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click here to e-mail us: feloflife@aol.com
Thx 2 dis person. Being a vegetarian i feel very assured. c if it convinces u....
.........................................................................................................................
........................
"Go forth to every part of the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation".
(Mark 16:15 )
Traditional Christian abstinence from animal flesh is usually associated with its esoteric sects and the search for spiritual growth through physical discipline. The significant rise of vegetarianism in recent years has inevitably come to include a Christian minority within its ranks. Whilst the values themselves may appear to have altered, they stem once again from the very essence of the faith itself.
The spiritual truth; " Do unto others as you would have done unto you " is by no means unique to Christianity. It can be found within the sacred scriptures of every major world religion. At the heart of Christianity, in particular, can be found the qualities of love, mercy, compassion, pity and peace. This will sound ironic in the light of just how badly the spirit of the religion has at times been embodied by its adherents. In itself, vegetarianism is but one small step towards approximating the peaceable kingdom. There exists no ' pure land ' theology, but a need for humility as well as vision. To a growing number of Christians, however, there exists no means of reconciling the institutionalised violence of the meat industry, and its inherent disrespect for life, with divine will. Far from being a substitute religion or a modern day heresy, vegetarianism is increasingly advocated on Biblical grounds. To many, it is not merely an objection to the conduct of the world, but a physical statement of faith.
The Old Testament
The early Hebrews who penned Genesis were not vegetarian, although they accepted this as being God's original aspiration for mankind:
" God said, ' Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food '. "
( Genesis 1:29 )
Attempts to Biblically accommodate the wanton slaying of animals for food, usually stem from Genesis 9: 2-3:
" And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant."
It should be remembered that the above state of affairs were brought about by man's disobedience and are at odds with God's original plan. The lines also relate to the time immediately after the flood. Although largely interpreted as a divine blessing to eat animals, the verses more accurately convey a remorseful concession to survival eventualities in a frequently harsh, fallen environment. It has also been suggested that God's expectations of human conduct, as a whole, have never really been high. God's original scheme was repeatedly referred to as 'very good', words never attributed to later conditions that included killing. There is no indication in these lines, however that animal life should be held cheap. It could only be used with the greatest reserve, as the conditions which immediately follow make clear;
"Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood".
(Genesis 9:4 )
The relevance of this verse is primitive and direct. Whilst some carnivorous animals devour still-struggling prey, man had to be sure that anything he ate was dead. It is ironic that a measure intended to reduce suffering should have led to the drawn out practice of 'Ritual Slaughter' which exists to this day. The time and effort required of the 'Koshering' process should originally have instilled reflection within those who had to perform it. As with God's failed attempt at weaning his people off meat and violence in the desert ( Numbers 11: 4-34 ), the wretched task of attempting to separate blood from animal flesh should have discouraged its use. Blood however, remains in the capillaries at the end of the ritual. The only way of literally adhering to the above instruction is to avoid eating the flesh of dead animals altogether. The Book of Deuteronomy similarly records a time in the history of the Jewish people, when animals were killed in order to satisfy negative cravings. Again, a concession to human weakness was only made through the added inconvenience of ritual slaughter ( Deut; 12: 20-23 ).
The injunction of Genesis 9:5 is more critical. Not only will the carnivorous animal have to account for those it kills, but eating meat also hastens death;
"And surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man."
Reuben Alcalay's complete Hebrew-English Dictionary provides a startling literal translation of the above verse:
"And your life will I seek, at the hand of every creature you slay."
As in so many areas of life, spiritual law cannot be broken. Man merely rebels against it and sooner or later it breaks him. We have a physical choice as to whether or not we spill blood to acquire food. What we do not have is a Biblical warrant to claim that unnecessary killing is God's will.
God's will is life:
"I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life, that you and your children may live."
( Deuteronomy 30:19 )
Proverbs 6: 16-17 is significant in clearly listing 'Hands that shed innocent blood' as an 'abomination' to the author of life. It is therefore only natural that vegetarian foods should be dealt with favourably throughout the Old Testament:
"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; thou shalt not lack anything in it...And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee."
