And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
Deuteronomy 14:17 belongs to the directions forbidding the eating of unclean animals and creatures. Its prohibition was not arbitrary authority but was given to guard health and to preserve the life and health of the people. Eating the flesh of certain animals could pollute the blood and shorten life. To retain the faculties of mind and body the blood must be kept pure by simple, healthful food, so the animals least objectionable for food were specified.
Its teaching was distorted when its prohibitions were carried to unreasonable lengths, making life a burden of ceremonies and restrictions about eating and drinking and keeping the mind on a continual strain to discriminate between clean and unclean. It was further distorted by requiring people to strain drinking water to remove even the smallest insect, treating such minute concerns as more important than serious sins.
Deuteronomy 14:17 belongs to the directions forbidding the eating of unclean animals and creatures. Its prohibition was not arbitrary authority but was given to guard health and to preserve the life and health of the people. Eating the flesh of certain animals could pollute the blood and shorten life. To retain the faculties of mind and body the blood must be kept pure by simple, healthful food, so the animals least objectionable for food were specified.
Its teaching was distorted when its prohibitions were carried to unreasonable lengths, making life a burden of ceremonies and restrictions about eating and drinking and keeping the mind on a continual strain to discriminate between clean and unclean. It was further distorted by requiring people to strain drinking water to remove even the smallest insect, treating such minute concerns as more important than serious sins.