When Christians say they can eat meat sacrificed to idols, they’re quoting the KJV (which, once again, used the word “meat” instead of “food”) and they’re leaning on Paul’s assurance that it’s okay to eat foods sacrificed to idols. Some of the early followers of Jesus (Yehoshua) , however, believed Paul to be “the enemy” even after he went to Damascus.
“…Then after three days one of the brothers came to us from Gamali-El, whom we mentioned before, bringing to us secret tidings that that enemy had received a commission from Kayafa, the Kohen ha Gadol (Caiaphas the High Priest), that he should arrest all who believed in Y’shua, and should go to Dameshek (Damascus) with his letters, and that there also, employing the help of the unbelievers, he should make havoc among the faithful; and that he was hastening to Dameshek chiefly on this account, because he believed that Kefa (Apostle Peter) had fled thither…” Recognitions of Clement Chapter LXXI: Flight to Yericho
On the other hand, Jesus (Yehoshua) warns us against eating food sacrificed to idols in Revelation.
Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Revelation 2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Meat Sacrificed to Idols
When you eat animal flesh, you had to pay someone to sacrifice an animal(s) for you to enjoy the meal.
Philippians 3:19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.
You could say if you sacrifice animals for your stomach, you’re sacrificing meat/food to idols (your stomach / god). It doesn’t matter if you’re the one sacrificing the animal as long as you pay a steward (slaughterer) to sacrifice the animal for you. If you’re paying for it, it was your responsibility to know how your workers are treating the animals.
Oftentimes, the caretakers of the animals are not even taking care of the animal’s needs. They sacrifice the animals’ well-being in search of more money by skimping on the food they feed them, the space they give them, etc. In this case they are sacrificing the animals (well-being) to the god of money (Mammon).
Farmers have been feeding skittles to cows for years simply because it’s cheaper.
“(It) is a very good way for producers to reduce feed cost, and to provide less expensive food for consumers,” Ki Fanning, a livestock nutritionist with Great Plains Livestock Consulting, told CNNMoney at the time.
When people purchase the cheaper products because they don’t want to spend more money on humanely-fed animal products, they’re also sacrificing the animals’ well-being to the god of money, Mammon.
The word for “meat” is mistranslated from the word for “food” which can include drinks too. So, dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. and eggs can be considered another “food” sacrificed to idols due to the way the mass production companies treat these animals today. Male chicks are ground up alive as soon as they’re hatched and sexed simply because they’re not going to be “useful” to egg companies.
From the Wikipedia article on Chick Culling:
Chick culling is the process of killing newly hatched poultry for which the industry has no use. It occurs in all industrialised egg production whether free range, organic, or battery cage—including that of the UK and US. Because male chickens do not lay eggs and only those on breeding programmes are required to fertilise eggs, they are considered redundant to the egg-laying industries and are usually killed shortly after being sexed, which occurs after they hatch.
As of 2018, worldwide around 7 billion day-old male chicks were culled per year in the egg industry.[1] {PubMed 29294120}
Matthew 10:29 What is the price of two sparrows–one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.
That’s a sobering thought. Also, according to the bible, all animals have the same Spirit/breath of life from the Father that we do. But these animals are sacrificed every day solely because it’s cheaper to kill them. Once again they sacrifice the animals to the god of Mammon daily.
Article link: https://www.hkbnews.net/post/all-meat-is-food-sacrificed-to-idols-by-barbara-wegner-ed-dr-chapman-chen