BIBLE STUDY MANUALS: EATING MEAT IS IT BIBLICAL

1) WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT EATING MEAT? IS IT A SIN?

2) IS IT OKAY FOR CHRISTIANS TO EAT MEAT

3) CHRISTIAN VEGETARIANISM

4) SOMEWHERE UNDER THE RAINBOW

5) IS IT BETTER TO BE A VEGETARIAN THAN TO EAT MEAT?

1) WHAT DOES BIBLE SAY ABOUT EATING MEAT? IS IT A SIN?

In the book of Genesis, which tells of the Creation of Man, God specifically tells Adam and Eve of the foods he had provided for them to eat:

“I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food.” (Genesis 1:29-30)

[Amen. But note that the physical bodies of Adam and Eve had major differences from the physical bodies of today's human kind which bodies over history deteriorated as the centuries went by through the world wide flood with the sharp declines in longevity once the canopy over the earth dissipated causing ultraviolate light rays to hit the earth, shortening the lives of plants, animals and man. And God changed the entire planet so that the food people ate included animals, plants, fruits, insects, birds. No longer were people vegetarians. Notice nevertheless people on the planet were not Christians until the first century AD, so the context of what people were given to eat / supposed to eat AS INDICATED IN SCRIPTURE IN NUMEROUS PLACES, GOD BEING THE INSPIRING AUTHOR AND SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY IN SUCH MATTERS ESPECIALLY RELATIVE TO THE BIBLE AND ALL OF CREATION is not subject to the personal, unauthorized opinions or improper interpretations of any man. And such unauthorized, unsubstantiated, misinterpreted opinions do not necessarily apply to Christians, especially anything that is rooted before the first century AD and especially if it is not stipulated as applicable to Christians - those who have expressed a moment of faith alone in Christ alone + nothing else in order to become Christians .

So let's take a brief look at Gen 9:1-6 which addresses what mankind was then to eat right after the worldwide flood:

[Compare Genesis 9:1-6 (NASB)]:
¹ And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
² "The fear of you and the terror of you will 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.

[Notice the big change from harmony between man and animals to enmity and the killing for food]

³ "Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as, I gave the green plant.
⁴ "Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
⁵ "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.
⁶ "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man]

Only after the Fall did sin enter the world, and then everything changed. After the flood, God told Noah:

“The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you.” (Genesis 9:2-3)

[Notice that nobody of the Church Age in the first century AD is in view here so one must wait until that context is in view. Note that all passages do not apply to all situations. It's all about context, context, context ]

So, what does that mean for our relationship with animals and what we choose to eat?

Most Christians eat meat, and may do so believing that God intended animals for our consumption.

[Did not God implement this change in accordance with Gen chapter 9 beginning with Noah after the flood? But were these changes for Christians??? For Christians are not in view in Gen chapter 9. Find a passage that applies to Christians.]

[Which god are you referring to? Certainly NOT the God of the Bible, the only one true God Isa 45:5. I don't find any of this in Scripture. The Bible does stipulate in the Age of the Church - first century AD that only a moment of faith alone in Christ alone + nothing else will solely provide eternal life bringing into the family of God as a born again child of God into a very close personal familial relationship with God - nothing brings you any closer to God. After all God the Holy Spirit is not inside of you. How much closer can you get cp Jn 3:16, Jn 1:12-13, Eph 1:13-14]

Pastor Rob is not alone. There are many more priests, pastors and worshippers all over the world whose faith has led them to vegetarianism or veganism.

[So far, this is not confirmed in Scripture. None of them are evidently actually Christian and accurately represent what God's Word actually says. ]

[No he is not a Christian because he had not indicated that a moment of faith alone in Christ alone makes one a Christian]

[There is no therefore in the bible. It is not automatic that a Christian will become a vegetarian]

[Then Jesus is not the Christ. He ate meat and fish. Becoming a Christian does not demand one be a Vegan. Nowhere is this stipulated in the Bible]

the Revd John Ryder writes: “What the Bible has to say about God’s purpose for Creation in the beginning, and what things will again be like at the end of time, is perfectly clear.

[He's not a Christian. It is not perfecly clear, it is flawed. There is more to it, for God provided opportunities to Adam and Eve to be tested and remain blessed. They failed, by God's design, man's volition. They chose of their own volitions to disobey. Mankind descended from Adam and Eve were changed - the world was changed.]

In between I know the majority accepted the eating of meat. They also accepted the practice of slavery. I am sure one day Christians will be as ashamed of the former as they are now of the latter.”

[Paul wrote, "1 Corinthians 8:8 (NASB)
⁸ But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.

Since God implemented the dietary change evidently beginning with Noah after the Flood then it is not something someone is to be ashamed at. That is not in Scripture and it implies that God should be ashamed of what He implemented. Are you willing to go that far??]

After the Fall, there are many passages in the Bible that relate to eating animals, among them:

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover."

[Exod 12:1-2. First God told Moses and Aaron about the time of the Passover. This feast was to mark a new age in the history of Israel (the first month, the first month of your year). Though the events in this chapter occurred in the seventh month according to the civil year (which began in September-October) this is the first month in Israel's religious calendar. This month is called Abib (lit., "fresh young ears" of, e.g., barley). This was when barley was to be harvested (March-April). With a new calendar the Israelites were to receive a new identity as the favored people of the true God.

After Israel was taken into captivity the names of 4 of the 12 months were given Babylonian names, and April was called Nisan (cf. Neh. 2:1; Es. 3:7), which means "early" or "start." (See the chart "Calendar in Israel.")

12:3-6. The phrase the whole community of Israel (cf. v. 6) is used here for the first time in the Old Testament to refer to the nation. The word suggests a new beginning. The celebration of Passover was centered in homes. On the 10th day of the month (March-April) each Israelite family was to select a lamb or a goat (śeh, the word trans. lamb, can mean either a young sheep or goat; cf. v. 5). If a family was small and not able to eat an entire animal, arrangements could be made to share the meal with another family. The animal was to be a one-year-old male without blemish. Four days later (on the 14th) each animal was to be killed at twilight. This meant either between sunset and dark or between 3 and 5 p.m. The latter time period is probably correct because it would allow more time for slaughtering and preparing the animal, which would be needed later when many sacrifices would be offered at the sanctuary.

