From: peterwieck33@gmail.com   
      
   > I would think most of the Old Testament laws - dietary restrictions,   
   clothing restrictions, circumcision, etc. - are exactly the same. The purpose   
   is simply to maintain a separate identity.   
      
   That is certainly a result, and the typical modern perception of those laws.   
   But, from an historical perspective, their roots are quite practical - and   
   practiced by many contemporary groups for exactly the same reasons:   
      
   Dietary laws:  Pork and some wild game carries Trichinella, a parasite that   
   causes a very painful disease. Shellfish from warm waters carry multiple   
   diseases, both viral and bacterial. draining animals of their blood greatly   
   increased how long they could    
   be kept. Carnivorous (obligatory vs. opportunistic) birds (including robins)   
   carry all sorts of parasites that vegetarian (not vegan) birds do not. The   
   milk/meat connection is one of the few that is very much behavioral, not   
   practical - and that has to    
   do with some of the pagan animal sacrifice rituals of the time.    
   Circumcision reduces genital infections - no small thing before antibiotics,   
   practical indoor plumbing, and water-poor environments.     
   As to Clothing:  The basic laws are simple—cover the knees, the elbows, and   
   the collarbone, and don't wear anything skintight. Ever been in the Middle   
   East?  Even in the winter, the weather is not very forgiving of exposed skin.    
   In the rainy season (   
   and even Saudi has a rainy season), the mosquitoes, while not as bad as those   
   in Alaska, are pretty nasty and very persistent. Skin-tight - not comfortable   
   at 125F in the shade!    
      
   The separate identity expectation is common to many religions, not just the   
   big-three. And the various & sundry rules promulgated to that end Mostly (NOT   
   always) have practical roots that have grown into a life of their own rather   
   than being still    
   connected to their first-causes.     
      
   Peter Wieck   
   Melrose Park, PA    
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)