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The Fellowship of Life |
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From The Vegetarian of July/August 1982: It can happen to us all: that moment when beliefs clash, yet both
seem worthy. Vegetarianism is a joy we wish to share with the world, but
not all beliefs share its concern about meat consumption. One such is
that of the Christian Church. Of course, there are Christian vegetarians; Christian teaching does
not condemn such a life-style. Non-vegetarian Christians can, however,
refer to meat eating in the Bible, as evidence that God allows such a
diet. How does the vegetarian pursue his case in this potentially
difficult situation? George Bernard Shaw commented wisely that the correct way to reach a
man is "through his own religion, not yours". Any answer must be sought
in the Bible. The first thing to realise is that only in comparitively recent usage
has 'meat' come to mean exclusively animal flesh. In biblical times the
word meant any food, as some passages show. (1) In early times, before the Flood (perhaps about 1500 BC), that man
was vegetarian is confirmed by other ancient texts. Herbs, seeds and
fruit were eaten, (2) and later grains. (3) Immediately after the Flood,
God instructed Noah about life in the newly cleansed earth. For the
first time man is told, "Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for
you." (4) From this passage we must concede that the Christian God allows the
eating of animal flesh. The next verse, however, makes a clear
exception: blood must not be eaten. (5) The Old Testament has many references to food. The staple was grains
and flour, supplemented with fruits, nuts, beans, herbs and vegetables,
eggs, butter, milk and honey. It becomes clear that animal flesh was
only eaten during festivals, or when a guest visited. The rich may have
eaten it more frequently, but it was not an everyday food. In the time of Moses, God gave man much more detailed rules, listing
"clean and unclean" foods. (6) Unfortunately, the examples given do not
rule out much from the conventional Western diet. But swine, hare and
rabbit (coney) are specifically named as unclean, (7) and as fish-eating
birds are forbidden, the eating of duck might be questioned.
Sea-creatures with fins and scales are permitted, which rules out
lobsters, crabs and shellfish. Blood is rather discussed, (8) and man eating it will be "cut off
from among his people". (9) Blood had to be thoroughly drained from all
meat, a practice still followed by the Jews, who will only eat "kosher"
meat. Animal fat has a similar prohibition in the Old Testament, (10)
though non-food purposes were allowed. We also learn that the law
against eating blood and fat is a "perpetual statute". (11) Divine
punishment came to those ignoring these laws. (12) In the New Testament, the diet of the typical Hebrew family was still
mainly vegetarian. I can find only one specific reference to Jesus
eating meat or fish, (13) though others may be claimed by implication.
Abstention from blood is recorded among the early Christians, (14) a
practise historians believe continued for some centuries. Jesus does make two references to eating. One is a parable in which
He says it is not that which is taken into the mouth which defiles a
man, but that which comes out (i.e. spoken), (15) which can be taken to
imply there is no longer any restriction on food. This makes the later
reference to blood abstention above confusing. The second is an instruction to disciples about to embark upon
missionary work to "eat things as are set before you." (16) It could
equally be interpreted as a concession to avoid offence among the
peoples they will meet, thus easing the mission. After the death of Christ, the Apostle Paul refers often to food in
his letters.. He believes that everything on earth has been provided for
man by God, and should be received with thanksgiving. He repeats that we
may eat all that is set before us, (17)and refers to differing views as
to which foods are permissable. (18) This is a reference to the evident disagreements among early
Christians about the nature of their teaching. The resultant
contradictions in the New Testament have received much debate, and are
evident upon study of the Gospels and Epistles. Paul's interpretation
may not be the correct one. Paul concludes that it is all right to eat everything, but to abstain
from flesh if others present might be offended. (19) He over-rules the
Law of Moses, giving Jesus as his authority. (20) Against this must
stand the words of Jesus: "I come not to destroy the law... but to
fulfil." (21) Jesus also supports the Mosaic Law in John. (22)
Unfortunately, He is not recorded as specifically speaking about animal
flesh as food in like manner to Paul. It is from Paul's writings that
the present Christian view mainly derives. We must conclude that meat was eaten in the Bible, but on nothing
like the present scale. Feasts including animal flesh are not often
mentioned. Proverbs actually singles out "riotous eaters of flesh" in a
passage condemning gluttony. (23) Fat, and particularly blood, are
expressly forbidden in any form. Interestingly, they are still listed as
sins among the wrongs of Israel in Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a
future judgement before the coming of the New Jerusalem. (24) Daniel and
his companions gain "knowledge and skill in learning and wisdom" by
choosing pulses and water instead of meat and wine. (25) No harm can come from making these points. Remember, too, that the
Bible respects vegetarianism. Finally, there can be no argument with the statement that cruelty is
unChristian, or that an important part of Christian life is kindness.
With this in mind, all Christians would be wise to familiarise
themselves with the methods of modern animal husbandry, methods which
are supported by all who buy intensively produced meat. Is such
treatment of animals Christian? Is it a Christian act to support it?
These are questions all people should be asking themselves. Or, more correctly, asking God. Chris Hall References: (1) Genesis 1:29-30; Ezekiel 47:12. (2) Genesis 1:29-30; 2-16. (3) Genesis 4:2 (4) Genesis 9:3. (5) Genesis 9:4. (6) Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14:3-21. (7) Leviticus 11:5-8; Deuteronomy 14:7-8. (8) Leviticus 7:26-27; 17:10-16; Deuteronomy 12:16, 23-24; 15:23. (9) Leviticus 17:10. (10) Leviticus 7:22-25 (11) Leviticus 3:17. (12) l Samuel 14:32-37; Isaiah 66:17; Ezekiel 33:25, 29. (13) Luke 24: 42-43. (14) Acts 15:20, 29. (15) Matthew 15:11, 17; Mark 7:15-20. (16) Luke 10: 7-8. (17) I Corinthians 10:27. (18) Romans 14:2, 20; I Corinthians 8:8. (19) See Romans 14: 1-3; 14-23; I Corinthians 8:4-13; 10:25-33; I Timothy 4:3-5. (20) Hebrews 2:9, 14; 3:1-6. (21) Matthew 5:17. (22) John 7:19. (23) Proverbs 23:20. (24) Ezekiel 39:17-19. (25) Daniel Chapter 1. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Vegetarian Society:
www.vegsoc.org |
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