12:7-11. In these verses instructions are given on how to observe the Passover. Though the feast was observed in each Israelite home, their united and simultaneous worship would help weld them together as a single community (cf. v. 3). The blood of the animals was to be placed on the doorframes of the houses, the animal meat roasted, and the people were to eat it with bitter herbs and bread... without yeast. The slaying of the animals (instead of the Israelites' firstborn sons, v. 13) and the sprinkling of blood prefigured the substitutionary death of Christ. He is "our Passover Lamb" (1 Cor. 5:7), "a Lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:19; cf. John 1:29). His own sacrifice is the means whereby individual believers escape the horrors of spiritual death.

Bitter herbs (probably endive, chicory, dandelions) symbolized sorrow or grief (cf. Lam. 3:15) for past sin, or the Israelites' bitter experience of oppression in Egypt. The bread without yeast symbolized their leaving in haste (Ex. 12:11, 39; Deut. 16:3). The meat was to be roasted, not eaten raw as some pagans did. The people were to eat the entire meal quickly while dressed ready for travel (on the cloak tucked into the belt, see comments on "Brace yourself like a man," Job 38:3; 40:7).

Thus under the protection of shed blood, the congregation was to be reminded of cleansing from sin (cf. Heb. 9:22) and that they were sojourners in a strange land. It is the Lord's Passover means the Passover lamb was for the Lord (cf. "a festival to the Lord," Ex. 12:14).]

[Note that this is not to say that every single blood cell must be removed which is not feasible with man even at this time. But the issue is to have made the effort. For it is evident that the blood of Christ on the cross is in view and the biological idea that blood is absolutely essential in sustaining life - so mortal and eternal life are in view both of which are sustained by God with the Son of God, Jesus Christ especially in view

]

“If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.”

The Lord said to Moses: “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month - until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it - because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

[It does not appear that you are paying attention to the context. There was God's discipline of the Israelites here in view, not His peace. What God gave them to eat resulted in making them ill due to their ungodly lust. This has nothing to do with vegetarianism vs meat eating. It is due to their sinful lust for the meat, not eating something that was not permitted to eat. Remember God provided the meat Himself. Is the work of trickery and evil design coming from the Righteous Creator? Their lust was their choice and then as a result they became ill.

Take a look at Numbers 11 and read carefully the issue was not vegetarianism vs meat, it was attitude]

In Leviticus 11, the Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron and sets out which animals can be eaten and which cannot: “You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.”

Aquatic animals can be eaten if they have fins and scales. Winged insects are permissible if they have joints in their legs above their feet. The consumption of specific named species of birds was not permitted and eating bats was expressly prohibited.

Later, in the New Testament, Jesus swept away these rules and “declared all foods clean”

(Mark 7:18-19): “There is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.”

With this declaration, all restrictions were lifted and people were free to eat what they wished in line with their own conscience.

IS EATING MEAT A SIN?

A sin is an act against God’s will. Original Sin is inherited from Adam and Eve, while personal sins belong to individual Christians alone. Breaking God’s commandments are considered sinful but there remains disagreement about what acts or omissions are considered sinful.

Most people of faith do not believe that eating meat is a sin, though there is an increasing number of Christians who think that being vegan not only brings them closer to God, it brings us all closer to the Peaceable Kingdom that is prophesied in Isaiah.

[ck verses faith alone in Christ completely saves - don't need to do anything else. What you eat will not save you or condemn you to hell]

Christan philosopher, Simon Kittle seeks to remind us that many of our beliefs about animals “stem not from the Bible but from cultural habit,” and if we recognise that, it “might enable us to evaluate honestly the violence we are now implicated in, not so that we can condemn ourselves or be condemned by others – but so that we can turn from it, and join with God in seeking that Peaceable Kingdom. As we read the Bible, our prayer should be that God would deliver us from the evil of causing unnecessary violence to animals.”

Before The Fall, Adam and Eve were given the wealth and abundance of plants to eat but after sin entered the world, they were told they could eat animals, and that those animals would live in fear of them.

[Not so eating meat until Noah. Other than that, little can be discerned except that God's implementation of eating and that animals would be at enmity with man implies that this was something new.]

Says Christian Vegetarians and Vegans UK: “From a biblical perspective the concept of eating anything but plants by any animal – human or otherwise – only entered the world after The Fall. That surely should tell the reader something.”

Says Dr. Andy Alexis-Baker, vegan, author and lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago: “I did not then and do not now think I had all the answers, but when I looked at how God calls people to live, I knew that the arc of my life had to bend toward justice, toward peace, toward compassion.”

[The arc of the Christian life - all men's lives - is through the messages in Scripture appropriately applied - language, context and logic.

So the message in black fonts above is NOT specifically in any passage in Scripture. The Bible and especially Paul's epistles do not stipulate anything about having to bend toward justice, peace and compassion relative to what one eats be it vegetarian or meat. One is simply to obey what God commands relative to this matter or any matter.

Romans 5:1 (NASB)
¹ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,]

Including animals in that arc of compassion is something many Christians are now embracing.

[Not in Scripture. Irrelevant. It's not what you eat, it is how you are studying and obeying Scripture via the leading of the Holy Spirit. Most likely most of the authors mentioned are not Christian because they have not trusted alone in Christ alone for eternal life excluding anything they might do including what they eat: Eph 2:6-10]

[Not so. Most Christians are less than luke warm. They hold their own interpretations of the Bible in high esteem if anything which is largely, even wholly unbiblical]

They want to live according to God’s precepts, under His guidance, and righteously. For varying reasons, some individuals have a crisis of conscience about the food they eat. Whether they wish to give up meat, eat in alignment with Jewish customs, or other personal decisions, they want to know what the Bible says about godly behavior, including whether or not meat is okay to eat.

