Pork?

From grok

The question of whether early Christians ate pork (or followed Jewish dietary laws prohibiting it, as in Leviticus 11:7–8 and Deuteronomy 14:8) has a nuanced answer based on the New Testament and historical evidence from the apostolic era.Key Biblical Developments

• Jesus’ Teaching: In Mark 7:18–23 (paralleled in Matthew 15), Jesus declared that defilement comes from the heart, not from external things entering the body: “Thus he declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:19, in many translations). This statement challenged strict interpretations of ritual purity and dietary laws, though Jesus and his disciples (being Jewish) likely continued observing kosher practices during his ministry.
• Peter’s Vision (Acts 10): Around the 30s–40s AD, Peter received a vision of a sheet containing clean and unclean animals, with a voice commanding him to “kill and eat.” Peter refused, citing his lifelong avoidance of unclean foods. The voice replied, “What God has made clean, do not call common” (Acts 10:15). Peter initially puzzled over its meaning (Acts 10:17), but he soon understood it primarily as God’s message that Gentiles (non-Jews) were no longer to be considered “unclean” or common—he should not hesitate to associate with them (Acts 10:28). While the vision used food as a metaphor, many early Christians interpreted it as also lifting dietary restrictions, allowing previously unclean foods like pork.
• Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15, around 49–50 AD): This pivotal meeting addressed whether Gentile converts needed to follow the full Mosaic Law (including circumcision and dietary rules). The apostles and elders decided not to impose the full Jewish law on Gentiles, requiring only that they abstain from food sacrificed to idols, blood, things strangled, and sexual immorality (Acts 15:19–20, 28–29). Notably, pork was not prohibited—meaning Gentile Christians could eat it without violating the church’s decision.

Practice in the Early Church

• Jewish Christians (those of Jewish background) often continued following kosher laws out of habit, conscience, or cultural identity for some time. Paul addressed this in letters like Romans 14, urging believers not to judge one another over food—some ate everything, while others (likely Jewish Christians) abstained from certain meats to avoid offending their conscience.
• Gentile Christians (the growing majority as the church spread) generally did not follow Jewish dietary laws, including the ban on pork. Paul’s writings (e.g., 1 Corinthians 10:25–27; Colossians 2:16) encouraged freedom in food choices, as long as it didn’t cause others to stumble or involve idolatry.
• By the late 1st century and into the 2nd century, the mainstream church (especially among Gentiles) treated pork and other formerly unclean foods as permissible. Some early writings (like the Letter of Barnabas or Letter to Diognetus) allegorized the Old Testament dietary laws as symbolic rather than literal commands still binding on Christians.

In summary, while the very earliest Jewish followers of Jesus (including the apostles initially) likely avoided pork to maintain Jewish customs, the early church as a whole—especially after Peter’s vision and the Council of Jerusalem—moved toward freedom from those restrictions. Most Christians ate pork without seeing it as sinful, viewing the Old Testament dietary laws as fulfilled or set aside in the New Covenant. This became the dominant practice in Christianity, unlike in Judaism (or later groups like Seventh-day Adventists who retain some restrictions).