I'm currently exploring becoming a vegetarian, but would like to know if God supports this lifestyle when we choose not to eat meat. I know that animals are generally for our consumption, but I don't think God would have approved of how inhumane animals are being treated before they are killed, nor of the various things we do with the "leftovers" so to speak.
Does anyone know of specifics within the Bible of vegetarians? Thanks in advance!
While I'm not a Christian or vegetarian myself, I do have a very devout Christian friend who is a vegetarian and here is a site you might find interesting for vegetarian Christians:
I was raised a Roman Catholic so I know in that denomination it is common to give up meat as an offering (for Lent, Fridays etc.) and there are people who "offer up" certain luxuries such as meat for religious reasons.
I can't imagine why God would be upset or angry over not supporting the "factory farming" meat biz, it really is pretty inhumane and nasty, not to mention, not good stewardship ecology wise.
NEMESISCLAWS ~ I don't believe that God will be upset at all if you become a vegetarian. I also don't believe He will be upset with you at all if you continue to eat meat. He has placed all things on this earth for our good. We, all sinners, have misused our resources. He wants us to do good things with resources and our bodies.
Unless you live on a farm and raise and grow ALL of your own food, you can be pretty sure the food you eat has been mis-managed somehow in God's eyes....through cruel conditions, pesticides, greed, etc.
We can't control everything, we just need to do the best we can.
Romans 14:1 tells us that we should not judge each other for eating certain foods, meat or vegetables.
My brother was a huge meat eater until a couple of months ago, he has cut it out of his diet for the purpose of seeing if he will feel better by eliminating those toxins.
I, on the other hand, continue to eat meat.
We go to the same church and have the same beliefs.
I am an animal fanatic and I've considered giving up meat just for that reason, but I'm such a wimp - being born in the 50's everynight was roast, (beef or pork), chicken, hamburgers, etc. Unfortunately I can't give the meat up - but those poor animals - I cry just seeing the humans forcing the animals right out of their habitat - the deer by us just about have all run out of space - not enough room, food nor water. It's sad to me.
Lori
That's a good verse, EZMONEY....thanks! While on this journey of weight loss, I have been trying to educate myself more on organics, and what's good to eat and what's not. It's amazing all of the stuff that goes into our food everyday that we don't think about. Just the other day, I saw a commerical for Healthy Foods where they were showcasing some new microwavable meal, and while it was low in calories, the sodium content was enough to raise anyone's blood pressure! And don't even get me started on Subway's sodium content either....sighs
Like you said, all we can do is try our best but it's disheartening at times to see so much mistreatment. That living on the farm idea sure does sound appealing at times.....
way back at the begining we were placed in charge of the animals (to protect them, even) there can be debate over what this means. meat eaters (especially those who focus only on the new testiment, claiming that the old law died with Jesus) tend to push this to mean that the can eat anything that moves. The old testiment lays down some pretty clear lines as to what is clean to eat and what isn't. Basically, as a rule of thumb, don't eat anything that eats other animals.
In the garden God intended adam and eve to live on fruits and veggies, as well as nuts. He said something similar to 'i have given you every plant in the garden to eat of, except for the tree of life.' he excluded animals, were supposed to be taking care of them, after all, right?
I'm sure that the fruits and veggies and nuts were much better tasting back then, when everything was perfect, that first generation from God's hand. Now everything is tarnished by all of the pollution.
As for a current view on vegetarianism, God makes it clear in leviticus that tehre are some animals that absolutely should not be eaten. (pigs, for example.) they say that animals that chew the cud are okay. The way that modern cows are raised, they don't so much eat grass (unless farm raised) but rather, they are fed other animals. This is a distortion. The same goes for chickens. This is no good. I think ( note this is me, not God speaking ;D) that God wants us to take care of our bodies. There is one Christian denomination who nearly half of it's members are vegetarians. On average, that denomination lives 7 years longer than the rest of america. It's definitely a healthy thing to be meat free. God likes it when we take care of ourselves.
God did tell Adam and Eve in Genesis that the fruit of the trees shall be their meat. (Gen1:29) However, after the flood, God told Noah that it is permitted for humans to eat meat. "Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants."(Gen 9:3)
The sense I get from Genesis is that God did not initially intend animals to be eaten, but later allowed humans to do so.
Hmm...very good points everyone has made! In light of all of the chemical, preservatives, and whatnot being done to our food today, it only makes sense that we err on the side of caution and adopt a vegetarian lifestyle...or at least make better choices in food....it's interesting how we are repelled at eating dogs and cats, etc, but think nothing of cows, lambs, etc....wonder how this all evolved over time...
Bible versus Vegetarian Lifestyle?