• Should people take a life if they don’t have to? Does the Levitical law apply to the church? Was man even meant to consume flesh in the first place? The Bible does address these questions, though sometimes it is indirectly.

• Though humanity may not have eaten meat in the Garden of Eden, the Fall changed everything, and man’s ability to have a relationship with God was altered. To be clean before God, they had to be clean physically as well, but the blood of Jesus cleanses man thoroughly. Man’s relationship with God changed his relationship with meat.

[God announced to Noah the changed conditions on the earth re: man, animals, birds, insects, plants, etc. Since the Fall in the Garden, and since the timeframe thereafter until and after the Flood ongoing throughout the ages man's relationship changed BECAUSE OF SIN not because of what man ate. Those that trusted in a coming Seed of the Woman were promised by God to spend eternity in His Eternal Kingdom alone with Adam and Eve which was not as a result of their eating habits but because they believed in that Seed Who was and is the Son of God, Jesus Christ ]

In the beginning, God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They lived in innocence, naked, cultivating the earth. They spent time walking with their Creator. They had an abundance of food to eat with only one plant they could not consume; “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).

These two verses reveal a lot about the diet of the first man and woman. They could eat any fruit or vegetable, except that which grew on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Death had not entered the world either. Because God had not permitted them to eat animals, and they would not have thought to take the life of an animal and consume it, they did not eat meat in the Garden.

After sin entered the world, death did as well. After they ate the fruit, Adam and Eve realized they were naked, which resulted in the first recorded instance of an animal dying to support human life; “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

The Bible remains silent about what people ate between the Fall and the Flood. Once the waters receded, God clarified what people could eat. “The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Genesis 9:2-4). Whether people ate meat before the flood and God was clarifying this was allowed, or whether they had not and God was permitting it, is not clear. This point is that God formally approves the consumption of meat, except that which was still saturated with blood.

Under the Levitical law, there were restrictions on what those who followed the God of Israel could eat.

[Excellent. The context of Israel is quoted and established here, so that those of different dispensations, or those who not part of Israel during their time in history as God's chosen people are in view; i.e., those who followed the God of Israel. Christians are not in view. Nevertheless eating properly utilizing what God has set down in His Word is an excellent route to go with to stay healthy]

Certain foods were deemed clean and unclean. These foods were mostly outlined in the Book of Leviticus. It addresses creatures on the earth, insects, birds, and creatures of the sea.
These rules can be summarized with the following verses and examples:

Creatures on the earth: “ Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat” (Leviticus 11:3).

Creatures of the sea: “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you” (Leviticus 11:9-10).

Birds of the air: “And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the falcon of any kind, every raven of any kind, the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat” (Leviticus 11:13-18).

Winged Insects: “Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you” (Leviticus 11:22-23).

Other restrictions include swarming things, with a few exceptions, and snakes. Many of the animals that are unclean under this system are scavengers in some way, able to survive by consuming dead animals, and many of the fish forbidden by the Law are bottom feeders. The handling of carcasses, both human and animal, is what a large portion of the cleanliness laws address.
[See how much better it is to quote / comment on God's Word. But remember that the Levitical Law has Israel in view]

Pork, which comes from pigs, under these restrictions would be deemed unclean.

[Under the Mosaic Law these restrictions apply to Israel. Christians are not under the Law they are under grace.

Romans 6:1-15 (NASB)
¹ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
² May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
³ Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
⁵ For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
⁶ knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
⁷ for he who has died is freed from sin.
⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
¹¹ Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
¹³ and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
¹⁴ For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

Besides there are in the New Testament part of the Bible instructions relative to what to eat for Christians which we have already addressed: Christians have freedom to utilize their own consciences, relative among things to what they eat. It is in accordance with the particular Christian's conscience:

1 Corinthians 10:23-31 (NASB)
²³ All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.
²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.
²⁵ Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience' sake;
²⁶ FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS.
²⁷ If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience' sake.
²⁸ But if anyone says to you, "This is meat sacrificed to idols," do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience' sake;
²⁹ I mean not your own conscience, but the other man's; for why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?
³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?
³¹ Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

[Jesus said] “There is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.”]

While they have the parted-hoof, it does not chew its cud, like a cow does. Chewing the cud is a process where certain animals chew their food, digest part of it, and chew some of their partially digested food. Pigs do not chew the cud and can be scavengers. Under the Levitical law, pork is not allowed. However, these restrictions are no longer applicable to those who live under the freedom in Christ.

As Gentiles began to embrace the truth of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, questions about whether they could continue to eat what they wanted – as they had when they practiced paganism – or if they should adopt Jewish diet restrictions arose. The Apostle Peter appeared caught in the middle of this conflict, as God led him into the homes of Gentiles so they could be saved, but remained close to the Jewish Christians.

Acts records a vision God sent to Peter, “and [he] saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.’ And the voice came to him again a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common’” (Acts 10:11-15). Peter wanted to keep to Levitical notions of clean and unclean food, but under the new Covenant of the blood of Christ, everything was made clean.

[New Covenant is with Israel and Israel alone. Although Christians are covered relative to Christ's propitiation for sins of the whole world, the New Covenant's fulfillment re: the priesthood of God's chosen people is with God and Israel alone. The dispensation of the church has it's own destiny. (Jer 31:31-34, ]

Because Jesus’ righteousness is credited to those who accept Him as their Lord and Savior, [in other words to those who exercise a moment of faith alone in Christ alone + nothing] they no longer need to maintain a level of outward cleanliness to have inner righteousness, [they never had to do this to be saved unto eternal life in the eternal kingdom of God in the first place] and all food, including pork, is allowed.

After Jesus died and was resurrected and ascended back to Heaven, many of His first followers were Jewish, and they had to grapple with the freedom to now eat foods centuries of tradition taught them were unclean. As the Gospel spread, many pagans began to convert to Christianity. Accepting this Jewish Messiah as their Lord and Savior transformed their lives.