( Deuteronomy 8: 7-10 )
It is clear that far from being contradictory, the Old Testament narratives on killing for food have internal integrity and contemporary relevance. The weight of scientific evidence suggests that the vegetarian diet is the most naturally suited to human beings. God's laws are not arranged so as to be contrary to health, humanity or well being. In order to avoid eating animal flesh raw, as would genuine carnivores, a thousand culinary disguises are deployed. The resultant reduction in the human lifespan from an entire range of health disorders, is estimated as high as 25%. The Book of Daniel ( 1: 3-21 ) recorded similar findings around 600 B.C.
Any secular vegetarian leaflet will promote the rarely disputed potential of the lifestyle for reducing world hunger. In essence, it takes 10 kilos of plant protein fed to an animal, to acquire 1 kilo of its flesh. In 1974, Lester Brown of the U.S. Overseas Development Council estimated that if Americans alone were to reduce their meat consumption by just 1O% in one year, it would free at least 12 million tonnes of grain for human consumption, or enough to feed 60 million people. The demand of wealthy countries for meat generates poverty and instability overseas, which often perpetuates war. It is perhaps for this reason, that religious articles which question vegetarianism on spiritual grounds, usually make concessions for its compelling logic. Vegetarianism will not banish the world's ills. It is however in keeping with the highest aspirations of the prophets, that humanity should bear witness to an order of life, struggling to be born within us;
"In that day I will also make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field,
The birds of the sky
And the creeping things of the ground.
And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land.
And I will make then lie down in safety."
( Hosea 2:18 )
In Psalm 145:9 the Biblical message that God's love embraces all his creatures is revealed. The Prophet Jeremiah envisaged a time when the Lord would inscribe his will on the human heart in order to encourage compliance with divine law. The time has never been nearer...
"How full of death is the life of momentary man."
Francis Quarles, 1592-1644
"Humanity cannot be benefited by ought that is, by its very nature, subversive to humanity."
Anna Kingsford, 1846-1888
"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings, and this commandment was inscribed in the human breast long before it was proclaimed from Sinai."
Leo Tolstoy, 1828-1910
i'll post da rest l8r
click here to e-mail us: feloflife@aol.com
Thx 2 dis person. Being a vegetarian i feel very assured. c if it convinces u....
.........................................................................................................................
........................
"Go forth to every part of the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation".
(Mark 16:15 )
Traditional Christian abstinence from animal flesh is usually associated with its esoteric sects and the search for spiritual growth through physical discipline. The significant rise of vegetarianism in recent years has inevitably come to include a Christian minority within its ranks. Whilst the values themselves may appear to have altered, they stem once again from the very essence of the faith itself.
The spiritual truth; " Do unto others as you would have done unto you " is by no means unique to Christianity. It can be found within the sacred scriptures of every major world religion. At the heart of Christianity, in particular, can be found the qualities of love, mercy, compassion, pity and peace. This will sound ironic in the light of just how badly the spirit of the religion has at times been embodied by its adherents. In itself, vegetarianism is but one small step towards approximating the peaceable kingdom. There exists no ' pure land ' theology, but a need for humility as well as vision. To a growing number of Christians, however, there exists no means of reconciling the institutionalised violence of the meat industry, and its inherent disrespect for life, with divine will. Far from being a substitute religion or a modern day heresy, vegetarianism is increasingly advocated on Biblical grounds. To many, it is not merely an objection to the conduct of the world, but a physical statement of faith.
The Old Testament
The early Hebrews who penned Genesis were not vegetarian, although they accepted this as being God's original aspiration for mankind:
" God said, ' Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food '. "
( Genesis 1:29 )
Attempts to Biblically accommodate the wanton slaying of animals for food, usually stem from Genesis 9: 2-3:
" And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant."
It should be remembered that the above state of affairs were brought about by man's disobedience and are at odds with God's original plan. The lines also relate to the time immediately after the flood. Although largely interpreted as a divine blessing to eat animals, the verses more accurately convey a remorseful concession to survival eventualities in a frequently harsh, fallen environment. It has also been suggested that God's expectations of human conduct, as a whole, have never really been high. God's original scheme was repeatedly referred to as 'very good', words never attributed to later conditions that included killing. There is no indication in these lines, however that animal life should be held cheap. It could only be used with the greatest reserve, as the conditions which immediately follow make clear;
"Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood".
