An apologist said that the reason lobsters are considered an abomination is not because they are in someway unhealthy but because they walk in the sea with legs, which somehow breaches some sort of land-sea barrier. Has anyone heard of this?

Simple. It's because they are nasty bottom feeders. It's just that simple. They are basically giant bugs that people eat and that live in their own toilette. Did I say it was nasty yet?

Oh what's that? You want to know why God has a problem with them? I dunno...

An apologist said that the reason lobsters are considered an abomination is not because they are in someway unhealthy but because they walk in the sea with legs, which somehow breaches some sort of land-sea barrier. Has anyone heard of this?

This is basically an example of ritual purity, or ancient Hebrew obsessive compulsive disorder.

Why eat lobsters if god created doughnuts. That's what I can't figure out.

Originally posted by guacamole

Why eat lobsters if god created doughnuts. That's what I can't figure out.

I'm all for everyone else boycotting lobster and pork! Yum Bacon wrappped lobster :drool:

Isn't saying they're abominable to him kinda like saying God made a mistake when he created them? Kinda like saying that if Marijuana is bad that God made a mistake in creating it...

Originally posted by Nicholas

Isn't saying they're abominable to him kinda like saying God made a mistake when he created them? Kinda like saying that if Marijuana is bad that God made a mistake in creating it...

Well first off, it doesn't specifically say that they are abominable to him. It says that they are unclean, which is a issue of ritual purity.

I, on the other hand think they are nasty, unlike doughnuts.

[Homer] HHmmmmmmmmm, lobster and donuts..... :drool:[/Homer]

Its a matter of ritual purity as has been said.

Owls and birds of prey are also on the unclean list IIRC, as are camels, pigs and carrion birds. I think a lot of it has to do with the cooking technology at the time and the fact that if you eat certain shelfish/animals/birds that has been badly prepared, it is very bad for your helath.

Originally posted by Lazy Agnostic

An apologist said that the reason lobsters are considered an abomination is not because they are in someway unhealthy but because they walk in the sea with legs, which somehow breaches some sort of land-sea barrier. Has anyone heard of this?

Yes that is entirely correct. It is everything to do with ritual purity and nothing at all to do with lobsters as a food source. They are neither entirely land creatures or entirely water creatures, but they cross the boundary and as such are unclean animals.

Jason

Originally posted by jason

Yes that is entirely correct. It is everything to do with ritual purity and nothing at all to do with lobsters as a food source. They are neither entirely land creatures or entirely water creatures, but they cross the boundary and as such are unclean animals.

Jason

What did these do wrong then?

Scripture Verse:

Lev 11:13-19
13 "'These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,
14 the red kite, any kind of black kite,
15 any kind of raven,
16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,
17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,
18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,
19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
(from The Holy Bible: New International Version. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984, by International Bible Society)

Surely it has to do with what they eat, and in turn what you eat being very bad for your health. (should you eat any of the above.)

Originally posted by PhilA

Surely it has to do with what they eat, and in turn what you eat being very bad for your health. (should you eat any of the above.)

Probably not. Most proscriptions had to do with the rituals or habits of other religious entities. Most likely, some sect that lived near the ocean had lobster as a significant part of their diet. And all I can say is that its a durn good thing donuts were not on the same list!

It appears I was wrong about the food thing. I'll post a few bits from a commentary I've just looked at. (Collegeville Bible Commentary.)


A straigh-forward reason why certain foods cause uncleanness or defilement is not known. Simple obedience seems a good reason in view of Gen. 2:16 "You are frree to eat.....except...."

Sometimes assumptions are made concerning Israelite relationship with the cult practices of their neighbours. Even though some literary references have emerged, we need to be cautious and apply studied research for further evidence.

Originally posted by Fideist345

Probably not. Most proscriptions had to do with the rituals or habits of other religious entities. Most likely, some sect that lived near the ocean had lobster as a significant part of their diet. And all I can say is that its a durn good thing donuts were not on the same list!

What exactly do think mana was?

Doughnuts!!!!!!

Mana is a substance which is formed by a specific tree.

It is sap that leaks out in certain weather conditions, and then in the night it sets into flake like pieces that fall from the trees and lay on the floor. It doesn't taste very nice, its a bit bitter, (apparently, never tried it.) but its substantial enough to fill your stomach.

Or at least, that's what some scholars think that 'mana' in the Bible referrs to anyway.

Originally posted by PhilA

Mana is a substance which is formed by a specific tree.

It is sap that leaks out in certain weather conditions, and then in the night it sets into flake like pieces that fall from the trees and lay on the floor. It doesn't taste very nice, its a bit bitter, (apparently, never tried it.) but its substantial enough to fill your stomach.

Or at least, that's what some scholars think that 'mana' in the Bible referrs to anyway.

Pfft. Scholars. It's doughnuts I tells ya. It was a miracle:

" And the doughnuts descended from heaven, falling gently unto the earth, that they might not be mashed, in heaps of great girth. And the people gathered them unto tabernacles of plant fibers that measured 3 spans, by 5 spans, by 3 spans, and by 5 spans. The boxes were decorated with the writings of angels in an unknown tongue. And lo, they did not gather custard filled doughnuts for those are an abomination unto the Guac. Neither vanilla custard nor lemon custard. Neither did they eat the jelly filled, nor the cream filled, nor the doughnut hole alone. For only the doughnut with the whole in the center is good for a man to eat."

Don't you remember the story where the coffee came out of the rock?

"And there was much rejoicing..."

fwiw
guac.