[Wrong gospel. Transformation NOT guaranteed in this temporal life, otherwise why need to read all the New Testament epistles - instructions on how to live the Christian life and other things. A moment of faith alone in Christ alone gives you the free gift of eternal life FOREVER. Thereafter a Christian / born again forever child of God is commanded to study Scripture and show himself approved via his conduct as led by his study and the leading of the Holy Spirit within]

Many of them were used to sacrificing meat to pagan idols in temples that may have had prostitutes in them. Some of them questioned whether it was right to eat meat that had been sacrificed to pagan gods.

“The apostle Paul responded: ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For ‘the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.’ If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice,’ then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience — I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? ... So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:23-29 & 31-32).

Paul states that it is lawful to eat anything because Christ has cleansed believers from the inside out.

[Then burn 1 John Epistle which deals with believers when they sin esp. chapter one. 1 Jn 1:8 indicates that if a believer says he has no sin he lies. So Christ has not yet cleansed believers from the inside. Blamelessness begins after death, not in this temporal life. Confession required for temporal forgiveness on a moment to moment basis

If we [believers] confess our sins, He [God] is just to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness." = confess and move on the Christian life. This is how the believer may stay in fellowship with His Father moment to moment]

However, he acknowledges that Christians should be cognizant not to force those whose consciences are pricked by this idea to eat this meat, or to make them uncomfortable by doing so. He encourages them to be polite, to exercise their freedom responsibly.

He goes a step further in his letter to the church in Rome where he says, “ I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:14-16). If a brother in Christ does not eat meat, do not eat it in front of him or her. Paul again reinforces that Christians have freedom in Christ to eat meat, but that one’s freedom in Christ should not come at the expense of others.

When looking at what the Bible says about meat, it is clear that it is not un-Biblical to be a vegetarian and a vegan. For those who feel they do not want to participate in the meat industry, do not feel well after eating meat, or feel they should give it up for any reason, they are not violating any precepts, and are exercising their freedom in Christ to pursue a lifestyle that works best for them. It reflects the concerns the Corinthians had about eating sacrificed meat. If a Christian feels they should give up meat for health or moral reasons, they have the freedom to do so.

[Where is this in view in the Bible? The problem is one is to pursue a lifestyle that is biblical which includes confession of sins in order to be purified from temporal sin. Study to show oneself approved and obey what one studies at the leading of the Holy Spirit. What you eat has no bearing to this end]

Ultimately, diet is an individual choice, made based on health needs and personal taste.

[Not always true. Choices may not be based on actual health needs or unhealthy desires / false information. Personal taste may well be detrimental or beneficial to ones body. It depends. Remember Christians serve the Lord best when they are healthy and energetic. We don't always know, are often misinformed by deliberately deceptive marketing even on food labels]

Food exists first for nourishment, and secondarily to provide a pleasurable experience. Food is tasty, but can be a stumbling block for some people. Whether it is meat, alcohol, or sugar, there is freedom in Christ to consume it, but it should never become an idol or a stumbling block for others.

Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith.

[Not always so. Which passages do you have in view? What does derive from the Christian faith is the question. Why didn't you word it as such, "Derived from Scripture, not from the Christian faith and then refer to Scripture. Your concept of Christian faith may be unbiblical and not Christian at all]

The three primary reasons are spiritual, nutritional, and ethical. The ethical reasons may include a concern for God's creation, a concern for animal rights and welfare, or both.[1][2]

[This approach is not biblical. It has to do with not God's concern for His creation, not yours. This is why you need to refer to passages in Scripture. There is nothing stipulated in the Bible about Christian vegetarianism. God does not stipulate anything in this age about animal rights and animals welfare. This is man's idea, not God's. Let's not get carried away with man's idea and not God's idea and call that being Christian. Jesus is coming again to restore all things - New Heavens and a New Earth. He'll come to the restore all things. It is not up to you to preserve / restore. That's God's business. In that restoration, Christians and believers of all ages will be restored as Adam and Eve before the fall into blameless individuals who cannot sin. Vegetarianism will be the order of the day

Isaiah 11:1-10 (NASB)
¹ Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
³ And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
⁴ But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
⁵ Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
⁶ And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.
⁷ Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
⁹ They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
¹⁰ Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.]

Likewise, Christian veganism is not using any animal products for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith.

[Not so. Where are the passages from Scripture that you are reasoning correctly from? There is not such thing as "Christian veganism"]

Pescatarianism was widespread in the early Church, among both the clergy and laity.[3]

[What early Church people do does not make it biblical. Chapter and verse please. Pescatarianism refers to a diet that includes fish and fish products, vegetables, legumes and sometimes dairy, while excluding meat and poultry. There is no specific stipulation in Scripture of this diet]

Among the early Judeo-Christian Gnostics the Ebionites held that John the Baptist, James the Just and Jesus were vegetarians.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

[Irrelevant. Judeo-Christian Gnostics and Ebionites were not Christian and certainly not Biblical. Jesus ate the passover lamb multiple times and ate fish even in His resurrection body]

Some religious orders of various Christian Churches practice pescatarianism, including the Benedictines, Franciscans, Trappists, Carthusians and Cistercians.[10][11][12]

[Not relevant. These people are neither Christian nor Biblical!!! Chapter and verse please]

Various Church leaders have recommended vegetarianism, including John Wesley (founder of the Methodist Church), William and Catherine Booth (founders of The Salvation Army), William Cowherd from the Bible Christian Church and Ellen G. White from the Seventh-day Adventists.[13][14][15][16] Cowherd, who founded the Bible Christian Church in 1809, helped to establish the world's first Vegetarian Society in 1847.[17]

Organizations such as the Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA) work to promote the concept.[18]

[Chapter and verse please. Not biblical. None of these people / organizations are Christian in the Biblical sense]

Additionally, many Christians may choose to practice vegetarianism or veganism as their Lenten sacrifice during Lent periods.[19][20]

[Lent is not Christian, Easter is not Christian. Not in the Bible. There are no practices or day of special worship within the Christian faith. Every day is the day of the Lord. Each believer may choose to celebrate / worship God as he pleases. Albeit there are many commands on how to do this, but each believer has his own level of spiritual maturity not to be interfered with by other believers]

[There is neither support for nor definition / description of Christian vegetarianism in the Bible]

Christian vegetarianism has not been a common dietary choice throughout Church history.

