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Hi, Randy —
I would add that the Church has, from the very beginning, imposed certain disciplines with respect to eating certain foods. We see this in Acts, Chapter 15. There was a discussion about what requirements would be put on the gentiles entering the Church.
First, we have a doctrinal matter that was addressed, that being, Gentiles would not need to be circumcised and follow the Mosaic law, including the dietary law. In addition, there was a moral teaching about sexual morality.
Both of these are still in force and are part of the "Faith and Moral Teaching" of the Church which never changes to contradict Herself. The same Jerusalem Council then added a pastoral provision, which stipulated that they abstain from eating the meat of strangled animals. This was not doctrinal. In fact, later it was done away with but because:
- many cults of the day would drink the blood of animals to get their
"life force"
- many Gentile converts had previously participated in such practices, and
- such practice would cause scandal to the Jewish believers
the Church said, this is the one dietary restriction we will impose as a practical remedy.
This decision was temporary in nature. It was never meant to be a forever moral or theological teaching.
I hope this helps.
John
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