirements were simply Jewish cultural practices that continued until the Church became more gentile in composition and outlook. Preconceived ideas have also influenced interpretations of many New Testament passages. This is known as the process of eisegesis , or reading one's own ideas into Scripture.

http://www.ucg.org/doctrinal-beliefs/does-new-testament-abolish-meat-distinctions/

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Yep, a Jewish friend explained to me just like that, and he does eat pork.

Banning hot beverages though... Really, I can see no point other than sadism!

It's a way to show devotion.
Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bang thy neighbours wife...
Those are all rules that make sense for any society, Christian, Hindu or Secular. I don't need a god to tell me that rape and random stabbings are wrong ,and adhering by these rules doesn't mark you as a true believer. The only true expression of faith is to follow rules that don't make any sense beyond ' it's the will of God'.

 

[warpus]

Not sure how this would have functionally be imposed beyond somebody telling me I shouldn't do it. Nobody chased me around as a monitor.

Don't some (most?) Christians believe that God is watching everything you do and judging the crap out of you? So while he might not send lightning bolts down if you drink tea (or whatever you're not supposed to do), you betcha that he'll write your sin down in a book and throw it in your face later.. most likely when you're dead and trying to get into heaven.

That counts, doesn't it?

well, that's a rather creative god you have there.

"Thou shalt not drink.. FIZZY DRINKS WITH ASPERTAINE IN IT.. It displeases me"

No offense against any Mormons here, but the tea thing seems rather silly to me, even after all these years (after finding out about it)

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

The whole point with tea (leaf-based tea, not herbal tea, BTW) is that drinking it is not in and of itself harmful, certainly not for non-members, but that it is a way of setting ourselves apart and showing devotion. Lots of religions have similar practices, just with different things.

 

[Lillefix]

The act of faith/setting apart/obedeince is more important.

Obedience for the sake of obedience? What's the point? I wonder if there are any other places than religion where mindless obedience is considered a virtue.

 

[kochman]

"Thou shalt not drink.. FIZZY DRINKS WITH ASPERTAINE IN IT.. It displeases me"

Well, you should avoid aspartame