Hey friends. Go vegan. thanks.
::for christians::
My veganism and my christianity tie together. A lot of my christian friends think that my ethical choices concerning animals are separate from my choice to follow Christ. I disagree.
Death is a thing of the Fall. It was introduced as a penalty for sin. After Adam and Eve sinned animals had to die. They (Adam and Eve) were the cause of the introduction of death to animals.
Christ conquered death. Christians agree on this point. Death no longer binds people. Therefore I choose to not cause the death of any more beings on earth... as an act of redemption. I think that to no longer cause the death of animals is a step away from the Fall, and a step toward what God envisions heaven to be like. There will be no meat in heaven because there will be no more death. It's that simple.
If Christians are to be viewed as compassionate, I honestly think we need to consider a death-free diet. We have dominion over animals certainly, but I choose to use that power in a postive way. Stewardship over animals is a gift, an entrusting of God's creation into our hands. I honestly think that if we need not hurt animals, we should not.
I do not see how this gives honour to God.
Drop me a line here if you have questions. Here are some sites I've found helpful.
Why?
Vegan Outreach
PETA
Christian Vegetarians
How?
Physicians Commitee for Responsible Medicine
Starter kit
Recipes?
The Post Punk Kitchen
Vegan Lunchbox
Veg cooking
The Vegan Cooking School
Please consider this guys. I think we need to make responsible choices on a hungry planet. I think we need to look after the environment. I also think we need to look after God's creatures.
Cheers.
::to start::
I want to write a note here about living a compassionate lifestyle. I've been a vegan for almost a year now, and I think it's about time I posted about it more than in passing. I am a vegan for a few reasons. These include everything from my health and spirituality, to the environment, to my compassion for animals and humans alike, to the plain fact that it's a cost effective and delicious way to live. I DO NOT NEED animal products in my life at ALL. Neither do you. Therefore I see no reason to continue to cause suffering to animals (and humans, and the earth) if I dont need to.
::for christians::
Death is a thing of the Fall. It was introduced as a penalty for sin. After Adam and Eve sinned animals had to die. They (Adam and Eve) were the cause of the introduction of death to animals.
Christ conquered death. Christians agree on this point. Death no longer binds people. Therefore I choose to not cause the death of any more beings on earth... as an act of redemption. I think that to no longer cause the death of animals is a step away from the Fall, and a step toward what God envisions heaven to be like. There will be no meat in heaven because there will be no more death. It's that simple.
If Christians are to be viewed as compassionate, I honestly think we need to consider a death-free diet. We have dominion over animals certainly, but I choose to use that power in a postive way. Stewardship over animals is a gift, an entrusting of God's creation into our hands. I honestly think that if we need not hurt animals, we should not.
I do not see how this gives honour to God.
:: to finish::
To say that you love eating meat is a cop-out. To say that you love cheese too much is a cop-out. To say that you live in your parents house or in rez, or have a carnivorous partner is a cop-out. I dont want to be harsh, I want to be realistic. I'm tired of hearing cop-outs.Drop me a line here if you have questions. Here are some sites I've found helpful.
Why?
Vegan Outreach
PETA
Christian Vegetarians
How?
Physicians Commitee for Responsible Medicine
Starter kit
Recipes?
The Post Punk Kitchen
Vegan Lunchbox
Veg cooking
The Vegan Cooking School
Please consider this guys. I think we need to make responsible choices on a hungry planet. I think we need to look after the environment. I also think we need to look after God's creatures.
Cheers.
6 Comments:
In the bible God tells both Noah and Peter specifically to eat animals.
(In Noah's case it is presented as an option, but in Peter's it is a commandment)
If God is willing to both create an animal sacrifice system in the OT and command Peter to kill and eat animals just for the sake of proving a point I don't see it as wrong or sinful to eat meat, and you are implying that it is a sin to do so.
I appreciate your opinion and have even considered being a vegan, but when you or anyone else starts speaking polemically about it I will give the other side, especially as a Christian.
God bless you and your conviction; I do not share that conviction.
For the sake of respecting Meaghan's blog, I will not start a user commentary war with you, Noah, though I don't agree with you. Yo, Meags. You've heard my cop outs. Specifically the residence one. I agree with everything you've said on the post, but yes, you sound harsh. Very.
to clarify :
I do not see eating meat as a sin. I am aware of the scriptures you've pointed out noah, and I've not disregarded them.
I regard eating meat as an ethically irresponsible choice, not a Sin (with a capital S)
I challenge christians specifically, not because I believe that eating meat is sinful, but rather because most christians I know have not considered eating meat as a potential moral dilemma.
Meaghan, great post. I haver no problem whatsoever with firey, passionate posts. It shows we're alive, that we feel, that we care...as you obviously do very much about this subject.
I really repect Vegans' decisions to become Veagan, nd I honestly think you bring up very good points. I'm glad too that you clarify thing abou the "sin" angle, rather, being a moral issue.
It sounds like you are challenging your readers (which I think is great) but it also sounds like you are looking for some dialogue perhaps here too?
"Shine's" comment are very pointed too and valid enough to be addressed point by point. I hadn't thought of those angles but knowing that God is 100% moral, not in the slightest immoral, then why indeed did he tell people to eat meat for various reasons and times in history, etc.? He even told them how to do it, such as slitting the cattle's throat and hainging them up to allow all the blood to drain out )as infection is in the blood. For that matter, he even provided the Israelites with Quail on many occasions over their wandering directly for the purpose of it being eaten to sustein them in their journey. For that matter too, why did Jesus not only eat meat (fish at least) but perform miracles to help His disciples catch even bigger loads of fish? The only logical answer I see is that it seems pretty likely he didn't have a problem with animals for food at least, well for sure not fish! Your thoughts?
