How can Christians justify eating meat?

Rajni

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God's ideal in Genesis 1 is vegetarian. Meat eating in Genesis 9 is a concession for a fallen world.
That's one (of surely thousands) of (Christian) interpretations of that, yes. :)
 
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razeontherock

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As a Christian I have a concern for the future human beings on this planet. Being faithful to my brothers an sisters in Christ, who I love as myself, means making sure that they live in a world that is sustainable and not clouded by environmental damage and problem.
And that means that faithfulness to the human race, as everyone has a future with God, brings with it the faithfulness to the material environment in which we live.(and God made for us out of love).
We can't be faithful to each other without a care for the natural world which we are part of.
At present there is irreversible damage and degeneration of the environment, of many the destruction of rainforests (to grow grain to feed livestock farms and cheaper mcdonald containers), and so on, take it for granted that the human future is part of the planets future.
This crosses over into the animal world, disappearance of species,

What you're expressing here is "stewardship." Not only is it a valid christian concern, but it's the very thing God put Adam in the garden for! To dress the it, and to keep it. IOW, a caretaker. Not a destroyer
 
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Rajni

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I don't think you'll find that many ideas on this point.
Not literally, no. But I no longer underestimate the potential for the diversity of opinion on any aspect of scripture (or on anything else, for that matter)! :D


-
 
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grasping the after wind

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Sorry if I am too strong with my view I'm not trying to put you down for what you eat, maybe I could be wrong and that is why I wanted other people to debate on this topic.
Plants do not have nervous systems ans differ in primary cells, they cannot feel pain, lets agree that type of pain is cutting some fruit from a tree, and they do not display any type of pain behaviour either when cut because they do not have pain receptors.
If you cut an animal, lets say a chicken's beak off, then it does feel pain.
This is what I disagree with, not you, but the ethics and process behind meat, now feel free to argue why it is ok for animals to feel pain in the process of meat conversion

You are assuming that pain can only be felt in one way because that is how we feel pain but there is no reason to assume that since experience tells us that different organisms experience different sensations in different ways. That being the case there is always the possibility that plants may experience pain the same as animals do but through a different set of receptors that we as animals fail to recognize.
Why would anyone want to cut a living chicken's beak off?
If you only disagree with eating meat because of the possibility of the process causing pain wouldn't it be more effective to advocate for pain free meat conversion than for vegetarianism?
 
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eckhart

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I don't disagree with this at all. We can only ever assume that someone else feels the same type of pain that we do. We can never experience someone elses pain. There's a book I want you to look up called "The Secret Life of Plants" and the arguments made in this book have been disproved by science and testing, the book has been discredited, but may answer your questions about plants feeling pain.
Its part of debeaking, all chickens have their beaks cut off before they can live in a broiler shed to stop them from fighting and damaging the weight and condition of their meat - why would anyone want to buy chicken meat that had been damaged?
If they develop and genetically engineer a breed of animal that cannot suffer then that would be a solution to that side of the problem, and they are looking into growing animals in culture and labs. that cannot feel pain maybe in the future.
 
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pgp_protector

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1st Timothy 4:
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron ; 3 Forbidding to marry , and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained . 7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profiteth little : but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come . 9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. 10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach , because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. 11 These things command and teach . 12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come , give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
 
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ThatRobGuy

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Not true at all. Veggies have NEVER given me what I need nutritionally. No strength, no energy, and I get sick.

Same here.

Any fitness coach will tell you that you should be having 1gram of protein per pound of body weight every day.

For a person who weighs 180, there's no possible way of meeting that requirement without eating meat...well, aside from drinking 9-10 protein shakes per day (for which you'd have to go to the vegan store and buy hemp protein since whey protein contains animal product).

...and if you have to take 9-10 dietary supplements per day, logic should tell you that there's something wrong with your diet.
 
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ThatRobGuy

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I get all my information on this from "Animal Liberation", unless Peter Singer lied in his book, the only extra you get from animal products are the carbohydrates and fat cotent.


Then he definitely lied in his book. Meat is carb free and eggs are about 1 carb per egg.
 
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ThatRobGuy

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In fact the really big step in our development that set us obviously apart was learning to farm. Lots of animals successfully hunt in teams.

Depends on what you consider "development"

When the agriculture boom hit and people were told they should have 300 carbs per day, that's when heart disease became a major problem.
 
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ThatRobGuy

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Then God said "I now give to you all the plants on the earth that yield seeds and all the trees whose fruit produces its seeds within it. These will be your food."

The bible also says this

1 Timothy Chapter 4
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

According to the Christian faith, the NT trumps the OT, correct?
 
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Steve Petersen

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The bible also says this

1 Timothy Chapter 4
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

According to the Christian faith, the NT trumps the OT, correct?


This passage is not referencing OT practice. No place in the OT is marriage forbidden. In fact, God COMMANDED Adam and Eve to multiply.

The passage is referring to ascetic practices of some other sort.
 
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ThatRobGuy

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This passage is not referencing OT practice. No place in the OT is marriage forbidden. In fact, God COMMANDED Adam and Eve to multiply.

The passage is referring to ascetic practices of some other sort.

I was referring to the meat eating part of the verse since that's the topic at hand
 
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CounselorForChrist

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Not eating meat is Old Testament. For those who want evidence we are allowed to eat both I give you a verse you cannot deny:

Romans 14:12-13:
One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.

So essentially we can eat whatever. The only time its an issue is when we tell each other we wouldn't eat this or that based on our own views. Also here another verse:
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.

Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
 
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keith99

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I was referring to the meat eating part of the verse since that's the topic at hand

And unless I'm missing yuuor point totally this verse is speaking exactly to this thread and is a major condemnation ot the idea behind it.

The idea that man should not eat meat has no roots in Christianity.

Personally I find this meat idea to be jsut the next step after those who want men to abstain from wine, despite the actions of Christ which approved and even demanded such consumption.
 
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