# Eating Meat On Good Friday?



## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

I am a non-denominational Christian. I thought that not eating meat was a Catholic thing.

My DD and I were eating some leftover chinese food last night and my DH came in and was appalled that we were eating meat on Good Friday. I told him I am not Catholic, and he said all religions follow this. I know I never followed this growing up, either.

I know it is a symbolic thing after researching it (I didn't really know why Catholics did it so I looked it up). I certainly meant no disrespect, I had never heard of any other faiths doing this. Sort of like Catholics "give up something for Lent" and me not doing it because I am not Catholic and don't follow their ways, you know?

Geesh, now I feel awful. To make it worse, we had McD's for lunch yesterday. I am consoling myself with the knowledge that McD's contains little meat and don't know if the ban covers dog or cat meat since I ate Chinese .

Seriously, do all religions do this?? I have never heard of anyone but Catholics doing it. Just never talked about it to my Christian friends or heard about it in any sermons, you know?

I understand the symbolism now and will not eat meat on Good Friday again.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

It's the Catholics. I was raised Baptist and Presbyterian. We ate meat.

Also, I don't really think that God cares about it. It's a human symbol, not His.


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Ditto what Alice said. Don't feel bad....other than eating at McDonalds you did nothing wrong.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

RamblinRoseRanc said:


> Ditto what Alice said. Don't feel bad....other than eating at McDonalds you did nothing wrong.


:yuck: I know, but DD likes it once in a while. There is a huge play area at the one we go to so she gets to excercise the yuck out right away, lol.

Glad to hear it's not just me! He had me really wondering.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

We had a nice seven layer salad for good friday. Its pretty much meatless... if ya dont count the bacon.


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## Ohio Rusty (Jan 18, 2008)

It's mostly a catholic thing now.... but long before the catholics it was a christian thing. A long tiime ago, it wasn't meat on Friday ... but it was fasting .... doing without. That is where the no meat on Friday stems from .... fasting from meat one day a week during lent. Now it's symbolic that you are doing something for God. Kinda like ash wednesday when catholics get the ashes on their forheads. A long time ago ....people dressed in Sackcloth (think itchy burlap) and publicly sat in ashes and prayed ...... No one sits in ashes any more, so the blessed palms from Easter are burned to an ash, and these are the ashes use on Ash Wednesday ..... 
Non christians don't give two hoots about fasting, lent, the lords supper, etc. If it is something you are supposed to do ... then do it. 

Ohio Rusty ><>


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I grew up Presbyterian and I now attend a Methodist church: I have never heard anybody but the Catholics avoiding meat on good Friday EITHER!

I think that I will not worry about it.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Its a Catholic *tradition*, just that. Not sure where your husband got his info but he's incorrect.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

mnn2501 said:


> Its a Catholic *tradition*, just that. Not sure where your husband got his info but he's incorrect.


Yes, it is and I haven't paid any attention to it in 45+ years.

God doesn't care what we eat or when. He has better things to concern Himself with!


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

I've never heard of that either. We've gone to different churches. I don't think of myself as any certain type of denomination. I just think of myself as an Evangelical, born again Christian. We mostly attended independent Bible or Baptist churches as children. Now my family goes to a Presbyterian church (the smaller branch or PCA). I don't think the name on the door matters as much as what the church believes. 

Anyway, no church I've ever attended has ever said one thing about not eating meat on Good Friday. I don't quite get it. I also never understood the eating fish on Fridays thing. As a kid, that's what they served on Fridays and I went to a public school. Parents probably wouldn't pay for non-fish lunches. 

If it makes you feel any better we ate at Applebee's last night.

Did your hubby go to a Catholic or Lutheran church as a child? Why hasn't he ever said anything before?


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

It is a tradition typically followed by Catholics now, but you have to also remember that all Christian religions started out with one Church, so some of them still follow the old customs. Here, the Methodists also get ashes and avoid meat on Fridays during Lent. Good Friday is a day of fast, though, not just abstinence.

