The Bible has a lot to say about food and health, but does it ever refer to the BTD? Not directly of course, because the science of typing blood was not available to the Biblical writers. But there is one passage, which has application, and since it was part of my personal Bible study this morning, I thought I would write about it.

The Bible is the living Word of God, and because of that a verse can have several levels of meaning. Some of the Old Testament prophecies had their first fulfillment in the nation of Israel, but were also prophecies of the Messiah. I can read something that Jesus said to his disciples and find application for my life. The primary message of the story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10 and 11 is the acceptance of gentiles into the Christian church. But there is a sub level application to the Blood Type Diet.

God gave the Jews a lot of dietary laws. In the Old Testament you will find lists of clean and unclean foods. You will also find positive references to milk & milk products and wheat.

At the moment in history described in Acts 10, the Christian church was made up of converted Jews. They followed all the Jewish laws, but had also accepted Jesus as Messiah. Jewish law forbad them to have contact with gentiles. God's plan was that salvation through Jesus Christ be for all people: Jews and gentiles. So God had to shake things up, and He did so by giving the Apostle Peter a vision. Peter saw a sheet containing all kinds of unclean food, and heard God say to get up and eat. Peter, being a good Jew refused, saying that he had never eaten anything unclean. God responded, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." Almost immediately a gentile named Cornelius sent for Peter. Realizing that the vision meant that God was showing him that he should not "call any man impure or unclean," Peter told Cornelius about Jesus, and Cornelius became the first gentile Christian.

On the surface this has nothing to do with the Blood Type Diet, but here is the application. Dr. D'Adamo has written that most Jews were Type B. The Old Testament Dietary laws seem remarkably close to the Type B food lists. So the Jews, if they followed the law, lived healthy lives.

However at this moment in history, the Christian faith was about to become a worldwide religion. What if the early Christians had taught their new gentile converts, who were Type A and Type O, that they had to follow the Jewish dietary laws? The teaching that was giving new life to their souls, would have made them physically unhealthy.

Christian teachers have for years referred to this passage as proof that Christians are free from the Old Testament dietary laws. Not only do I agree, but I see God's grace in that as he was extending salvation to the whole world, he was also removing a part of the law that had protected the Jews but would have harmed other races.

Today there are at least three books proclaiming themselves to be "Bible Diets." I tried to follow one of them several years before I found the Blood Type Diet. It pushes dairy products, whole grains, and legumes. It made me put on weight and sapped my energy. Small wonder - it is basically a Type B diet.

God, in Acts 10 and 11 frees all blood types from the Old Testament Law. Though scientists would not discover Blood Types for 100s of years, God knew how he had made us. He protected Type Os, As, and ABs from legalistically trying to follow a Type B diet.

One last word - the #1 Jewish ban is pork. It is also forbidden in Muslim law. And it is an avoid for every blood type.