We live in a world of diverse cultures and religions.  We live in a world where many people worship many gods.  But belief does not make reality.  Many people believed that the world was a flat disk floating on an endless sea of water.  Though a majority believed this to be so did it not change reality or the shape of the world.  The same may be said about religious beliefs. Though many people believe in many gods it does not make these gods real.   While it is impossible to prove the existence of the gods or even a single God, we, as the people of Israel, have been called to faith in only one God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—who revealed his name to our ancestors as YHWH.  Throughout numerous narratives, commandments, psalms and prophecies, the Hebrew Scriptures declares, affirms, and re-affirms that there is but ONE God—the God of Israel.  It is this exclusivity and declaration of the existence of only one God that makes this message offensive to so many other cultures.  Every other polytheistic culture is affronted by our message of only one God—our God—YHWH!

(Deuteronomy 6:4 NRS) Hear, O Israel: YHWH is our God, YHWH alone. 

(Exodus 8:10 NRS) And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like YHWH our God, 

(Exodus 9:14 NRS) For this time I will send all my plagues upon you yourself, and upon your officials, and upon your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 

(Deuteronomy 4:35 NRS) To you it was shown so that you would acknowledge that YHWH is God; there is no other besides him. 

(Deuteronomy 4:39 NRS) So acknowledge today and take to heart that YHWH is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 

(Deuteronomy 33:26 NRS) There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, majestic through the skies. 

Since we are to believe in only one God, the people of Israel are not to worship, bow down to, serve, or call upon the name of any other would-be god, gods or goddesses.

(Exodus 20:3-5 NRS) you shall have no other gods before me. ⁴  You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I YHWH your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 

 (Exodus 23:13 NRS) Be attentive to all that I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips. 

(Exodus 34:14 NRS) for you shall worship no other god, because YHWH, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 

Let us be clear to understand the radical monotheism of the Torah.  Not only are we not to bow down to, serve, worship, or call upon the name of other gods, we are not even to acknowledge their existence. There are no other gods. All other gods are merely the ignorant imaginings of man’s corrupted and finite mind.  These idols and devils worshipped by the other religions of the world are, in the opinion of our sacred texts, simply the fruit of men’s imagination and handiwork.

(Isaiah 37:19 NRS) and have hurled their gods into the fire, though they were no gods, but the work of human hands– wood and stone– and so they were destroyed. 

(2 Kings 22:17 NRS) Because they have abandoned me and have made offerings to other gods, so that they have provoked me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 

(Psalm 115:4-8 NRS) Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. ⁵  They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. ⁶  They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. ⁷  They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their throats. ⁸  Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them. 

(Habakkuk 2:18-19 NRS) What use is an idol once its maker has shaped it– a cast image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in what has been made, though the product is only an idol that cannot speak! ¹⁹  Alas for you who say to the wood, “Wake up!” to silent stone, “Rouse yourself!” Can it teach? See, it is gold and silver plated, and there is no breath in it at all. 

(Isaiah 44:13-19 NRS) The carpenter stretches a line, marks it out with a stylus, fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he makes it in human form, with human beauty, to be set up in a shrine. ¹⁴  He cuts down cedars or chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. ¹⁵  Then it can be used as fuel. Part of it he takes and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it, makes it a carved image and bows down before it. ¹⁶  Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he roasts meat, eats it and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Ah, I am warm, I can feel the fire!” ¹⁷  The rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, bows down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god!” ¹⁸  They do not know, nor do they comprehend; for their eyes are shut, so that they cannot see, and their minds as well, so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹  No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted meat and have eaten. Now shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 

As cultures and religions collide challenges to our faith and faithfulness arise. With the rise and spread of Islam in the world a question has arisen concerning the eating of “halal” food.  The Arabic designation “halal” (lawful or permitted) is based in the Quran and Sharia law, and serves much the same purpose as the distinction “tahor” (clean, acceptable) or “kosher” among the children of Israel.  The Torah teaches that we as the people of Israel are only permitted to eat certain animals for food.

(Leviticus 11:2-3 NRS) Speak to the people of Israel, saying: From among all the land animals, these are the creatures that you may eat. ³  Any animal that has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed and chews the cud– such you may eat. 

(Leviticus 11:9 NRS) These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams– such you may eat. 

(Leviticus 11:13-20 NRS) These you shall regard as detestable among the birds. They shall not be eaten; they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, ¹⁴  the buzzard, the kite of any kind; ¹⁵  every raven of any kind; ¹⁶  the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; ¹⁷  the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, ¹⁸  the water hen, the desert owl, the carrion vulture, ¹⁹  the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. ²⁰  All winged insects that walk upon all fours are detestable to you. 