(Genesis 9:4 )
The relevance of this verse is primitive and direct. Whilst some carnivorous animals devour still-struggling prey, man had to be sure that anything he ate was dead. It is ironic that a measure intended to reduce suffering should have led to the drawn out practice of 'Ritual Slaughter' which exists to this day. The time and effort required of the 'Koshering' process should originally have instilled reflection within those who had to perform it. As with God's failed attempt at weaning his people off meat and violence in the desert ( Numbers 11: 4-34 ), the wretched task of attempting to separate blood from animal flesh should have discouraged its use. Blood however, remains in the capillaries at the end of the ritual. The only way of literally adhering to the above instruction is to avoid eating the flesh of dead animals altogether. The Book of Deuteronomy similarly records a time in the history of the Jewish people, when animals were killed in order to satisfy negative cravings. Again, a concession to human weakness was only made through the added inconvenience of ritual slaughter ( Deut; 12: 20-23 ).
The injunction of Genesis 9:5 is more critical. Not only will the carnivorous animal have to account for those it kills, but eating meat also hastens death;
"And surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man."
Reuben Alcalay's complete Hebrew-English Dictionary provides a startling literal translation of the above verse:
"And your life will I seek, at the hand of every creature you slay."
As in so many areas of life, spiritual law cannot be broken. Man merely rebels against it and sooner or later it breaks him. We have a physical choice as to whether or not we spill blood to acquire food. What we do not have is a Biblical warrant to claim that unnecessary killing is God's will.
God's will is life:
"I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life, that you and your children may live."
( Deuteronomy 30:19 )
Proverbs 6: 16-17 is significant in clearly listing 'Hands that shed innocent blood' as an 'abomination' to the author of life. It is therefore only natural that vegetarian foods should be dealt with favourably throughout the Old Testament:
"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; thou shalt not lack anything in it...And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee."
( Deuteronomy 8: 7-10 )
It is clear that far from being contradictory, the Old Testament narratives on killing for food have internal integrity and contemporary relevance. The weight of scientific evidence suggests that the vegetarian diet is the most naturally suited to human beings. God's laws are not arranged so as to be contrary to health, humanity or well being. In order to avoid eating animal flesh raw, as would genuine carnivores, a thousand culinary disguises are deployed. The resultant reduction in the human lifespan from an entire range of health disorders, is estimated as high as 25%. The Book of Daniel ( 1: 3-21 ) recorded similar findings around 600 B.C.
Any secular vegetarian leaflet will promote the rarely disputed potential of the lifestyle for reducing world hunger. In essence, it takes 10 kilos of plant protein fed to an animal, to acquire 1 kilo of its flesh. In 1974, Lester Brown of the U.S. Overseas Development Council estimated that if Americans alone were to reduce their meat consumption by just 1O% in one year, it would free at least 12 million tonnes of grain for human consumption, or enough to feed 60 million people. The demand of wealthy countries for meat generates poverty and instability overseas, which often perpetuates war. It is perhaps for this reason, that religious articles which question vegetarianism on spiritual grounds, usually make concessions for its compelling logic. Vegetarianism will not banish the world's ills. It is however in keeping with the highest aspirations of the prophets, that humanity should bear witness to an order of life, struggling to be born within us;
"In that day I will also make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field,
The birds of the sky
And the creeping things of the ground.
And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land.
And I will make then lie down in safety."
( Hosea 2:18 )
In Psalm 145:9 the Biblical message that God's love embraces all his creatures is revealed. The Prophet Jeremiah envisaged a time when the Lord would inscribe his will on the human heart in order to encourage compliance with divine law. The time has never been nearer...
"How full of death is the life of momentary man."
Francis Quarles, 1592-1644
"Humanity cannot be benefited by ought that is, by its very nature, subversive to humanity."
Anna Kingsford, 1846-1888
"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings, and this commandment was inscribed in the human breast long before it was proclaimed from Sinai."
Leo Tolstoy, 1828-1910
i'll post da rest l8r