Blood sausage, also known as black pudding, is a type of sausage made by cooking blood or dried blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. The dish is a traditional food in many parts of Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. However, among Christians there has been some debate around whether or not consuming blood sausage goes against biblical principles. In this article, we’ll take a close look at the arguments on both sides of this issue.
A Brief History of Blood Sausage
Before examining the debate itself it’s helpful to understand where blood sausage comes from and how it became a traditional food in many cultures. Using blood as an ingredient in sausages and other foods has a long history across Europe, Asia Africa and the Americas. Here are a few highlights
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Blood sausage originated as a way to fully use all parts of an animal after slaughter. Not wasting any edible part was important for survival in earlier cultures
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Drying and cooking blood to make sausage, puddings and soups helped preserve the blood for storage. This was important before refrigeration.
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Blood sausage has been mentioned in texts since ancient Greek and Roman times. Homer’s Odyssey refers to “blood puddings” around 800 BC.
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In Europe, blood sausage goes by many names like blutwurst in Germany and boudin noir in France. Variations appear across Italy, the UK, Poland, Spain and Scandinavia.
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Latin America also has many blood sausages. Morcilla in Spain evolved into varieties like morcilla de Burgos and morcillon in Argentina and Uruguay.
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Asia has blood-based dishes too. In Vietnam, tiet canh uses raw blood in a dish with cooked lean pork.
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In the Philippines daranak is a rice dish cooked in pig blood usually eaten at celebrations.
The Case Against Eating Blood Sausage
For many Christians, there are a few biblical principles that clearly prohibit the consumption of blood sausage and other blood-based foods:
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God prohibited consuming blood under the Old Covenant. In the Old Testament, God commanded the Jewish people not to eat blood: “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.” (Deuteronomy 12:23). This command was repeated multiple times.
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The apostles prohibited consuming blood under the New Covenant. In the New Testament, the apostles affirmed the command to abstain from consuming blood in their instructions to new Gentile believers: “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.” (Acts 15:28-29)
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Consuming blood still disrespects life. Even under the New Covenant of grace, some Christians argue the original symbolism of abstaining from blood remains relevant. God tied blood to life and prohibited misusing life (Genesis 9:4-5). Eating blood sausage requires taking blood out of the context God intended it for.
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Example should be set for weaker believers. Some Christians make the additional case that even if blood sausage doesn’t violate the conscience of mature believers, they should still abstain to avoid causing those with weaker faith to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:9-13).
Based on these points, many Christians over the centuries have maintained the stance that consuming blood sausage and other blood-based foods is incompatible with biblical values even in the New Testament era. But not all Christians view the issue the same way.
The Case For Allowing Blood Sausage
While the above arguments are strong, there are good faith reasons why other Christians believe consuming blood sausage does not conflict with biblical principles:
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Old Testament food laws do not apply. Most Christians believe that the Old Testament’s extensive food laws were fulfilled and completed by Christ (Colossians 2:16-17; Romans 14:14). This included the command not to consume blood.
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Only core Old Testament commands repeated in New Testament apply. Biblical scholars point out that only Old Testament commands repeated in the New Testament still apply. And the prohibition on blood is not explicitly repeated.
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Blood is drained from sausage. Blood sausage today also does not reflect the original biblical context. Modern versions typically drain the animal blood rather than using it in its natural state. This may remove it from the original intent.
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Matters of food are a “disputable matter.” Instructions like Romans 14-15 and 1 Corinthians 8-10 indicate that matters of food and drink are not core moral issues, but disputable matters of conscience and Christian freedom.
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Focus on Christ-like love, not judging. Some emphasize that the New Testament calls believers to extend grace on debatable issues. Judging one another on food and drink conflicts with walking in love (Romans 14:13-19).
While not all are fully convinced of these perspectives, many sincere believers do come to the conclusion that consuming blood sausage and similar foods is a matter of personal conscience and Christian freedom, not a sin, under the New Covenant.
