11 ms·

A lot of religious norms seem like things that made sense in context at the time, but not necessarily today. E.g. don't eat pork or shellfish, don't wear mixed

A lot of religious norms seem like things that made sense in context at the time, but not necessarily today. E.g. don't eat pork or shellfish, don't wear mixed fibers, don't get tattoos, cover your hair in public.

ars 4y ago
That doesn't count. People are well aware they are doing it for religious reasons. And, on top of that, there are reasons for the the religious actions that are still valid right now, that you are not even aware of.
- magneticnorth 4y ago
  > still valid right now, that you are not even aware of. I'm here to learn and engage in good-faith discussion - I didn't mean to offend you about your religion and I apologize if I did. I'd be interested to hear what you think these are, especially if I am genuinely ignorant about them.
  - ars 4y ago
    See this reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31176549 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31176549 and feel free to ask me any others. Tattoos are because your body does not belong to you, it belongs to God, and you are just borrowing it, so it's not right to damage it that way. Same for the prohibition against ripping out hair in mourning. You are expected to remember at all times that God gave you a body to do good things with. This also applies to the prohibition against suicide, or taking unnecessary risk (that last one is obviously very subjective). Additionally you are required to take good care of your body, and go to a Dr. when needed. All the above are different aspects of the same thing. Another example is you are not allowed to give up your life to save someone else, with exceptions made for your children. (You are allowed to risk it though.)
waste_monk 4y ago
I get that the pork and shellfish thing is about avoiding trichinosis and other food-borne nastiness, and the tattoo thing to avoid infection and sepsis, but what's the context for the other ones? assuming you mean "there's a good real-life reason for this" rather than "in the religious context of the time". Covering your hair maybe makes sense if there was a lice problem, but I can't think of a decent reason to prohibit wearing of mixed fibers.
- magneticnorth 4y ago
  The story I had heard was that it was characteristic of a competing tribe, but doing some quick googling right now it looks like the reason is more likely to be that such garments were reserved for priests - not sure why this rule didn't apply to them. At any rate, I am far from an expert on the Torah or Bible Old Testament, so maybe someone more knowledgeable can talk about what we think the reasons were for this law at the time.
  - ars 4y ago
    To be specific, it's permitted for the ceremonial clothing of a Priest, and only while on duty (typically 1 week out of the year). It's like the great seal of the US - permitted only for official use.
- yellowstuff 4y ago
  Not an expert but: married women covered their hair to make them less attractive to men. (Religious Jewish women now often wear wigs that look better than their natural hair, but that's OK. The Jewish God sometimes allows loopholes and workarounds.) Not wearing mixed fibers was never a practical rule, but part of a common theme in Judaism of separating things, like separating milk and meat. Most importantly, the sacred is separated from the mundane, and the Sabbath is separated from work days. There are quite a few rules in Leviticus that are impressively practical for an ancient people with a primitive understanding of biology: there are restrictions on a touching corpses or people with skin diseases, and frequent handwashing is mandated, including before eating, after urinating or defecating, and after visiting a graveyard.

ars 4y ago

That doesn't count. People are well aware they are doing it for religious reasons. And, on top of that, there are reasons for the the religious actions that are still valid right now, that you are not even aware of.

magneticnorth 4y ago
> still valid right now, that you are not even aware of. I'm here to learn and engage in good-faith discussion - I didn't mean to offend you about your religion and I apologize if I did. I'd be interested to hear what you think these are, especially if I am genuinely ignorant about them.
- ars 4y ago
  See this reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31176549 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31176549 and feel free to ask me any others. Tattoos are because your body does not belong to you, it belongs to God, and you are just borrowing it, so it's not right to damage it that way. Same for the prohibition against ripping out hair in mourning. You are expected to remember at all times that God gave you a body to do good things with. This also applies to the prohibition against suicide, or taking unnecessary risk (that last one is obviously very subjective). Additionally you are required to take good care of your body, and go to a Dr. when needed. All the above are different aspects of the same thing. Another example is you are not allowed to give up your life to save someone else, with exceptions made for your children. (You are allowed to risk it though.)

waste_monk 4y ago

I get that the pork and shellfish thing is about avoiding trichinosis and other food-borne nastiness, and the tattoo thing to avoid infection and sepsis, but what's the context for the other ones? assuming you mean "there's a good real-life reason for this" rather than "in the religious context of the time". Covering your hair maybe makes sense if there was a lice problem, but I can't think of a decent reason to prohibit wearing of mixed fibers.

magneticnorth 4y ago
The story I had heard was that it was characteristic of a competing tribe, but doing some quick googling right now it looks like the reason is more likely to be that such garments were reserved for priests - not sure why this rule didn't apply to them. At any rate, I am far from an expert on the Torah or Bible Old Testament, so maybe someone more knowledgeable can talk about what we think the reasons were for this law at the time.
- ars 4y ago
  To be specific, it's permitted for the ceremonial clothing of a Priest, and only while on duty (typically 1 week out of the year). It's like the great seal of the US - permitted only for official use.
yellowstuff 4y ago
Not an expert but: married women covered their hair to make them less attractive to men. (Religious Jewish women now often wear wigs that look better than their natural hair, but that's OK. The Jewish God sometimes allows loopholes and workarounds.) Not wearing mixed fibers was never a practical rule, but part of a common theme in Judaism of separating things, like separating milk and meat. Most importantly, the sacred is separated from the mundane, and the Sabbath is separated from work days. There are quite a few rules in Leviticus that are impressively practical for an ancient people with a primitive understanding of biology: there are restrictions on a touching corpses or people with skin diseases, and frequent handwashing is mandated, including before eating, after urinating or defecating, and after visiting a graveyard.