No. In the Old Testament, there are teachings on morality and then there are also practices associated with religion. The dietary practices, which Jews today call “keeping kosher”, are not expressions of the moral law. Some Jews today keep kosher (avoiding certain foods) and other Jews do not. Catholic Christians, Orthodox Christians, and mainstream Protestants all believe that these Old Testament dietary rules are no longer in effect, as Jesus dispensed (nullified) those rules. However, the teachings of the Old Testament on morality are still in effect. The particulars of religious practice are changeable and dispensable, but right and wrong never change.

Also, the word “shrimp” does not appear in the Bible at all. Instead, in Leviticus 11:10, the Bible says this:
{11:10} But whatever does not have fins and scales, of those things that live and move in the waters, shall be abominable to you,
{11:11} and detestable; their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall avoid.
{11:12} All that does not have fins and scales in the waters shall be polluted.

And this is interpreted as including all shellfish as among the foods that were prohibited.

Certain foods were avoided, by unwritten rules or long-established practices, in Old Testament times, prior to the written dietary rules found in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), even prior to the start of the Jewish Faith. This is seen in the story of Noah, where some animals are called clean and others unclean, long before the Jewish dietary rules for which animals could be eaten (“clean”) and which animals could not be eaten (“unclean”). Some scholars believe that religious dietary rules were based on prior practices which developed for the sake of health. Shellfish in ancient times were usually harvested from areas near the shore, and waste water (sewage) from nearby settlements could contaminate shellfish with bacteria. Even today, some shoreline areas are periodically closed to shell fishing, due to detection of bacteria. The prohibition against eating pork may have come from the dangers of trichinosis and other diseases, since swine might consume food that is contaminated. Then, beyond any health concerns, dietary proscriptions helped keep the Jewish people separate from the surrounding pagan peoples, retaining their religion and way of life more easily. Today, keeping kosher is a practice expressing devotion, as the former reasons are no longer as much of a concern.

In the Old Testament, there were also practices involving animal sacrifices. The Jews today do not sacrifice animals, as the scriptures would seem to require, as there is no Temple of Jerusalem. However, these rules of animal sacrifices began prior to the building of the first Temple of Jerusalem. Even so, the Jews have set aside those practices and associated rules, without incurring any sin, as these are rules and practices, not moral teachings.

In the early Christian Church, converts to Christianity from Judaism wondered whether they should keep the “law of Moses”, meaning all the regulations regarding practices, or whether they would only be required to keep to the moral teachings (such as the Ten Commandments). It was decided very early (see Acts of the Apostles, chapters 10 and 15), that Christ declared all foods to be “clean” and that the dietary rules imposed by Moses and the Pentateuch do not apply to Christians. That is why Christians do not follow the Old Testament practices, such as dietary rules, animal sacrifice, and rules about ritualistic impurity. These are not moral teachings on what is sinful, but practices used for particular religious purposes, and we believe these have been dispensed by Jesus Christ.

The attempt to discredit any moral teaching of a Christian Church by ridiculing the ancient and devout practices of the Jewish people on dietary rules is a false argument. These rules were, and still are for some persons, practices followed to express devotion to God, and not moral teachings. Also, Christians do not follow, and are not required to follow these dietary rules. By contrast, the moral teachings of the Bible, in the Old and New Testaments, apply universally. The difference between good and evil, between moral and immoral, applies to everyone, and God is final judge over each person and their sincere decisions of conscience. So the Bible does not teach that eating shrimp is a sin, nor does that claim suffice to nullify the Bible’s moral teachings.

Ronald L Conte Jr