Shy21 said:
OOOOOK. The Jewish star icon means I am Jewish. I am not here to annoy Christians. I can be Jewish and actually try to understand unbelievers....something Christians try hard not to do. But anyways I am just responding to these post with what I believe....
(1) The Star of David referenced is the avatar in post #24 by little tigress. She hasn't responded as I'm posting (and I could be very wrong), but I understand that to be a symbol of today's Messianic Jew -- one who has Jewish roots and believes Christ is the Messiah. Also, there are non-Jews who, in a broad sense, worship in a Judaeo-Christian fashion, celebrating the holy days of the Old Testament within their church (as Peter, the Apostle, believed new converts should do). The Apostle Paul, of course, felt no such compulsion: he preached that Christ "fulfilled" the law and for that reason non-Jews who became Christians need not become Jews as well.
(2) The story of the Israelites and God's manna is a perfect example of man's lack of faith in a God who brought them out of slavery. They began to grumble that they were better off in slavery, because at least they weren't hungry, and so God provided manna, which materialized after the dew evaporated. The skies rained quail for the evening. Here was the caveat: they should only pick up the manna they could eat in the morning, and not try to save it; they should only get as much quail as they could eat that evening. If they tried to store some for later, it would grow maggots. The only time this rule was altered by God was in the instructions for the 6th day: they would get twice as much, and miraculously, it would still be good for the 7th day, the Sabbath. You can find the whole story in
Exodus 16, and there are several references to it in the New Testament.
(3) In "A Vegetarian Sourcebook," (sorry, I don't remember the author's name) the author reminds us that although God killed animals to clothe Adam and Eve, and sacrificial slaughter also was ordained, all this happened
after "The Fall". From the beginning, as well as being unclothed and able to commune directly with God, they were vegetarians. Here's an interesting thought: many careful vegetarians still use eggs. His premise is that of all the horrors of large-scale food delivery, egg farming is the most vicious and inhumane. He suggests that if your only concern is how the animal lives and dies, use eggs from your own well-cared-for chickens.
(4) The argument that if you want meat, you should slaughter it yourself actually has some ardent subscribers. In two of my favorite secular magazines,
Mother Earth News and
Countryside, the lifestyle extolled is one of "self-reliance" or a system that is "self-sustaining". In its simplest components, the energy you use is that which you have provided in order to have energy that you use. In its simplest form, that may be composting a kitchen garden: add vegetable peelings and scraps to the soil, eventually it's incredibly rich soil in which you plant, and what you don't use of the vegetables is thrown back into the soil for compost. Interestingly enough, it's recommended that you let a plot lay fallow periodically, not just so you don't deplete the soil, but to avoid a specific crop's enemies from gaining strength. Hmmmm.
(5) Here's a tidbit for you. I sent a donation to the Sierra Club because I like trees, and wilderness continues to give way to monumental energy-waster residences. I chose to end my donations when a contingent of "special interest" folk were vying for executive board positions. Their intent was to "unify" Sierra Club members so that their mission statement included a committment to vegetarianism and "pro-choice" stances.
Yes! They most certainly do! More than some people, I might add!
Wow! Great conversation--my animals do the same thing. (dogs and cats) actually any animal I've ever known does the thing where they see something that I can't. Like you its never anything scary, they seem really peaceful. I notice this with my dogs a lot, but cats are the ones who really seem to do that. They are such peaceful little beings!E]
