Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - June 8, 2020
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)


  1. Article in the New York Times
  2. Justice part 5: Faith of Christ
  3. All-Creatures.Org Ministry

1. Article in the New York Times

Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals and We Are the Weather, discusses how animal agribusiness underlies many of the most serious problems facing humanity today.

New York Times, May 21, 2020
"The End of Meat Is Here"
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/opinion/coronavirus-meat-vegetarianism.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage


2. Justice part 5: Faith of Christ

In the previous essay, I discussed concerns related to the notion of “justification by faith.” Proponents of this theology argue that it is firmly grounded in Scripture, particularly the letters of the Apostle Paul. Are Scriptures unequivocal on this matter?

In the letters that scholars attribute to Paul (in distinction to “pseudo-Pauline” letters written pseudonymously and attributed to Paul), a key Greek phrase is pisteos Christou. This could be translated as either “faith in Christ” or “faith of Christ.” Interestingly, in Romans 4:16 Paul uses the same Greek construction when discussing Abraham. Obviously, he meant “faith of Abraham” not “faith in Abraham,” because neither the ancient Hebrews nor anyone regarded Abraham as a god.

When Paul wished to communicate “in” he used the Greek word en. In Ephesians 1:15 and Colossians 1:4, en is used for faith in Christ, but neither passage states that faith in Christ is essential for justification. Also, scholars have doubts about Paul’s authorship of these two epistles. In Romans 3:22 and 3:26, Galatians 2:16 and 3:22, and Philippians 3:9 – all undisputedly written by Paul – it is reasonable to translate pisteos Christou as faith of Christ.

Invariably, the theology of translators influences how they translated passages that are open to multiple reasonable translations. “Faith of Christ” has scriptural support, and I find it a promising framework for applying Christian faith to generate the “realm of God” “on earth as in heaven.” I will continue to explore this next week.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.


3. All-Creatures.Org Ministry


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