Has your thanksgiving turkey been sacrificed to idols?

One passage they seem to be overlooking…

1 Co 10:25–27 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake; 26 for “the earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness.” 27 If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake.

(Also, I’d be very leery of the political and religious reasoning of anyone who blogs under the title of “Atlas Shrugs”)

I had the same thought, Aaron. Besides, how would any of us know if our turkey had been slaughtered in such a way? WND has a bad habit of finding the weirdest things to about which to ‘sound the alarm’. The lions, the tigers the bears. Oh my.

It might be interesting, too, to compare halal to kosher.
I don’t know what all is similar or different, but you have a somewhat ceremonial thing going on both cases.
I’ve never worried about eating kosher dills.

Then there’s the old debate about whether “Allah” is a different God or the same one misunderstood. There’s a difference in there somewhere between “another God” and “bad doctrine about the true God,” know what I mean? Allah is not Krishna or Vishnu.. or Ba’al or Venus or Zeus (admittedly, their Allah resembles Zeus in some disturbing ways but still not the same).

The reasons behind this slaughter method are basically two : 1) It is extremely rapid death, and would be the most merciful to the animal, and 2) it drains the blood quickly, so that the eater does not ingest blood.

Regardless of what words are spoken over my turkey when it is killed, these methods will give us a safer product to eat.

It seems like these people may be on a hunt to find the smallest thing to complain about.

I don’t want to eat halal. Not a bite – and yet this is being shoved down the throats of Americans without their knowledge

I prefer to shove it down my own throat while I am awake. But if I am napping after dinner and there are leftovers … have at it!

I love me some Shawarma and I’m pretty sure it only comes halal. I’m with Paul - it’s just meat. Really, really tender and flavorful meat.

I’ve heard that the reason we bless our food before we eat it is to take the curse off of it. So as long as we say ‘grace’ before eating, we’re safe. And the turkey has been cooked to an internal temp of 165F.

Susan, I had never heard that about removing a curse. Sounds like some superstition picked up from our European ancesters. I grew up in a totally secular home, so we never said grace. I do so (and have done so since the Lord drew me to Hmself) as an expression of thanksgivign to God for His gracious supply.

We were once in a home of a family with Dutch heritage. Before the meal, they said “grace,” looking forward to the meal they were about to enjoy. After the meal, they “returned thanks” for the bounty they had received. It was part of the fabric of that family, and I found it very meaningfu.

[Dick Dayton] Susan, I had never heard that about removing a curse. Sounds like some superstition picked up from our European ancesters.

I was being a bit facetious, and have usually heard the idea of blessing food to remove the curse used tongue-in-cheek, but it’s also an actual teaching that I’ve heard here and there a few times over the years. As much as Christians put down superstitions like broken mirrors, black cats, and walking under ladders, Christians have their own variety of superstitions. I heard a preacher once jokingly say that whenever he gets into a moving vehicle or an airplane, he asks God to take all the “damns” off of it. Is he really joking? Maybe, maybe not!

Susan, I was not being critical. I have done some reading about the spiritual climate in Europe, and the departure from Biblical foundations, coupled with the pagan past, has permeated the culture with many superstitions. There is an author named Kurt Koch who hs written a number of books on the subject.
In many parts of our country, we have people who have taken those superstitions and made them part of the culture.
These stem from a lack of understanding of the truths of Scripture and the power of God. I do not have to manipulate the spiritual world. If we submit to God and walk in the light of the Word, then we can be confident that God is in control of our lives, and we do not have to be paralyzed by these supersititions.

Good post, Bro Dayton. I think it is interesting that American Christianity tends to look down in pity at the superstitions of ‘primitive’ cultures, while we’ve got a truck load of our own that we’ve taken for granted for so long that we have ceased to examine what we do in light of God’s Word.

[Susan R] I’ve heard that the reason we bless our food before we eat it is to take the curse off of it. So as long as we say ‘grace’ before eating, we’re safe. And the turkey has been cooked to an internal temp of 165F.

165F is too high for turkey. ;-)

[Shaynus]

[Susan R] I’ve heard that the reason we bless our food before we eat it is to take the curse off of it. So as long as we say ‘grace’ before eating, we’re safe. And the turkey has been cooked to an internal temp of 165F.

165F is too high for turkey. ;-)

165F is the USDA recommended internal temp for turkey. However, the internal temp of a resting turkey can increase by as much as 30 degrees in 20 minutes, so you have to take that into consideration. I roast a turkey until it reaches an internal temp of 145-150F and let the resting time take care of the difference, but I do leave the meat thermometer in until it reaches a safe internal temp.

For whatever reason, I’ll risk E. Coli with a good steak, but I never risk getting poultry cooties. I am a food hypocrite. I’ve had salmonella from eating undercooked ground turkey in white chili, and it was the only time in my life I almost wished for death to come and take me away. Maybe that turkey was cursed! :p

Heh. Just messin. I knew the USDA had lowered their standards. I always hated it when people told me to cook my pork to 185! It’s sheer abomination!