[Leave out the word "Christian" it does not legitmately belong with the word vegetarianism for there is no such thing as Christian vegetarianism defined in the Bible]

Some [who?] have argued, however, that "there is a long-standing tradition of vegetarianism in Christian history."[21]

[No there is not such a standing. So far very person / organization that you have called Christian are not Christian. To become a Christian is simply and in no other way: to express a moment of faith alone in Christ alone unto the immediate possession of eternal life forever, never to lose it for any reason, and you immediately become a born again child of God forever, (Jn 1:12-13 ; Jn 3:16 ). Every single person / organization that you have cited above by dint of your precise words do not espouse this gospel of eternal life as delineated in numerous places in the Bible without contradiction ]

The two most prominent forms are a spirituality-based vegetarianism (where vegetarianism is adopted as an ascetic practice, or as a way of opposing the sin of gluttony, in the hope it will draw the person to God) and an ethically-based vegetarianism (where it is adopted for ethical reasons; for example, those to do with the treatment of non-human animals).

[Neither Christian spiritual nor Christian ethical / nor godly - the better word would be godly. Chapter and verse please! Use the bible, not someone's history book who doesn't know a Christian from a hole in the ground]

Christian ethical vegetarianism (or veganism) usually carries with it a commitment to the normative claim that (at least some) Christians should be vegetarians.

[There is no such thing stipulated or implied in the Bible as Christian ethical vegetarianism / veganism. Thus there is no such thing as a commitment to the normative claim that Christians should be vegetarian - nor at least some Christians. There is no normative claim to that which does not exist except in the imaginations of those who are not even Christian because of their insistence on what you do including practicing some kind vegetarianism in order to be a Christian. A person becomes a Christian when he expresses a moment of faith alone in Christ alone + nothing else (Jn 1:12-13 ; 3:16 ) ]

For this reason, Christian ethical vegetarians often give a scriptural justification for their position.

[There is NO justification in the Bible for Christian ethical vegetarianism. And none is stipulated here anyway]

While there are biblical passages which provide support for ethical vegetarianism, there are also passages which seem to imply that eating animals is morally permissible.

[There is no scriptural justification which supports the concept of Christian ethical vegetarians because being a vegetarian is not stipulated as a requirement in order to be a Christian / good Christian, etc.; nor is what you eat stipulated of Christians as ethical in the Bible anywhere; nor is it declared as morally permissible or not. Christians, i.e., those in this particular Age, the Age of Grace which began in the first century and continues until the Rapture are only those who express a moment of faith alone in Christ alone + nothing else (Jn 1:12-13 ; 3:16 ). In addition, no where in the Bible does it qualify what a Christian may eat as ethical; nor eating something described as ethical / or not ethical. Christians, i.e., those Jews and Gentiles who have trusted alone in Christ alone in the age of grace, the church - first century on - are not under the Mosaic Law or any rules of behavior relative to having eternal life and to an eternal destiny with God in heaven; they are under grace . Those living under the Law of Moses are not in view - or any rules governing behavior in order to have eternal life: we are not under law but under grace . So the eating regulations under the Law are not applicable to Christians - Jews and Gentiles in this age who have trusted alone in Christ alone. For only Jews of the period of time before the first century are under the Mosaic Law from the time when the Law was introduced to Israel alone at Mt Sinai by Moses throughout the age - interrupted in the first century by the Age of Grace, the Church. Then when that Church Age concludes at the rapture , the last 7 years of the Mosaic Law Period with its regulations about eating for Jews will continue until Christ comes again .]

[There is no Jewish vegetarianism stipulated in Scripture. Jews may be vegetarians and select from the precepts of the Mosaic Law - the commands etc. for all Israel lists both meat and vegetables as proper / or exluded diet]

One of the most important passages for Christian vegetarians [all Christians regardless of what they eat are Christians] is the creation narrative in the Book of Genesis.[22] After creating humans, God addresses them in chapter 1, verses 1:29–30 [Genesis refers to Adam and Eve who came before the Church Age, not to Christians - before the Fall] as follows:

God said [to Adam & Eve and their descendants UNTIL THINGS CHANGED BY THEIR SIN IN THE GARDEN. Thereafter, God changed things such as what people might eat a number of times for various groups of people throughout the ages. You have to pay attention to the context

"See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food". And it was so.

In this passage, God prescribes a plant-based diet not just for humans, but for all land-based non-human animals.

[This passage is for Adam & Eve and their descendants UNTIL THINGS CHANGED BY THEIR SIN IN THE GARDEN. Thereafter, shortly thereafter God changed things such as what people might eat a number of times for various groups of people throughout the ages. You have to pay attention to the context]

Christian vegetarians and vegans point out that it was this creation—where all creatures ate plants—that God then declared "very good" in verse 31.[23][24]

[But then what happened in the Garden of Eden changed things for all mankind until Christ comes again. We are not under God's rule in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve BEFORE THEY SINNED]

Moreover, that God's initial creation was a vegan creation suggests that this is how God intended all his creatures to live.[25] This idea—that God intended for all his creatures to eat plants—is sometimes further supported by noting that the vision of the Peaceable Kingdom found in the Book of Isaiah 11:6–9 suggests that, one day, God will restore the creation to such a state of universal vegetarianism:

[During the time BEFORE this transformation vegetarianism IS NOT COMMANDED / OR SET UP YET]

"The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

[According to the foreordination / decrees and implementation of God this will occur. Man must obey God's commands in the meantime as delineated by God IN SCRIPTURE including what to eat / not to eat]

Some Christian vegetarians [who?] have suggested that this eschatological view provides reasons to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet here and now.

