By Ed Vasicek on
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Poll Results

Should Believers Avoid Eating Blood (Acts 15:29)?

Yes, with rigor Votes: 1
Yes, but only if it is called to our attention Votes: 3
No, this was only a concession for the Jews Votes: 0
No, it was only for that era Votes: 1
It is unclear or I am undecided Votes: 0
Other Votes: 1
Yes, for believers who fellowship with Jewish believers Votes: 2

(Migrated poll)

N/A
0% (0 votes)
Total votes: 0

Discussion

Fri, 03/11/11
Acts 15:29 reads:
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
We agree that the prohibition against immorality is still in effect. But what about blood and meat sacrificed to idols? What think ye?

"The Midrash Detective"

Thu, 03/17/11
No one has brought this up yet, but I’m sure you’ve thought of it already — what about the Genesis 9:4 prohibition on eating meat with the blood still in it? This was pre-Mosaic-law, and so is not dependent on the Mosaic law still being in force or not. Acts 15:29 really seems to cloud things in other ways too, since there are scriptures in the NT that go both ways on eating things sacrificed to idols.

I’ve always thought that Acts 15:29 included things that were both moral (fornication), and indifferent (meat offered to idols) because they were all things that were specifically abhorrent to observant Jews, and that the Gentiles would have thought nothing of and needed to heed (even the fornication law, which was moral, because of their normal acceptance of temple prostitutes), since many Jewish believers were having a really difficult time accepting Gentile believers as true believers.

As to the blood issue, I’m not sure if it’s part of the moral law or not, but given Genesis 9:4, I would think it’s a lot more complicated than the Mosaic law now being of none effect. Most Americans aren’t faced with this on a daily basis, but having been in Germany where Blutwurst (blood sausage) is fairly common, I’ve heard it discussed among Christians there, and, just like here, there is disagreement whether it’s a moral precept or not.

Dave Barnhart

Wed, 06/15/11
“We agree that the prohibition against immorality is still in effect. But what about blood and meat sacrificed to idols? What think ye?”

My first thought would be a follow-up question: when was it rescinded?

It is clearly a command that was instructed under Holy Spirit leadership and inspiration, propagated under apostolic and elder authority, expected to be maintained by 2nd generation believers (Acts 21), and verified by Jesus Christ as continuing to be problematic (at least the meat offered to idols part) in His messages to the churches in Rev. 2.

The institution of meats as clean and unclean was clearly commanded in the Law, and clearly rescinded in Acts 10. If the commands towards blood and idol sacrifices is inapplicable, it, too, must have a recension notice, I would think.

Lee