Christian dietary laws

Christian dietary laws vary between denominations. The general dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals". Some Christian denominations forbid certain foods during periods of fasting, which in some denominations may cover half the year and may exclude meat, fish, dairy products, and olive oil. Christians in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Orthodox denominations traditionally observe Friday as a meat-free day (in mourning of the crucifixion of Jesus); many also fast and abstain from meat on Wednesday (in memory of the betrayal of Jesus). There are various fasting periods, notably the liturgical season of Lent. A number of Christian denominations disallow alcohol consumption, but all Christian churches condemn drunkenness. The only dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals" (), teachings that the early Church Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen, preached for believers to follow. Paul the Apostle, in a notable contrast, told the Christians in Corinth not to worry about eating food sacrificed to idols, since "an idol has no real existence" (). However, while liberating the Christian from this common dietary restriction, he did recommend using discernment, because it would be better to never eat any meat than to cause another Christian to stumble (). The Council of Jerusalem instructed gentile Christians not to consume blood, food offered to idols, or the meat of strangled animals, since "the Law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath." In Judaism, Jews are forbidden from consuming (amongst other things) any mammals except those with cloven hooves that chew their cud, shellfish (including all invertebrate seafood) and unscaled or finless fish, blood, food offered to idols, or the meat of animals not killed humanely with a sharp knife by a trained Jewish slaughterer or meat from a living animal The Seven Laws of Noah, which Jews believe all people, Jews and gentiles alike, must follow, also forbid consuming the meat of living animals.