[Cite what Paul has to say here instead of paraphrasing who some unknown 'Christian vegetarians' - better to say Christians who are vegetarians because the two are not always connected]

Moreover, the point has often been made that the dominion which humans are given over the non-human animals in Genesis 1:26–28 must be understood in light of Genesis 1:29–30 which decrees a plant-based diet for all creatures. Genesis 1:26–28 has, it is acknowledged by Christian vegetarians, [better to say a Christian who is a vegetarian because the two are not always connected] often been used to justify the eating of animals.[26] But this is a mistake, they suggest. Once it is recognized that humans are given dominion over creation, and that in the very next verse humans are prescribed a plant-based diet, it will become apparent that dominion should be understood in terms of stewardship or servant-hood: humans are called to rule creation in the sense of caring for it and seeking its flourishing, just as a good Sovereign [God] would seek the flourishing of his or her realm.[27] In a survey of the scholarly literature on the relevant Hebrew terms, Carol J. Adams lists governing, ruling, shepherding, caring-for, nurturing, and leading about as potential ways of understanding dominion, and notes that the common characteristic of these concepts "is their benignity".[28]

[Why not consult the Bible instead of Carol J. Adams. Not applicable to this age the Church Age, go to the New Testament epistles]

The opening chapters of Genesis are, of course, only the beginning of the biblical story.

[But not every bible verse on the topic of what to eat applies to all people of all ages!!! It's all about context]

And just as there are passages which can be cited in support of a Christian vegetarianism or veganism,

[There is no Christian vegetarianism!!! or veganism. No where in passages in Scripture that have in view Christians is there anything that addresses Christian vegetarianism. On the other hand, Paul addresses what Christians eat in the sense that it is the Christian's own business what he eats or does not eat. All things are permissible relative to what the Christian eats, (1 Tim 4:1-5; Col 2:16, 23; 1 Cor 8:8; Ro 14:13-17)

Matthew 15:11 (NASB)
¹¹ "It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." ]

so there are passages which suggest that eating animals is morally permissible. The most problematic passages for Christian vegetarians are those which include an explicit permission to eat animals. Genesis 9:3–4 [there are no Christians in view in this passage] is the first such example. In this verse, God tells Noah and his family that animals will now be their food, although they are not to eat animal flesh which contains blood. [Genesis 9:3–4] This new situation – that of humans eating animals – is then taken largely for granted in much of the biblical narrative. [No it is not so stipulated]

Leviticus 11 [this is limited to ordinances to Israel - not to Christians - furthermore there are specific commands on certain animals, birds, insects that are permissable to eat, some not] records God giving the Israelites rules about what types of meat may be eaten, which implies that certain meats were acceptable. During the Exodus out of Egypt, God commanded that all of the Israelites to slaughter a lamb and eat it, and instituted the Passover as a lasting tradition to remember God's saving them.[Exodus 12:24] [this is limited to ordinances to Israel - not to Christians]

Some Jewish and Christian vegetarians have [some Christians are Jews some are Gentiles and some Jews are unbelievers / non-Christians - it is what the Bible says that matters within context] attempted to minimize the importance of these passages. It has been suggested, for example, that God's permitting Noah and his family to eat meat was only ever intended as a temporary permission, and was given because all the plants had been destroyed as a result of the flood.[29] [Chapter and verse which supports this - actually it is not in Scripture]

Others interpret the permission given to Noah and his family in Genesis 9:3–4, not as a free pass to kill animals for food because "no matter what you do you can never remove all the blood from the flesh of a slaughtered animal", [You must cite and explain chapter and verse which supports this. But it is not in Scripture. Why would God command this if it cannot be obeyed: The issue is the symbollic / actual representation of life being via blood. For the blood cirulatory system indeed is vital to the life of the creature. Nevertheless it is not feasible to remove every molecule / drop of blood in a piece of animal meat. The key is the effort being made to comply.

Genesis 9:1-6 (NASB)
¹ And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
² "The fear of you and the terror of you will 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.
³ "Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.
⁴ "Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

[Note that this is not to say that every single blood cell must be removed which is not feasible with man even at this time. But the issue is to have made the effort]

⁵ "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.

⁶ "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man."

but as an invitation to scavenge for and eat dead animals if any are found.[30][31][32] [You must cite chapter and verse which supports this. But actually it is not in Scripture.]

These approaches are put under pressure, however, with the sheer number of passages which appear to presuppose the legitimacy of eating animals, and the normalcy with which meat eating is treated. [Amen. So how come you refute this point with so many other points that have nothing to do with Scripture and yet make the point that being a vegetarian / vegan is part of being a Christian]

Another approach to these texts is to suggest that God reluctantly permitted the eating of animals due to human sinfulness. In other words, God permitted humans to eat non-human animals as a concession to the Fallen state of humanity.[33][34]

Genesis 9:1-4 (NASB)
¹ And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
² "The fear of you and the terror of you will 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.
³ "Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, I gave the green plant.
⁴ "Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood]

Richard Young raises the possibility that both the introduction of animals into the human diet, and the use of animals in religious sacrifices, were concessions to a Fallen humanity that were used to deal with humanity where it was at.[35]

[Chapter and verse. No place in Scripture does God make concession to a Fallen humanity. Yes it is true that individuals in all ages from Adam and Eve may choose to express a moment of faith alone in Christ and be saved by God's grace and then be transformed into perfect human beings - but remember that that salvation is not a concession allowing man's sin to be overlooked, this is so because God's Justice is satisfied by Christ's propitiation for sins 1 Jn 2:2 - thereby God's character and His Righteousness is not damaged. And His Sovereignty is not impuned because of man's willful sinful actions which some thing demand God make concessions for thus impuning His Absolute Sovereignty. God being God must be in Absolutely Sovereign Control. Don't you know that Scripture teaches that everything that has and will occur is Sovereignly decreed by God before the foundation of the universe ]

This approach allows the Christian vegetarian or vegan to take the entire biblical witness seriously, [But it is seriously flawed and of detrimental value because it refutes the Bible and is not substantiated from the Bible at all]

while also holding that God's preference is for a peace and shalom throughout creation.