I think anyone who has read the Old Testament can be pretty sure that God DOES care what we eat  but for us today, it is something to remind us of the sacrifice that Christ made for our sins, and his suffering in the desert for 40 days. I try to live with God always in my mind and heart, but I am human, and my human life often gets in the way of me devoting as much thought to the Lord as I probably should. Giving up something important to me for Lent, and abstaining from meat on Fridays (as well as the other traditions we participate in during the Lenten season) are -physical- reminders of that sacrifice. When I go to plan the menu, when I'm shopping, when I'm trying to find something quick for lunch on Fridays, and I know I have to avoid meat, it turns my thoughts to the -reason- I'm doing these things.


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

I am Catholic and fast on Good Friday and other High Holy Days. Regular Fridays I try to avoid eating meat, but if I am invited to eat at someone's home and they serve meat I will eat a small bit to not make my host feel bad. Most people know me well enough to have salad or veggies though.

I think some other faiths still follow meatless Fridays, I have some Methodist friends who don't eat meat on 6riday. My mom is !aptist and doesn't either so perhaps it is more of a personal thing in other religions. I don't think you did any harm if you don't normally avoid meat on Friday as that is not your religious tradition. Lent is not just a Catholic thing I don't think as I believe other religions practice that as well.


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## Kathy in MD (May 30, 2002)

Becky&#8230;old habits are hard to break&#8230;I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic school for 8 years&#8230;with real nuns dressed from head to toe in black&#8230;now I am a, well not really sure, but surely do not consider myself a catholic&#8230;and I purposely did not eat meat on Good Friday&#8230;


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

You did nothing wrong....You committed no disrespect.


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## debbydoo1966 (Jan 15, 2007)

Raised Methodist, though I don't go to church now. We always ate meat on friday.


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

I'm Greek Orthodox and our religion believes in the meatless Fridays and also the 6 weeks of lent prior to Easter and Christmas where we are asked to give up all animal products. This is following the julian calendar so we celebrate our religious Easter next week according to that calendar. 
Easter service in our church starts with mass at 11:30 P.M. Saturday night and the blessing of the baskets, etc lasts until about 3 in the morning. Then we go home and have the blessed food for breakfast ending our lent period


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## fransean (Dec 21, 2002)

I grew up going to a Lutheran church and we definitely did not eat meat on Good Friday. No flesh eaten out of respect for the sacrifice of His flesh.
Our church also had the special three hour services on Good Friday for the messages from the cross - don't hear a lot churches doing that these days either.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

If it makes you feel any better, we had stuffed bell peppers last night and my hubby was raised Catholic!


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I had ham. Pork is forbidden by several religions on any day, not just Good Friday. 

I went to a school district where the school board was predominantly Catholic. we never had meat on any Friday. Fish was served at school.


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## galfriend (Nov 19, 2004)

Honestly, I can't recall what I had to eat on Fri.:shrug:


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## Zephaniah (Mar 16, 2010)

Just to mention from God's Word the Bible, Consider what it says at 1 Tim 4:1;

However, the inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons, 2-by the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, marked in their conscience as with a branding iron; 3-forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who have faith and accurately know the truth. 

God gave the permission to eat meat in Noah's day. It was misleading to say one cannot eat meat. However, if eating meat stumbles your brother --

1 Cor 8:13
Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat flesh at all, that I may not make my brother stumble.

We need to be balanced and respectful of others


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

beccachow said:


> I am a non-denominational Christian. I thought that not eating meat was a Catholic thing.
> 
> My DD and I were eating some leftover chinese food last night and my DH came in and was appalled that we were eating meat on Good Friday. I told him I am not Catholic, and he said all religions follow this. I know I never followed this growing up, either.
> 
> ...



There is NOTHING in the Bible that says I cannot eat meat on certain days.
It is a man made ritual. It is a man made rule.
Man's rules never trumps God's Word.
What goes into your mouth does not make you unclean.....it's what comes out of it that does!


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## mountainlaurel (Mar 5, 2010)

Laura Zone 5 said:


> There is NOTHING in the Bible that says I cannot eat meat on certain days.
> It is a man made ritual. It is a man made rule.
> Man's rules never trumps God's Word.
> What goes into your mouth does not make you unclean.....it's what comes out of it that does!


