Corinthians 5:16-21, part 1
Animals: Tradition - Philosophy - Religion Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Stephen Kaufman, M.D., Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)

Corinthians 5:16-21, part 1 

This passage includes the well-known verse: Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17). What does it mean to be a new creation?
 
I think this passage teaches that those who are “in Christ” have a new outlook on life, which manifests itself in new behaviors and new choices. Jesus exemplified love, compassion, and mercy. There are people who claim to be “saved” or “in Christ,” but if they manifest the same hardness of heart they had before they were “saved,” I think they have deceived themselves. While we all “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), those who are new creations in Christ continuously strive to emulate Jesus’ attitude toward God’s creation.
 
Are those who contribute to the abuses of animal agribusiness saved? I don’t know – some people may not have access to nutritious non-animal foods. For those who do have a choice and who know (or have no excuse for not knowing) about the cruelties of modern animal agribusiness, they are only “in Christ” to the degree that they try to use Jesus as a model for their choices.
 
Next essay, I will reflect on the last part of this reading: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

Go on to: Corinthians 5:21, part 2
Return to: Reflection on the Lectionary, Table of Contents 

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