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Vegetarianism

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I have been thinking about becoming a vegetarian for months, even years, but I've never done it. I keep getting horrible images of animals being slaughtered in my head and I woke up this morning with a really strong desire to be a vegetarian. What's Christianity's view on vegetarianism?
 
From what I've seen, the Bible doesn't really have a position on it. It certainly doesn't condemn eating meat (it talks about Jesus eating meat), but it doesn't say you should, either.
 
Thanks for the reply :) I think God is telling me to be a vegetarian because he knows how much I care for animals. Have made my mind up anyway :)
 
I've been a vegetarian for almost 10 years now. (I want to become a complete vegan, but life without cheese is hard to imagine. :sad)
But it's really okay and easy to be a vegetarian, you'll get used to it quick. I can't imagine to ever go back to eating animal corpses.

There is no real "christian view" on this. The Bible makes no statement, except that God doesn't need us to relinquish meat for spiritual reasons, but if people decide to do so it's okay, too. We're allowed to eat meat, but we don't have to. No dietary restrictions in Christianity.

But although God allowed us to kill and eat animals I'm not sure whether He, who can see the suffering of every single chicken, pig, cow or whatever, would really approve of the mass farming of animals and the cold and heartless methods used to breed, keep, transport and kill them. In the ancient jewish days meat production was a whole lot different than it is today.

And compassion is an important part of Jesus' teachings. We should love our neighbour like ourselves. And it's a small step from compassion with a human neighbour to compassion with an animal "neighbour". Most of us would feel compassion with, for example, a little kitten that got hurt and we would take care of it. So I absolutely can't imagine God would punish you for feeling compassion with cows or chickens. It's really just a consequent use of the Golden Rule.
 
Thanks so much for your reply. I have been thinking about it for a while and agree with everything you've written. I'm a big animal lover and the thought of an animal suffering upsets me so so much. I have never eaten a lot of meat anyway so I don't think I will miss it too much. I've always eaten meat substitutes such as quorn and tofu anyway so I'd probably just eat more of that. I don't think I could be a vegan though. As from today, I'm a veggie :). Sure would be good for my weight too as I know a lot of fat is contained in meat.
 
Good luck. :)

I personally have no qualms with eating meat, but I do think that the way the industry treats and raises the animals isn't very humane. But even if I didn't eat meat, I'd be buying it anyway because my pet is a carnivore that, ideally, should have meat in his diet. He could probably live without it, but I don't think it'd be healthy for him.
 
OT folks were told to eat meat...


<dir>Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
Exo 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Exo 12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.


</dir>The Lamb of God has come! We are under Grace not the OT laws. I am not a veggie , I see no restriction in the NT to or for meat.... Some folks end up making veggies their God or finding their own righteousness in not eating meat. As in all other aspects of life we know our own hearts




<dir>Rom 14:15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
Rom 14:16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

</dir>
 
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As the others have said there are no restrictions in the bible. I think it's a personal choice. You don't have to eat meat either.
 
"They" can have all the steak or veggie burgers 'they ' want I don't care for it.... Just keep those hands off My Cheeseburger! :) Yup personal choice...

Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost
 
Vegetarianism - Good

Raw Food - Better

Baggy Jeans - Oh NO!



Go to the Bookstore and get "Raw Awakening" by Kristin Suzanne
 
Baggy, you asked the question and then reveal you've already made your mind up? Hmm ...

At any rate, vegetarians will tell you of the social sacrifice you're going to make, that people like me will look down on you, make fun of your diet, ridicule you for your choice, etc. I've known a lot of vegetarians and I've never done any such thing nor have I seen them subjected to that kind of treatment. It seems many of them chose the lifestyle actually hoping they would be subjected to such treatment so they could feel like martyrs. They often hype the healthy way they live as superior to a standard diet, but wind up taking a much higher dose of multivitamins because of the lack of meat in their diet. They also have to take protein supplements, or eat a lot of legumes and risky being gassy.

The most-often voiced argument for vegetarianism is concern for the animal population. I grew up on a farm. I care about animals, too. We were very careful to treat them well. Even now that a majority of production livestock is being done on feed lots, they are still treated humanely. The videos one sees of downer cattle and close quarters for the animals are rare instances, not the rule among livestock producers. If that is truly the reason you are considering going to a vegetarian diet, don't waste your time. One person, one hundred persons, five million persons on a vegan or vegetarian diet are not going to improve something that doesn't need to be improved. If you want to go on a diet sans meat, do so for rational, personal reasons, not to "save the planet" because a vegetarian diet is not going to do that.
 
As a plaque I once saw in the entry way of a rib joint in La Crosse, Wisconsin said, "We love vegetarians, we think their hilarious."

Yup, if someone wants to just eat vegetables, go right ahead. More meat for me.
 
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