Knowing What to Eat and When to Eat: Reading the Food Offering Text (1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1) from a Myanmar Christian Perspective

Food offerings play a vital role in the socio-religious life of the people of Myanmar. This is mainly because food is served as a part of worship in religious settings (Nat worship, Ahlu pwe, and religious festivals), as well as a part of regular interactions in a social setting (workrelated dinner parties, dinner parties at a Buddhist neighbor’s house, and non-religious social gatherings). In this context, knowing what to eat, and when to eat, becomes crucially important for Myanmar Christians as often times a person encounters various questions in regard to food offerings such as; Should a Christian participate in Buddhist religious festivals? Can he/she partake of food offered the Nats? Can he/she participate in the neighbor’s dāna offering ceremony to witness and share the joy on their meritorious occasions? In the case of a religiously mixed family, should Christian family members share or refrain from both the food and meritorious acts of other Buddhist family members? With these questions in mind, this article is an attempt to read the food offering text of 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1 from a Myanmar Christian perspective. This article is divided into three parts. The first part discusses the socio-religious context of food offerings in Myanmar, highlighting the food offering practices in Nat Worship, popular Buddhism, and religious festivals. The second part discusses the rationale behind the food offering practices in Nat worship (propitiation) and Buddhist religious offerings (merit producing dāna). In the final part, the text of 1 Cor. 8:1–11:1 will be examined from a Myanmar Christian perspective, highlighting what types of foods are prohibited, and what types of foods are permitted in various occasions, both in Corinth and Myanmar.