[No. God's wrath is going to and has been exercised against mankind as reflected in the deteriorating condition of the planet earth. There will be no peace until God's Justice is satisfied and whoever decides to never believe in Jesus Christ for salvation is punished. They will not participate in that restored new heavens and new earth. They face judgment of God's wrath in the Lake of Fire!!!!! Those who choose to believe: remain in the new heavens and the new earth. They will inevitably be transformed into perfect human beings to occupy that New Heavens and the New Earth in a glorious Eternity]

Other passages of relevance to the practice of vegetarianism include Numbers 11, where the Israelites tired of manna, a food of which "The Rabbis of the Talmud held that […] had whatever taste and flavor the eater desired at the time of eating"[36] and which probably was not an animal product.

[Not biblical. Why go to an unbiblical source - someones flawed interpretation and editorialism. Instead leg's go to the Bible.]

Manna was given to the Israelites by God, but they complained about it and wanted meat instead. [Numbers 11:4–10] They were condemned for this, although God relented and gave them meat, which then made them ill. [Numbers 11:32–34] Because of their lust, the place where the incident happened became known as Kibroth Hattaavah.[36]

[There was God's discipline of the Israelites here in view, not His peace. What God gave them to eat resulted in making them ill due to their ungodly lust. This has nothing to do with vegetarianism vs meat eating. It is due to their sinful lust for the meat, not eating something that was not permitted to eat. Remember God provided the meat Himself. Is the work of trickery and evil design coming from the Righteous Creator God? Their lust was their choice and then as a result they became ill.

Take a look at Numbers 11 and read carefully the issue was not vegetarianism vs meat, it was attitude]

A donkey temporarily given the ability to speak showed Balaam more than signs of sentience.[Numbers 22:21–33]

[What does this have to do with what you eat. First of all, Israel is in view, not Christians]

Some people believe that the Book of Daniel also specifically promotes veganism as empowering. Daniel specifically refuses the king's "meat" (paṯbaḡ, Strong's #5698[37]) and instead requests vegetables (zērōʿîm, Strong's #2235[38]).

[If you cite some people who are not stipulated, hence unknown, then what they believe does not make their beliefs biblical. Especially without careful analysis of Dan 1:8-16. The proper interpretation of the Bible does this. What does this have to do with what you eat? First of all, Israel is in view, not Christians. Daniel preferred vegetables. This did not mean that he would not also eat meat. Remember he was in a foreign land that did not follow the Mosaic Law or whatever preparation Daniel used to eat his food. The Mosaic Law designates what Israelites should eat - including the proper preparation of that meat - remember drain out the blood. Note that God commanded Noah, before Israel, to drain meat of blood]

However, current common theology argues that in this instance Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are rejecting food that is considered to be unholy by their faith (eating food that had been sacrificed to pagan gods), and not meat per se, despite that "at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat". [Daniel 1:15]

[Christians are not in view here. You can eat meat improperly prepared or the wrong kind of meat, like pig meat and that would be unhealthy. But you can also eat the wrong kind of plants and be unhealthy as well. Or you can eat healthy foods and be more enabled to serve the Lord whoever you are as a believer from whatever period of history. Note that Daniel made good choices evidently. This does not condemn eating meat nor make unholy before God]

Philo says that the Essenes, "being more scrupulous than any in the worship of God […] do not sacrifice animals […], but hold it right to dedicate their own hearts as a worthy offering". They maintained that the sacrifices "polluted" the Temple.[39]

[Irrelevant. Paul advised to make up ones own mind about eating meat that was sacrificed to idols. But whether or not it was sacrificed does not change the kind meat one is eating - healthy or unhealthy. Irrelevant]

The Christian Vegetarian Association of the UK claims that the word "meat" is not used in any one instance in the authorized version of either the Old or New Testament as relating only to animal food (e.g. "flesh"). The CVA states that when the first English translations of the Bible were created, the word for "meat" meant food in general. When any particular kind of food was designated, it was referred to as meal, flour or grain.[40]

According to the CVS, examples of New Testament words that were translated as "meat" include: broma ("that which is eaten"/usage: 16 times ); brosimos ("eatable"/usage: 1 time); brosis ("act of eating; that which is eaten, food; food of the souls/usage: 7 times); prosphagion ("anything eaten with bread; spoken of fish boiled or broiled"/usage: 1 time); sitometron ("a measured portion of grain or food"/usage: 1 time); trapeza ("a table on which food is placed, an eating place"/usage: 1 time); trophe ("food, nourishment"/usage: 13 times); phago ("to eat, to take food, eat a meal, devour, consume"/usage: 3 times).[41]

[Irrelevant. Get a good translation. Context is the issue. When meat refers to meat then it is meat. When meat refers to food in general then it is food in general. Elementary reading rules learned at elementary school]

Christian vegetarians and vegans often appeal to the ethic that Jesus embodied, and called people to emulate, in making their case for a distinctively Christian vegetarianism.

[Not in Scripture, Jesus ate the Passover lamb and fish. Never spoke of vegetarianism. What food one eats is neither ethical nor not ethical. Paul wrote of this as personal choice, all things permissible. The Bible should be searched, for in the Bible not what someone chooses to believe is ethical. Be godly. Don't look to determine in your own mind what is ethical. Be godly according to the mind of Christ]

To begin with, Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God, but his Kingdom didn't involve the exercise of power as humans tend to think of it. As Andrew Linzey argues, Christ's power is "the power to serve".[42] Human beings are called to have the same mind that was found in Jesus Christ, i.e., the mind to exercise power in service.[Philippians 2:5–9] And by considering Jesus's life, it is possible to get an idea of what that service means.

[Chapter and verse please so I can figure out what you are saying. There are too many broad brushed sweeping statements here which are not proved out in Scripture one at a time. There's a difference between the mind of God, Jesus Christ and the mind of man, to say the least. God is all powerful, He has all powers, man is not God, his powers are limited. Jesus Christ is God. Considering Jesus' life, it is possible to get an idea of what that service means. Explain the sentence which follows with more detail: "And by considering Jesus's life, it is possible to get an idea of what that service means."]

Sarah Withrow King writes that Jesus "loved the unlovable. In first-century Palestine, the unlovable were women, children, sick people, poor people, Roman soldiers, zealots, lepers, the blind, the outcast", and so on.[43] But today, the unlovable should include those non-human animals who are farmed for food in systems which preclude their flourishing and result in their (often painful) deaths.

