What else is there to do in St Andrews in winter but write

Scot,
It sounds like a great read. I’ve always wondered by people attribute the health of the Israelites to their “biblical diet” when Deuteronomy 28:1-14 makes it clear that it is the LORD who blesses them and keeps them healthy. It is their obedience to YHWH, not the nutritional benefits of their diet that kept them healthy.

These ads are clever; I just saw an ad about dieting. No, that kind of dieting is not what is in view in this book folks.

Why does it have to be either/or John W? Their obedience to YHWH probably led them to a healthy diet, as well as piety, fear of the Lord, etc.

A liter a day? That’s unfermented grape juice, right?

You don’t have to study Judaism long to learn that the rabbis say the kosher laws are arbitrary. God gave Israel a special diet that makes no rational sense because it is about obeying, not health or science or anything else. Carp are kosher and catfish are not. Rabbit is healthier than beef, but not kosher.
As a leader of a Messianic synagogue I am embarrassed that some of these “Biblical diet” books claim to be bringing Jewish teaching to Christians. Not so.
We keep kosher to honor God, not for alleged health reasons.
Derek Leman

Derek: I sincerely value your comments but is that really true? I try to follow “The Maker’s Diet” since I believe that God knows what is best for humans to consume. There is no legalistic imperative to this (I eat steak and wash it down with milk and realize that this does not condemn me to God’s wrath. I also don’t eat pork but don’t give myself extra credits for that).
Jesus had an issue with the hedges that the Pharisees and so on had constructed around God’s laws. Even in our own age, an Orthodox Jewish woman can hardly move without violating some aspect of that “law.” I love and relish the freedom Jesus Messiah has given me but I also defer to God’s supernatural knowledge about such things as health issues (and, coincidentally, mental health issues. But that’s another story).
Travis (#5): of course that is wine. First, why would you think otherwise? Are you Baptist? Second, how can one preserve grape juice without fermenting it? Third, Jesus loved wine (and fish and bread and feeding all of this to the multitudes). Fourth: fermented foods (and drinks in this case) were an essential part of preserving food 2000 years before refrigeration and canning. What a kwinky dink: fermented foods and drinks (in moderation) are GOOD FOR US!

Mike @ 7,
I was joking. You are, of course, correct about wine. As you shrewdly deduced, I grew up Baptist. Which means I’m allowed to mock the silliness of legalistic teetotalism.

A curiosity of mine that this post triggered: was Jesus seeking to make essentially every meal into a remembrance of him, of his story, by saying “as often as you drink of it” re: wine (& bread)? I’ve often wondered if Jesus was intentionally associating himself with the staples of the diet of the day. It just strikes me like something he intended. Curious if this book touched on that or if someone else knows.

I’m all in if it’s a liter a day. But that would get expensive. Maybe that’s what the stimulus package should go for?
Seriously, I’ve got some good friends who are completely into a “Eating God’s Way” kind of diet and it just drives me crazy. If you want to eat a certain way, great! Just don’t attribute it to God when the evidence biologically, historically, and biblically don’t support the statement. The lone saving grace is that they aren’t pushy about it and will eat whatever is before them when at guests houses.
T in #9: great post.

Now this sounds interesting. A serious book that deals with the Jewish diet. Will make a note of this book.

Eat like the Israelites did? But they’re all DEAD!! They’re diet obviously didn’t help them any better than their neighbors’. :^)

Ooops! I meant to write “Their,” not “They’re.”
Pass the matzoh and Manischewitz….

if adamand eve had not eat of the tree of good and evi,then we would be vegie eaters,God had to sacifice an animal to cover them, this being the first sheding of blood.and the diet of the Israelites did not kill them their disobedence did,the Israelies are still alive, that is who the jewish people are,Israel is a country.and they are Gods choosen people.

I think this would be a very interesting read. I think this book is meant for a FYI kind of book, not a this is what you should eat kind of book. I don’t think food is what killed the Israelites. I really don’t believe food was the problem. Kudos to Mr. McKnight, May God Bless and Keep up the good work, or should I say the God work.

Well… The Israelites are noted to have lived several hundred years old and most of us are barely making it to a hundred!! Could it be our diet!?!?!?!!
Something to think about!

Hey u should eat what you want in moderation we sholud all consider what we eat its important our bodies are temples and i do understand we all fall short most people thinhk we fall short in just human to human rekationships but we also fall short in loving ourselves.when you sit down and really contemplate what ur body is and what it means to ur christian walk u realize i need to take care of my body in ordr to take care of the responsibilty GOD has given me to show my body is a temple from him for him.

It is very much alright to eat meat in moderation as long as we eat the meat that God prescribes in the O.T. Unless one lived in the those times one cannot claim to know just how people lived but we can speculate and then someone else will come and contradict our ideas as what is happening right now.

Well,
As far as the meat, I don’t think that they had antibiotics or growth hormones. It was probably grass fed or grain fed beef. I think that we think too much into things. The beef was probably nurished naturally and not with genetically engineered substances and most of all I’m sure that the jewish people of the time asked GOD to Bless them and probably centered their life more on GOD instead of themselves. We all need to follow this example including myself. Just another perspective. May GOD Bless Everyone and may we all pray more and read our BIBLES more!

First, the messiah’s name is all wrong and I can’t stand not to speak out. His name was Yahushua, Yah meaning I am, and -ushua meaning salvation. During the time of mosheh, or moses as you may call him, the temple was built, then desecrated by Antiochus IV, and taken back by the Israelites. After this the messiah, Yahushua, came, asked people to turn from their sins and follow him. What is sin? Sin is the transgression from the law/mitzvahs/torah. Who’s law? The most high’s law, YHWH. What laws the original law, for he came to fulfill the laws/mitzvahs/laws, not to abolish them (Matt. 5:17). Therefore, it is law/mitzvah to fulfill the dietary laws, not a choice to do so if we choose to follow him. I am only a person trying to search out absolute truth, not follow indoctrination through the generations.

Dear J,
I know you are looking at the law, but have you studied the New Testament, and considered what Jesus said? Have you read Peter’s vision that God sent to Peter about what is clean and what is not? God sent Jesus to die so that we would not have to be burdened with many edicts made by mere men. The Ten Commandments are still meaningful, and protect us from the results of sin if we follow them. We need to obey the ten, and live in the age of Grace, being lead very personally by the Holy Spirit every day. I hope you study about grace. It will enlighten you in a very deep way.