Are Biblical Diets Christian?
A lot of people say they use the scriptures for their guide to living, but they really don't. A good example of this is found in certain "biblical" diet fads like the Daniel fast, the Halleluiah diet, the back to Eden guide and more. People use the Bible to pick and choose what sounds good to them (i.e. eating like in the Garden of Eden) but ignore other parts of the Bible that contradict what they did not rightly divide (i.e. What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common Acts 10:9-16).
I Timothy 4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
When discerning whether whatever diet or fast you are looking into doing is really of God, you should first see if the people presenting it are using the King James Bible. If they are not (and most all don't) then that should be a good indicator that they are not led of God. The King James Bible is the pure word of God and the standard for all Christians today.
THE RESTRICTIONS ON OUR DIET IN THE BIBLE
Acts 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
According to scripture, the only things that are forbidden for us to eat are meats offered to idols, eating the blood, and things strangled. Other then that all creatures are cleansed and clean.
Acts 10:9 ¶ On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
FASTINGS AND DIETS DO NOT MAKE YOU HOLIER
Pride becomes a snare for people who are participating in these fasts and diets. It's because they are doing something in the flesh, so, they feel better then you or feel like God will accept them more because they are "fasting" and doing something the "Bible way". That is just not true.
Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
The Pharisee was saying "I fast", "I" this, and "I" that...which is what these diets will lead you to do as well.
Daniel's Fast
Daniel 1:12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink....14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.
Daniel 10:2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
The verse above are used out of context by many today to constitute what is called "The Daniel Fast". They use this passage to claim a "vegetarian fast" and that Daniel was better, holier, and closer to God because of it. That is not the case. In context, in chapter 1 Daniel was requesting pulse in order to keep from eating the kings meat which must have been unclean. We still have that commandment today in Acts 15:29. In chapter 10, many years later, he was fasting and mourning. That is not what these people do when doing this "fast". If you look up the Ultimate Daniel Fast online you can see a web site where there are many recipes to follow. These people end up spending more time and money focusing on what they can eat instead of devoting that time to God and mourning for the sins of the people.
The scriptures continue to get twisted and pulled out of context. It would get quite confusing for someone trying to get closer to God by following a "Biblical" diet...especially when you consider what David was eating.
David's Diet
II Samuel 17:27 ¶ And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, 28 Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse,
29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
I hope that you can see the contradiction if one was better then the other. But it all has to do with context. This is my own thought on the matter, but using my reasoning, if Daniel was keeping from eating the king's meat in captivity, do you think he would have had some non-polluted sheep like David, if it was available? I don't see why not. But still people turn his fast into a vegan one. If you want to use either of these as an example for your eating, you have liberty. But please know that it does not make you better or worse as a Christian.
THEY MAKE MERCHANDISE OF YOU
The Pharisees were also making gain of the people...making God's house of prayer a den of thieves (Matthew 21:13). Preying on God's people.
II Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
It is the same thing with some these "Biblical diets" do. They are seeking after God's people, who are trying to follow Jesus, but with their subtly, they lead you away from the simplicity in Christ and have you being made perfect in the flesh.
Take the Hallelujah diet for example,
They are hiding behind a paywall. It costs $57 to begin...and that is just getting started. Then you pay into their supplement program because their diet does not provide you with the nutrients that you need. Most supplements are man-made and hard for your body to absorb so you end up peeing them out anyways. And that is God's way (Psalm 18:30)?? I'm supposed to be saying Hallelujah to that?? They claim to take you "from confused to confident". That is just like Satan and his subtly. It is far more confusing to restrict your diet and take handfuls of supplements a day rather then to receive all creatures as clean (Acts 10:9-16).
Another example on this topic is Ezekiel bread.
This is just another example of a verse taken out of context to make merchandise of God's people. They take Ezekiel 4:9 and run with it.
Ezekiel 4:9 ¶ Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
But now lets look at the context because this store-bought bread is missing the key ingredient...DUNG
Ezekiel 4:12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. 13 And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them....16 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: 17 That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
In the proper context, the bread that Ezekiel was commanded to eat was to show God's judgment for the iniquity of the house of Israel. This bread is not meant to be a fad trend selling for $10 a loaf. This is famine bread eaten by measure in the time of famine. The merchants are making merchandise of God's people; and their damnation slumbereth not.
"BIBLICAL" NUTRITIONIST HANDLE THE WORD OF GOD DECEITFULLY
Most all of these people handle the word of God deceitfully, using verses out of context, implying to scripture, and not rightly dividing. Here are two examples of such.
The Hallelujah diet
Do you notice the tiny sign in the first picture above with the reference "Genesis 1:29". Let's see that verse up close and personal, plus at least one other for more clarity on this verse out of context.
Genesis 1:29 ¶ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
They are going back to Eden with this verse saying that God gave us herbs and fruit for meat. That's it. Not actual meat. But they stopped reading in Genesis 1 and never made it to Genesis 9. Which is not rightly dividing the word of truth (I Timothy 2:15).
Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
After the flood, God did give the meat to eat. But commanded not to eat the blood, which is still the commandment for today (Acts 15:29).
This is how these people are using the word of God with deceit.
II Corinthians 4:1 THEREFORE seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss
This man was a fervent Seventh Day Adventist, that much is evident as when you read his book you would easily find verses out of context and used in such a way to lay a heavy burden on God's people (Adventist try to keep the burden of the law). Here is a page in his book Back to Eden:
In that first paragraph he is greatly blaspheming God's word. The Pharisees said, "I fast twice in the week", not God's priests. And God said the Publican went down more justified (Luke 18:9-14). Jethro said that Christ fasted 40 days "to gain victory over appetite on man's behalf". WHERE is that in scripture?? Jesus went to be tempted of the devil (Luke 4). But yet this book is praised among "Christians" and beguiling them away from the simplicity in Christ.
These two examples, are the same type of people that would hang out in Acts chapter 2, water baptism for remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and refuse to read the rest of the book to see how through the name of Jesus, everyone that believes has remission of sins (Acts 10:43).
These doctrines about fasting and dieting are doctrines of men and devils that take you away from the simplicity in Christ.
Galatians 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
I Timothy 4:1 NOW the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer
Colossians 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
II Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
IF YOU WANT TO ABSTAIN THAT'S FINE
With all this being said, if you want to be a vegetarian then do it. It is not commanded that we eat meat. The only commandments for eating today I shared in Acts 15:29 which is briefly understood as:
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols,
and from blood,
and from things strangled
Just understand that if you do partake in a Daniel fast, etc. that it does not make you any holier or more sanctified. We are sanctified by the word of God (John 17:17) not what we eat. Also be ware that you are at risk of exalting yourself like the Pharisees do in saying, "I fast".
And for those who look down on a brother for fasting, be aware of the verses in scripture that take that very seriously.
Romans 14:1 HIM that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
CONCLUSION AND VIDEO STUDY:
I hope this study has brought some things to light about these "Biblical" diets. Although they can be found in scripture, they are grossly taken out of context and used to deceive God's people into buying unnecessary items that don't make you a better or worse Christian. These diets are commandments of men, not God, and lead away from the simplicity of Christ. Please refer to this video study my husband Scotty did, going even deeper into this topic.
