Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Follow Jesus: Be a Vegetarian

Meat eating Christians are hypocrites.

There are so many articles out there about the humanitarian aspects, what Jesus would want and so on- but few really quote the Christian bible in strategic places. My cursory research turned up some real nuggets for the carnivore crowd to answer to. Get out your own bible and read along...

1. God provided plants for food, not animals. Genesis 1:29-30 :
"Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and to all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground- everything that has the breath of life in it- I give every green plant for food.' And it was so. "

This obviously means the plants are for the animals to eat, incl. humans. That is the end of the food subject, and right before it is the verse everyone deliberately misinterprets: dominion does not mean "dominate", it just sounds similar. Dominion means responsibility for. Please consult a dictionary if you don't like this fact : man has responsibility for animals; he does not have free license to 'dominate' them. And even if that were the meaning, do we have the right to torture, kill, and eat prisoners just because we dominate them? What about the Iraqis- can we eat them? Or maybe professors dominating their classes- yikes!

2. God punishes meat consumption with death. Numbers 11:33 :
This story starts at Numbers 11:4, "...the Israelites started wailing and said, 'If only we had meat to eat!'..." Eating manna was not good enough for them, so God gave them meat to eat alright: "...until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it..."(20). Quail were provided in abundance, and all gathered it and started eating it. Then at 33, "But while the meat was still between their their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague." Next in 11:34, it sums up: "Therefore the place was named Graves of Craving, because there they buried the people who had craved other food."

I am sure excuses will fly here, such as 'but they were in the desert!' or 'that's not what it meant, it meant, well- something else.' Okay.

3. Vegetarians are healthier and wiser. Daniel 1:12-16, 20 :
Daniel did not want to be "defiled" with the royal food and wine of the king. At 12 he says " 'Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.' So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. " After meeting the king, at 20, "In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom."

Imagine that.

4. God rejects sacrifices, appointed feasts, and prayers from those with blood on their hands. Isaiah 1:11-17 :
''The multitude of your sacrifices- what are they to me? ' says the Lord. ' I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moon, Sabbaths, and convocations- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you: even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! ' "

So much for thanksgiving....appointed feasts, prayers, bloody sacrifices(ever seen how turkeys are killed?)....

5. Men are no better than animals. Ecclesiastes 3:18-21 :
" I also thought: 'As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so does the other. All have the same spirit; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?' "

That one is my favorite. And the refutation of this verse is??? Animal hating rednecks walking around with their noses in the air thinking they are such hot shit because they are superior to animals and therefore have the right to slaughter them- need to read this part of their bibles. I am sure they would ignore it like most all christians ignore inconvenient passages.

Nevertheless, all christians need to read all of the above verses- especially that last one- and do some real thinking about their decomposing-animal-muscle addiction. Extreme cruelty, environmental destruction, health detriments, and one more thing: what would Jesus do?

Finally, I want to challenge anyone to locate a passage that clearly states that Jesus ate meat, even once. Providing fish for others does not count.


Statistics:
number of animals saved per year by not eating meat, per person: 50
number of christians in america alone: 159,000,000
number of vegetarians, estimated, in america only: 8,300,000
number of amer. christians that eat animals: approx. 150 million +
number of animals tortured, inhumanely slaughtered, and eaten in america each year, to feed christians:
7,500,000,000 (that's 7 Billion, 500 million)
number of christians that read their bibles: about 2% I am guessing...







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