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Banstead Christadelphians
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An unusual scene in Cumbria England, the fields and hills without animals grazing

Not long ago, the United Kingdom was in the grip of ‘Foot and Mouth disease’ which spread like wildfire through our farmland.  This resulted in the slaughter of over 3,500,000 cattle and sheep and the postponement of local and national elections. 

Unfortunately, in the UK and in some parts of Europe, we still have cattle affected by ‘Mad Cow disease’, or ‘Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy’ (BSE) to give it its scientific name.  It has now been admitted that this disease has links with a similar condition in humans called ‘Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease’, which is known to have killed 86 people, mostly in Britain.   No one knows how many more people may be affected.  

Recently, the ‘Wall Street Journal’ expressed the view that Israel had been far-sighted in banning all cattle imports and associated by-products from Europe since 1988.   This ban emphasises the fact that Israel still largely follows the dietary laws and prohibition of the use of certain animals as food, which was laid down in the Laws given to Moses by God. (See Leviticus chapter 11 and Deuteronomy chapter 14)

The cause of the disease in cattle has been traced to the practice of feeding cattle with the ground up remains of other animals mixed with their natural food in pellet form. 

If we study the laws given by God to Moses, we will find that the Jews were forbidden to eat certain meat, including the flesh of animals that had died a natural death, animals that had been killed by other animals, and the flesh of scavengers.  So, does this mean that the Bible’s viewpoint is right after all?  Do we see here part of God’s wisdom in those laws given to His people so long ago?  A study of the Law of Moses shows that many of the principles contained therein are confirmed by the teaching of Christ and are enlarged upon in the commandments which he has given to his followers.  Although the disciples of Christ are not required to keep the Law of Moses, it is our view that we ignore the principles contained in the Scriptures at our peril!