No one said it is unclean. It is done in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us. It helps you to remember what he has done when you also sacrifice. No one said eating meat or not eating meat would get you into heaven or keep you out. It is done to help you maintain a Christian life and help you keep yourself focused on Jesus. There are many ways to do that and this is only one of them. Fasting is done in the Bible and not eating meat is one way of fasting. The money you would have spent on that food can be given to charity. It is biblical in that if your church asks it of you, the act of obedience to your church is what Christ sees.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm Episcopalian, and we avoid meat on Fridays during Lent. We don't believe you're going to hell if you do. It's just a way to honor the Fisherman. When I choose something else on Fridays, I can't help but think sweet thoughts of Jesus and his sacrifice. Having fish sort of feels like dining with him that meal.

We also have a tradition of giving up something for Lent. Again, you don't go to hell if you skip this. It's again a reminder to you that every time you reach for your chocolate you swore you'd give up, or your coffee, or your beer, you think of the sacrifices that Christ made for us. You feel it. You realize how stupid a little chocolate is in comparison to all he willingly sacrificed, and you see context. And again, in a little way, Christ again comes into your life.

It's a way to be aware.


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## HeelSpur (May 7, 2011)

Its great to be free, we eat whatever we want when ever we want.


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

Don;t feel bad, it is just what people are familiar with.

First time I ever was in a church and they had communion I was appalled at the thought that the eating & drinking of the bread and wine was supposed to be the body and blood of Christ. I thought it was totally cannibilistic.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Laura Zone 5 said:


> There is NOTHING in the Bible that says I cannot eat meat on certain days.
> It is a man made ritual. It is a man made rule.
> Man's rules never trumps God's Word.
> What goes into your mouth does not make you unclean.....it's what comes out of it that does!


 A lot of man made rules come from the church. Thanks and God Bless > Marc


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## ronbre (Apr 26, 2009)

and when the white sheeet came down full of clean and unclean animals Jesus told Peter to rise kill and eat and Peter said he didn't eat that unclean stuff and Jesus told him that what had been cleansed by God was no longer unclean..he repeated it several times telling Peter than basically HE had died to deliver us from the law, he had become the fulfillment of all law.

that is why most "christians" do not go by all of the Levitical laws since Jesus died to redeem them from not only law but sin.

guess it is up to each person, the bible also tells us that that we shouldn't judge those that still feel the need to eat according to the law, but that we should not be a stumbling block to them, but that it is up to us and our conscience how we eat or what days we do or do not celebrate..

he put away all laws, all holy days..etc..and we are given freedom to choose

(that is if you take the Bible literally like I do)


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

Jesus didn't come to give us a book. He came to give us a CHURCH. There is more to my faith than scripture (and I'm sure glad there is because some of that scripture stuff is downright confusing  ) There is also thousands of years of sacred tradition. You may think of it as a "man-made rule" but I see it as the divinely-inspired word of -God's Church- that I'm following.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

Laura Zone 5 said:


> There is NOTHING in the Bible that says I cannot eat meat on certain days.
> It is a man made ritual. It is a man made rule.
> Man's rules never trumps God's Word.
> What goes into your mouth does not make you unclean.....it's what comes out of it that does!


I don't think it's a matter of being clean or unclean. Believers are cleaned by the blood of the Lamb. Zephaniah has a very good point. If something that isn't prohibited causes another to stumble then one should avoid it. We, for example, would never drink alcohol around somebody who thought it was sinful even though I don't thin the Bible prohibits drinking.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I'm an Episcopalian and traditionally we don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent. Plus Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence. Those actually are the only days of fasting in our calendar, although many follow the practice of fasting during all of Lent (a fast being one full meal and two small meals a day). We are free to do as our conscience dictates, so no hard and fast rules. But, yeah, many Christians do not eat meat or practice some other form of abstinence during Lent and especially Good Friday, not just Roman Catholics or Orthodox.


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

beccachow said:


> :yuck: I know, but DD likes it once in a while. There is a huge play area at the one we go to so she gets to excercise the yuck out right away, lol.
> 
> Glad to hear it's not just me! He had me really wondering.


Hope the little monkey enjoys it. Around here they are removing the play areas.


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