by Simon Akl
Recently, in one of my Health Science classes on Epidemiology, I was shocked by some of the statements made by my teacher. We were discussing how religious-based lifestyles can promote better health. The concept of clean and unclean foods given in the Bible came up. The teacher explained that there were clear health benefits from abstaining from unclean foods. He explained why pork and other sea creatures were bad for our health and were known to promote certain diseases. However, he ended by saying that such health hazards were now outdated and no longer needed to be followed. Later in the discussion, I was even more surprised when he stated how in the past the Catholic Church had modified their teachings in order to incorporate more predominantly pagan celebrations. I could not believe how aware he was of this information and yet continued to follow their false teachings and customs.
On a different occasion, in a conversation with my school secretary, she also stated how so many teachings had been changed by the Catholic Church. She knew about their pagan roots, yet chose to still follow them. Even when the truth is plain and clear, people still find ways to be deceived by Satan and his evil works. Though it is sad to see others being deceived, it helps me to realize how truly blessed I am to be a part of God’s calling, and how thankful I ought to be to have been given the ability to resist Satan and his deception.