(Leviticus 11:21-22 NRS) But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. ²²  Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind. 

All animals that do not fit these criteria are prohibited from our diet.  This includes pork and shellfish and also animals that have died of themselves or were killed by other animals.

(Exodus 22:31 NRS) You shall be people consecrated to me; therefore you shall not eat any meat that is mangled by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs. 

(Leviticus 22:8 NRS) That which died or was torn by wild animals he shall not eat, becoming unclean by it: I am YHWH. 

We should also include in these dietary restrictions the prohibition against eating blood.

(Genesis 9:4 NRS) Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 

(Leviticus 3:17 NRS) It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood. 

(Leviticus 7:26 NRS) You must not eat any blood whatever, either of bird or of animal, in any of your settlements

(Leviticus 17:12-14 NRS) Therefore I have said to the people of Israel: No person among you shall eat blood, nor shall any alien who resides among you eat blood. ¹³  And anyone of the people of Israel, or of the aliens who reside among them, who hunts down an animal or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. ¹⁴  For the life of every creature– its blood is its life; therefore I have said to the people of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off. 

The Quran likewise teaches dietary laws for its practitioners.

“O men, eat the lawful and good things from what is in the earth, and follow not the footsteps of the devil. Surely he is an open enemy to you.  He enjoins on you only evil and indecency, and that you speak against Allah what you know not.  And when it is said to them, Follow what Allah has revealed, they say; we follow that wherein we found our fathers.  What! Even though their fathers had no sense at all, nor did they follow the right way.  And the parable of those who disbelieve is as the parable of one who calls out to that which hears no more than a call and a cry.  Deaf, dumb, blind, so they have no sense.  O you who believe, eat of the good things that We have provided you with, and give thanks to Allah if He it is Whom you serve.  He has forbidden you only what dies of itself, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any other (name) than (that of) Allah has been invoked.  Then whoever is driven by necessity, not desiring, nor exceeding the limit, no sin is upon him.  Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”[1]

“Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, and the strangled (animal), and that beaten in death, and that killed by a fall, and that killed by goring with the horn, and that which wild beasts have eaten—except what you slaughter; and that which is sacrificed on stones set up (for idols), and that you seek to divide by arrows; that is a transgression.”[2]

“Eat, then, of that on which Allah’s name has been mentioned, if you are believers in His messages. And what reason have you that you should not eat of that on which Allah’s name is mentioned, when He has already made plain to you what He has forbidden to you—excepting that which you are compelled to.  And surely many lead (people) astray by their low desires through ignorance. Surely the Lord—He best knows the transgressors.”[3]

Much as it is with meat declared Kosher by the Rabbis, halal meat must be slaughtered by cutting the esophagus, carotid artery, and jugular vein in one clean slice bleeding the animal to death. In fact the Quran addresses this similarity between the meat eaten by the people of  Israel (the people of the Book), and those practicing Islam.

This day (all) good things are made lawful to you. And the food of those who have been given the Book is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them.[4]

While the method of slaughter may be the same, what causes unease with many Jews and Messianic believers is the fact that the name of Allah is proclaimed over the meat being slaughtered: Bismillah allahu akbar—In the name of Allah the Great.

Since the Quran’s proclamation of Allah is radically different than the Torah’s proclamation of YHWH, we may be assured that Allah and YHWH are not the same God but called by two different names.  That the Torah clearly states that YHWH is the only God. Therefore, according to the Torah Allah is not god but an idol, the product of man’s ignorance, imagination, and handiwork.

The increasing presence of halal meat in stores and restaurants raises the question for Messianic believers, “Should we eat meat sacrificed or slaughtered in the name of Allah?”

The council of elders in Jerusalem ruled,

(Acts 15:20 NRS) but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood. 

(Acts 21:25 NRS) But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.” 

The Apostle Shaul likewise wrote,

(1 Corinthians 9:13 NRS) Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar? 

Together these verses would seem to indicate that we should not eat meat slaughtered in the name of another deity.  However, this is not the final word on the matter.  The Apostle Shaul goes further with this topic.

(1 Corinthians 8:4-13 NRS) Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” ⁵  Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth– as in fact there are many gods and many lords– ⁶  yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Yeshua Messiah, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. ⁷  It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸  ”Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹  But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰  For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? ¹¹  So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Messiah died are destroyed. ¹²  But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Messiah. ¹³  Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall. 

(Romans 14:1-8 NRS) Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. ²  Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. ³  Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. ⁴  Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. ⁵  Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. ⁶  Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of YHWH. Also those who eat, eat in honor of YHWH, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of YHWH and give thanks to God. ⁷  We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸  If we live, we live to YHWH, and if we die, we die to YHWH; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are YHWH’s. 

