# 1 Corinthians 8 and Chinese and Indian restaurants



## Eoghan (Dec 3, 2013)

Can anyone tell me the extent to which halal meat is used in Indian restaurants? I was also intrigued to hear that some Chinese restaurants place some sort of votive offering (?) in front of their plastic Buddha's - is this common?


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## Eoghan (Dec 3, 2013)

Britain goes halal... but no-one tells the public: How famous institutions serve ritually slaughtered meat with no warning

Britain goes halal (...but nobody tells public) | Mail Online


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## kvanlaan (Dec 3, 2013)

Wow, I'd have a real problem with that. So in many places, the only way to go non-Halal is by eating pork? Well, at least the atheists will have a field day with this one too...


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## JoannaV (Dec 3, 2013)

Haven't a clue. Most Indian restaurants seemed more Hindu to me. Don't know how that influences where they source their meat though.


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## Pergamum (Dec 3, 2013)

Eat and praise God for the meal.


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## Stephen L Smith (Dec 3, 2013)

Pergamum said:


> Eat and praise God for the meal.



It is very important, though, to balance this with the caution from 1 Cor 8:
However, not everyone has this knowledge. In fact, some have been so used to idolatry up until now that when they eat food offered to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not make us acceptable to God. We are not inferior if we don’t eat, and we are not better if we do eat. But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, the one who has this knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, won’t his weak conscience be encouraged to eat food offered to idols? Then the weak person, the brother for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge. Now when you sin like this against the brothers and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother to fall. [HCSB]


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## davdavis (Dec 3, 2013)

If my memory serves me correct the meat has to be bled. When my family and I lived in Iran (1974-75) you could generally tell because the bled meat seemed to be very tough. You could get pork from the Armenians, (not Arminians),
Pass the Bacon!

David Davis 
PCA Montgomery, Al
Dave,s Ravings


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## Philip (Dec 3, 2013)

kvanlaan said:


> Wow, I'd have a real problem with that.



Why? If it's available at the meat-market, why ask questions? I suppose that if I knew that there was a brother with me who would be offended, I might not order the Shawarma, but I haven't yet run into that issue.


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## CJW (Dec 4, 2013)

davdavis said:


> If my memory serves me correct the meat has to be bled. When my family and I lived in Iran (1974-75) you could generally tell because the bled meat seemed to be very tough. You could get pork from the Armenians, (not Arminians),
> Pass the Bacon!
> 
> David Davis
> ...



The meat has to be sacrificially slaughtered, i.e. not stunned or killed before it is bled out. I believe the same is true for kosher food. The stress is what causes the meat to be tough (to our standards). An animal can be bled out after it is stunned or killed which is the way typical western abattoirs and butchers do it. Probably more than some of you wanted to know.


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## jambo (Dec 4, 2013)

If it's on the plate, eat it. If there are chips with it, so much the better.


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## Tirian (Dec 4, 2013)

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.


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## MichaelNZ (Dec 4, 2013)

I know that restaurants run by Hare Krishnas (which are vegetarian) will place a small amount of each dish in a special plate and offer it to their false god Krishna. According to their false theology, all of that batch of food becomes _prasadam_, which is considered non-different from Krishna. 

But as for typical Indian and Chinese restaurants, I have no idea. In Malaysia, where I lived for 2 years, you did see shrines to various "gods" in some Indian and Chinese restaurants but I don't know if food was offered to them.


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## kvanlaan (Dec 4, 2013)

> Why? If it's available at the meat-market, why ask questions? I suppose that if I knew that there was a brother with me who would be offended, I might not order the Shawarma, but I haven't yet run into that issue.



First off, it is very clearly labeled Halal here, as a positive selling point. There is no way to say that I didn't know it was Halal, there is no need to ask questions.


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## kvanlaan (Dec 4, 2013)

Also, does 1 Cor 10:20. 21 not apply in any way? Or Revelations 2:20? Or Acts 15:29? I would consider the animal to be offered to an idol, because it MUST have said over it "Bismallah, Allahu Ahkbar" from what I have read on it.


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## Eoghan (Dec 4, 2013)

I was interested because some preachers suggest we don't have meat offered to other gods. It would seem that it is routinely something which is done in Uk school canteens but nobody actually bothers to say that it is Halal. 

The issue which secularists will have is the way that the meat is killed. For myself I would only be concerned if the meat was tougher because of how the animal is slaughtered. (That and causing my brethren to stumble)


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## Philip (Dec 4, 2013)

kvanlaan said:


> Also, does 1 Cor 10:20. 21 not apply in any way? Or Revelations 2:20? Or Acts 15:29? I would consider the animal to be offered to an idol, because it MUST have said over it "Bismallah, Allahu Ahkbar" from what I have read on it.



Part of the context for these passages involves the pagan feasts that were associated with the meat in question, and whether it was appropriate for a Christian to participate in them. Paul's clear answer there is: no.

As long as your conscience is clear that by purchasing said meat, you are not condoning the practice, I frankly don't see an issue. The 1 Cor passage puts the whole thing in context and makes it clear where the line is to be drawn. If you have a weaker conscience on this issue, blessings on you and don't let me tempt you to violate your convictions on this issue. For myself, I will eat (or not eat, when appropriate) shawarma and shish-kebab to the glory of God.


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## kvanlaan (Dec 5, 2013)

I can buy that explanation in a couple of the passages, but not all. Time to do some more digging on it. I have no problem changing my opinion on it; I don't get an opinion if scripture is contrary to what I think. I just don't get that same impression on all the instances in scripture (there are others than those mentioned above). Will have a look first and argue later.


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## kvanlaan (Dec 5, 2013)

Well, ok. I get it. I have not come across anything else that shows me that there was any other context, and was discussing it further with a knowledgeable brother this evening. I still wouldn't buy Halal meat, just because I don't want to encourage that sort of thing in the marketplace, but I can agree that it is not sin to eat it, seemingly under any circumstance, save if a brother would be offended.

Reactions: Edifying 1


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