Deos God not take care of the sparrow's needs too? He provides them insects and worms to eat, more death of living beings. Every time we breath air we even kill and ingest millions of airborne pathogens, organisms, etc, and the list goes on to the umpteen degree.
i think your best arguement is that in heaven we won't be eating animals, killing them ,but we don't know for certain do we, but I suspect you are probably right here nontheless. Still, it seems the Lord totally provides for us using animals for food and even wants us to do so. Otehrwise I just don't see how one could explain away all the above points.
Anyway, you know, I wish you had actaully got more into why your are Vegan as opposed to simply Vegetarain, in terms of any moral issues, if any exist. That would be very educational. I have a hard time underwstanding that jumpas no one I know who is Vegan has ever really taken the time to explain their reasons.
Actaully, some of us couldn't be Vegan or Vegetarian that easily due to diet restrictions and allergies. For my wife and I it would be impossible. My wife is very allergic to Soy for one and due to stones, must avoid dark leafy greens. Tomoatoes cause terrible sweeling for me and I am to stay away from all citrus and beans so, tell me, what woudl we eat but nutsand yoghurt? LOL. Oh, and my wife doesn't do well with cheese either! Ugh.
I think if I ever could navigate the vegetarian waters, it would be simply for the health angle ( as much or littel as it might exist in my case) and more so becaus, honestly, I couldn't personally ever kill an animal, whether it was fine or not so how can I let someone else do it for me? Well, I guess I could if I thought I was going to die form starvation perhaps! As it is now, I pretty much avoid most red meat (yes, also bad for me) and we have always pretty much eaten Kosher, avoiding pig meat, etc.
So, reading through you post here again, I see your optinions for certain, but I think it pretty much have to be a stretch for you to support this stance as coming from God per se (not that you would), using illustrations from the Bible such as any of the moral laws, remembering that God's Word is our right framework for all Christians.
Well, anyway, obviously whatever you are convicted on you must do fuilly without wavering, as the Word says. What's your conviction is not necessarily my compulsion though, but I do thank you for raising the issue and getting to at least some of your thoughtful reasons for it. Any more you should chose to answe or provide would be great too.
Oooh, horrible typos, sorry!
Wow.
Hey Meagan, I saw this post days ago, and kept checking it and seeing no comments, and was feeling like leaving something just to let you know people did read it. But now I see you have gotten some feedback, so believe it or not I have LESS to say than I willnow that others left comments. I don't "agree" with what you say, BUT I do respect anyone who has the willpower and self-discipline to be vegan or vegetarian. In fact, you really made me think about these issues (in a positive way) for the last few days, and I intended on letting you know that.
However...
I read the link you provided by Christian Vegetarians, and I was disapointed at how weak their arguments were. I agree with them on the basis of stewardship, world resources, etc.. But their use of Scripture was nothing short of prooftexting.
The comment I was going to leave, you already addressed:
"I regard eating meat as an ethically irresponsible choice, not a Sin."
What's the difference?
Do you believe you're better spiritually for this decision than others are who don't? In FIRE circles, we have this saying we copped from the president of our school "others can, you can't" regarding issues that aren't taught explicitly in Scripture, but God convicts us individually about, and therefore we obey because we know we are in disobedience to God *in our own lives/conscience*, but others can do with a clean conscience, and don't teach and preach at others to do the same, we just do/don't do things because God put it on our hearts that "others can't, I can't".
At any rate, I respect people's convictions about what to eat, but what the Bible speaks softly about, let's speak softly about, and what the Bible speaks loudly about, let's be loud about, and frankly there is no Scripture that states or instructs us not to eat meat anymore.
What do vegetarians and vegans do with passages like:
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
1Ti 4:2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
1Ti 4:3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
1Ti 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
(Please do NOT interpret my use of that passage to imply you're following demonic teachings--I post that to emphasise verses 3 and 4, but posted the first two for context).
Or
Rom 14:2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
Rom 14:3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
I hope you don't feel I'm despising you for your diet, and convictions, because I am not. However, I think it's stretching it a bit much to make the argument that if Christians really love Jesus, they'd stop eating animals (becaus Jesus and Father never said that explicitly ANYWHERE in Scripture). It's a conviction issue. I myself have been on a few Daniel fasts, and am a little bit familiar with the health benefits on an experiential level, however, when I was done, nothing persuaded me to keep that lifestyle on a perpetual basis.
You also stated:
"Death is a thing of the Fall. It was introduced as a penalty for sin. After Adam and Eve sinned animals had to die."
&
"I think that to no longer cause the death of animals is a step away from the Fall"
When man (Adam) sinned, the sacrifice of that first animal also provided a "covering" for them, as they were naked. Man also didn't wear clothes before the Fall. So with that same logic, does that mean we are to stop wearing clothes now that we are saved, because that was a thing of the fall too? If we're going to make comparisons of what life was like before and after the fall, then let's do it on EVERY matter, and not just what they ate.
The last guy (here in the Netherlands actually) to use some of those vegetarian arguments about how Christians should stop eating me, I told him "I'll stop eating meat if you stop wearing clothes!" (Which was and is meant as a joke, please keep wearing your clothes.)
Anyway, thanks for reading all this!
Steve
Post a Comment
<< Home