In the first of these two passages Brother Shaul affirms the reality that there is but one God. Therefore, meat that has been sacrificed to idols is sacrificed to nothing.  Blessings said over the slaughtered animal are spoken to nothing. These offerings and blessings to and in the name of other gods amount to nothing more than babbling and gibberish.  It would be the same as slaughtering in the name of Santa Claus or Pinocchio. Again belief does not make reality.  If one truly understands this and believes this to be true, then eating halal meat makes no difference at all.  However, Brother Shaul is concerned with the new convert who may still have roots and remnants of belief in his previous gods lingering in his soul.  For the young convert to continue to knowingly eat meat sacrificed to his old god or idols, may draw his heart back to his previous life.  Knowingly eating the meat sacrificed in the name of another god, may also create spiritual confusion among those who know him in his new faith community as well as in his old faith community.  Therefore, for the sake of the young believer’s conscience, and the integrity of the new convert’s testimony, it is best if those who have recently converted to the Covenant from Islam or any other pagan religion, make a clear break from their past religion and its practices.  We should remember that the wisdom and restrictions given by the council of elders at Jerusalem were given concerning new converts—who may still have a lingering acknowledgment of the reality of their previous gods.  If we as mature believers are hosting new converts from Islam, we may want to avoid serving halal meats.  Shaul suggests one way to avoid this is not to eat any meat at all.  Shaul warns us not to use the liberty of our maturity in understanding and faith in such a way as to cause a new or immature believer to stumble.  Such would clearly be the case if, in our realization that there are no other gods, we thoughtlessly entered into a recognized pagan temple and ate the meat sacrificed to their idols.  To use one’s liberty in such a way is condemned by Shaul and the Messiah!

(1 Corinthians 8:9-11 NRS).But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰  For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? ¹¹  So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Messiah died are destroyed.

(Revelation 2:14 NRS) But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication. 

(Revelation 2:20 NRS) But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 

We should note that the offense in all three of these passages is not the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, but the participation is their cultic practices directed to the worship of other gods. The fornication referred to in the reference to Balaam and Jezebel is referring to the erotic feasts involving temple prostitutes as part of the fertility rites of the pagan’s gods.

(Numbers 25:1-2 NRS) While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab. ²  These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 

While as the people of Israel we recognize that there are no other gods besides YHWH, we must remember that we are called to be a Holy people set apart from the practices and erroneous beliefs of the world.  Therefore while the gods worshipped in pagan temples are nothing, we should recognize that by participating in such practices we give credence to these practices and the gods they honor. We must therefore avoid any appearance of approval of pagan gods and their worship. The Torah expressly forbids us from incorporating such offensive practices into the worship of YHWH.

(Deuteronomy 12:29-31 NRS) When YHWH your God has cut off before you the nations whom you are about to enter to dispossess them, when you have dispossessed them and live in their land, ³⁰  take care that you are not snared into imitating them, after they have been destroyed before you: do not inquire concerning their gods, saying, “How did these nations worship their gods? I also want to do the same.” ³¹  You must not do the same for YHWH your God, because every abhorrent thing that YHWH hates they have done for their gods. They would even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. 

We are responsible for our brethren’s faith and understanding.  We should not put our maturity or freedom before the best interest of our brethren.  Shaul also warns us against arrogantly judging our brethren in their weakness or in their zeal. Rather we are to encourage new believers in their walk of faith with YHWH.  Therefore if our brethren choses to eat meat (even that purchased at the market that may have been sacrificed to idols) we should not judge him for he has committed no wrong, as long as his eating such meat has not caused another brother to stumble in his faith.  Likewise, if our brother refuses to eat meat so as not to cause his brother to fall (for fear that the meat purchased at market was sacrificed to idols), we shall not judge him, for his heart is to honor YHWH and encourage the faith and walk of his brother. What should be avoided is any participation in pagan worship including and especially eating in their temple the meat identified with the altar of their god or gods.

In concluding therefore, we must draw a distinction between meat purchased in the market, and that which was taken from a pagan altar. In other words, meat purchased in the store or restaurant that may have had the name Allah spoken over it in the slaughtering house in order to obtain the halal symbol is different from the meat sacrificed and eaten in the context of worship in a pagan temple.  The offense is not the meat itself, but the participation in pagan worship in a pagan temple. The offense is the confusion caused by a believer of YHWH and follower of Yeshua, being associated by others with another god.  Again, the concern is not the meat, but the message our actions declare to the world around us.  Therefore, it remains a matter of conscience whether a follower of Messiah eats halal meat or abstains from such meat.  What is important is that our actions do not dishonor YHWH or cause our brethren to stumble.  Love of God and love of neighbor are the primary considerations in this matter.