Doctrinal Differences - a new insight...

I thought I’d begin my blog by diving straight to tackle one of the most controversial issues facing the church – indeed, some say it is the great debate that threatens the future of the church itself – how should we treat our fellow Christians whose surrounding culture means that they no longer hold to the biblical instruction not to eat things that live in the water without having fins or scales?  Of course, Leviticus 11 quite clearly states these things are unclean and it would be a breach or God’s law to eat them.  This issue is of particular interest to me, living next door to the local “Loch Fyne” Restaurant which serves the finned and unfinned varieties on the same menu, without apparent discrimination.

Personally, when I see a shrimp with all its legs, claws, weird feeler things and armour on - I don’t find it at all appetising.  Indeed, my natural instinct is more “Ewwwugh” than “Yum”.  Of course, I had learned during my experience of business travel to try whatever was recommended by our hosts, and so had been persuaded to consume escargot and even a lobster (which was quite tasty and worth the effort of dissecting such a revolting-looking creature – not that this ever came up in church circles, you understand!).

A Sample of the Crayfish in question

However, my attitude changed during a visit to the Swedish Church who are in full-communion with us Anglicans despite having much more liberal attitudes.  Indeed, their progressive attitudes sometimes cause official letters to be sent between bishops to warn about potential consequences of unilateral updates to doctrine.  Anyway, at the end of the working week, in which some of us had pushed our theological boundaries, e.g. by attending an “Inclusive Mass” in the cathedral, the prospect of a Swedish-style “Crayfish Party” was looming large.  The thought of coming face to face with such overgrown shrimps became more daunting when we realised that large quantities of schnapps would be needed to deaden our senses to the potential side-effects or this crustacean-based orgy of liberalism.

Well, needless to say, we were in the presence of very gracious hosts who educated us in the ways of “kräftskiva” and encouraged by their genuine friendship to indulge ourselves, the most open-minded led the way whilst the more conservative began with the safer option of bread and raw chillis.  Whether it was the beer, schnapps or just the companionship of good friends, I decided to let my hair down a bit and tucked into the crayfish.  One gave me a nasty little cut as I tore its claws apart which I particularly noticed when it came into contact with juice from a chilli.  I thought that perhaps God had good reason for warning us not to mess with these fin- and scale-less monsters of the deep.  However, as long as we avoided those fattened up near a sewage-outfall or too rich in toxins, then it seemed okay – perhaps God would have allowed the Israelites to try crustaceans if they had understood these dangers?  Anyway, by the end of the evening, I had probably decapitated and consumed as many crayfish as anyone and didn’t feel that anyone was judging me (except for my gluttony).

So, with this new found insight, where does that leave me with regard to the divisive issue facing the church?  Well, perhaps we can move on and accept that there are cultural differences, not just abroad but here too: some restaurants specialise in seafood and usually advertise themselves as such.  People who still don’t like seafood can then know what to expect and avoid eating there.  Hence, those who like traditional restaurants can continue to call them “restaurants” and those who want the restaurant experience but prefer crustaceans can go to a “seafood restaurant”.

P.S. I know that Christians were given permission to eat anything in Peter’s vision (Acts 10), so this has no parallels with other lesser debates, e.g. concerning human sexuality, except that the Holy Spirit may be leading the church on again...