Navigating This Complex Issue
As we can see, good arguments exist on both sides of this issue within Christianity. How then should Christians who desire to honor God navigate it? Here are a few principles to keep in mind:
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Pray and examine Scripture. Take time to study all relevant Bible passages thoroughly and bring the issue to God in prayer for wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit. Don’t make a quick judgment.
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Follow your conscience. If after study and prayer you do not feel freedom of conscience to eat blood sausage, abstain for the glory of God. If your conscience is clear, you have freedom in Christ (Romans 14:22-23).
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Walk in love. Avoid looking down on fellow believers who come to different conclusions. Respect their desire to honor the Lord even when applying biblical principles differently (Romans 14:1-8).
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Focus on Christ. Remember that God cares immensely more about our walk with Jesus than food debates. Keep the gospel and Christ’s love central, not dissecting debatable issues (Colossians 2:16-17).
The question of whether Christians should eat blood sausage and similar foods has been debated for centuries. Sincere believers can and do come to different conclusions. As the biblical principles above remind us, what matters most is each Christian seeking the Lord with humility, walking in love towards one another, and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus above all.
Establishing the Gospel Essentials
Acts 15 details the proceedings of this first great church council, the Jerusalem Council. The impetus for the meeting was a fierce disagreement concerning the validity of the Gentile Christians’ salvation. Of course, the fact that Gentiles could become Christians had been established much earlier (Acts 10). But there was still a big question: why should Gentiles be part of the community of believers? Should they become Jewish and follow certain Old Testament laws, like circumcision, in order to be full members of the church?
There was a big argument in the church of Antioch when some teachers from Judea said that being circumcised is necessary for salvation (Acts 15:1). Paul, Barnabas, and some other church leaders agreed to hold a meeting to settle the question because they knew it had big implications for salvation. The theological stakes were high. In spite of the fact that circumcision was the main issue, the council’s main question was what must a person do to be saved? If circumcision was required, then the good news of salvation by faith alone through grace alone would not be true, and people would have to do something to be right with God.
Thankfully, the apostles and elders resisted the pressure to impose Jewish legalism on the Gentile believers. In a series of speeches, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James said again that salvation is completely by God’s grace through faith alone. They made it clear that good works are not necessary to be saved. Everyone there agreed that people from other cultures who want to follow God shouldn’t have to follow the Old Testament law.
What’s Behind the Blood?
What about the third and fourth things on James’s list? These requests—to stay away from things that have been strangled and from blood—may sound strange to us today. Knowing the history behind these rules, on the other hand, helps explain why they were brought up in a conversation about Jewish and Gentile fellowship.
The Jewish concern for rightly handling blood originates in Genesis 9:4–6. There, God first let Noah and his family eat animal flesh, but not blood, to show that blood is life. Later, this same lesson was written down for Israel in Leviticus 17:10–16, where God made it clear that eating blood was wrong. This order comes from Leviticus 17:11, which says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I gave it to you on the altar to make peace for your souls, for it is the blood that makes peace by the life.” ”.
Two important truths are communicated here. First, blood is sacred because it represents life. As Allen Ross explains, “When blood is shed, life is relinquished.” Second, within the sacrificial system, the life-blood is the means by which atonement is made for the one bringing the sacrifice. Based on this reasoning, one can see why animal blood was a fitting (albeit imperfect) type of the final sacrifice, whose blood alone actually takes away sins (Heb. 9:22; 10:4; 1 John 1:7). For these reasons, the Israelites weren’t to devalue blood by human consumption.
Keeping this historical background in mind, James’s request that the Gentile Christians not eat blood should be seen as a way to keep the fellowship between Christians from different cultures. By following the council’s advice, the early church showed tact and patience, which are qualities that are needed for deep, real fellowship to grow in congregations with a lot of different ethnic groups. Because Moses “had in every city those who proclaim him” (Acts 15:21), Jews all over the ancient world would have been upset if Gentiles showed off their freedom without caring about how it affected them. It was hard enough to live in a diverse community; there was no need to make your brother or sister angry for no reason.
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