[Something elsewhere may be true but in the text at hand, it is not in view. Find a chapter / verse to support this point. I don't recall that it is supported anywhere in Scripture. Remember what Paul said that it isn't what you eat that establishes your relationship with God.

1 Corinthians 10:23-32 (NASB)
²³ All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.
²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.
²⁵ Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience' sake;
²⁶ FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS.
²⁷ If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience' sake.
²⁸ But if anyone says to you, "This is meat sacrificed to idols," do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience' sake;
²⁹ I mean not your own conscience, but the other man's; for why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?
³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?
³¹ Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
³² Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God]

Christian vegetarians also stress the importance Jesus laid on peace[44] and inclusion.[45]

[Not in Scripture. Peace with God comes via a single moment of faith alone in Christ + nothing else. Ck Ro 6:1ff - read this passage!!! And what is this about inclusion. Provide details so it makes sense and cite the chapter and verse]

These and other aspects of Jesus's attitudes towards others are used to extract ethical principles which, according to Christian vegetarians and vegans, lead one to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

[Nowhere in Scripture!!! God does not have ethical principles per se. God is Absolute Righteousness. Explain this nonsense from Scripture]

Aware of the suffering and pain experienced by animals raised and killed for food, with a knowledge of the immense waste of natural resources and subsequent impact on both our fellow humans and the rest of creation, and acknowledging that flesh is not a dietary necessity for the vast majority of Western humans, why would we continue to participate in a system that dishonors God’s creation and perpetuates violence on a truly phenomenal scale?[46]

[Because God implemented it beginning with Noah, enhanced with Moses - the Law. So give chapter and verse please. None of this is biblical. Yet her comments imply she is using the Bible and the God of the bible as a reference!!! Did not God institute eating of animals, birds, insects, etc. Himself. She is evidently blaming God??? After all, God is Absolutely Sovereign, isn't He? What about the Fall and God's changes throughout the ages which He implemented to reflect the sinfulness of mankind beginning with Adam and Eve including humanities' difficulties and animals, plants and all living thing modified were by God as a result of mankind's sinfulness .]

This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.

Luke 24 – Jesus's eating of a fish
Jesus's eating of fish[Luke 24] and telling his disciples where to catch fish, before cooking it for them to eat,[John 21] is a common subject in Christian ethical vegetarian and vegan writings. Jesus ate fish and is seen as completely without sin, suggesting that eating fish is not a sin. The Bible does not explicitly state that Jesus ate any meat other than fish, and Webb cites the fact that no lamb is mentioned at the Last Supper as evidence that he did not.[47]

[Notice that Jesus ate fish. Does not that settle the argument? Is this passage about ethics or about God's Word directing people on their conduct toward God, i.e., godliness. Argument of silence about eating lamb not acceptable. Besides that Jesus gave the disciples instructions about preparing the passover lamb when he came riding into Jerusalem on a foal of a donkey.

Luke 22:7-20 (NASB)
7 Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8 And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it."
9 They said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare it?"
10 And He said to them, "When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters.
11 "And you shall say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'
12 "And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there."
13 And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
15 And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, "Take this and share it among yourselves;
18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood."

Notice that Jesus ate lamb, instructed others in killing and preparation of it. So how can one criticize / condemn eating meat without condemning the Son of God]

According to Clough and King, the fact that Jesus ate fish (and possibly other meat) only shows that, in some circumstances, it is sometimes permissible to eat some meats, but that practices in the modern, industrialized farming system (such as the mass killing of day-old male chicks from laying hens) make the consumption of meat produced in such farms morally problematic[48][49]

[Who's morals, Biblical? What constitutes immoral more than one meat meal? Was God immoral??]

Andy Alexis-Baker has appealed to biblical scholarship to argue that biblical passages often need nuanced interpretation,

[What does "nuanced interpretation" mean. What about simply reading and reporting what the Bible says in accordance with the normative rules of language, context and logic as we learned in school . And let it be. You don't like what the bible says then go somewhere else. Write your own bible]

[What is "wooden literalism" Reading is literal, figurative, et al in accordance with language, context and logic, which is literal when it is literal and figurative when it is figurative. It depends upon context, context, context. One usually learns this in grade school and perfects it as they grow up . So there is no room to change what someone else wrote as you are doing here. Write your own bible, don't mess with the Word of God.]

For example, he cites the work of Gerald O'Collins, SJ, who suggests that differences between the way Luke describes this appearance in Luke 24:41–43 and in Acts 1, and a tension between Luke 24:41–43 and 1 Corinthians 6, preclude us from reading this verse literally.[50]

[Prove it. Do your own homework. Words are literal when they are literal, figurative when they are figurative. Follow what you learned in grade school. You never learned to change / editorialize passages you just observed and reported what the words actually said - especially words that are arguably inspired from God]

Vujicic explains this passage by appealing to a so-called synoptic principle.[51]

According to Laura Hobgood-Oster, "The vision, it seems, is not about eating animals; rather it is about extending hospitality to all humans. While animals in sacred texts are often real animals and should be considered as such, in this particular case it seems that in Peter’s vision animals symbolized human categories that exclude other humans from community."[53]

In the tenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, there is an account of a vision given to the Apostle Peter. In this vision, Peter is shown a large sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. The sheet is said to contain animals of all kinds, and Peter then hears a voice (which he interprets as a command from God) saying, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat".[Acts 10:13] Peter refuses, and the voice says "What God has made clean, you must not call profane".[Acts 10:13]

Christian vegetarians and vegans claim that this passage is not about which animals one may or may not eat, but it is about who the Gospel is for.[52]

[Below is a conclusion based on studying the passage in Acts chapter 10 in detail :

Although Peter's opening statement to the Gentiles in Cornelius' home was quite direct on the issue of Jew and Gentile in fellowship with one another and sharing meals together; he did not find fault with the Law for commanding Jews to keep themselves separate from Gentiles, nor for teaching that Gentiles were to be considered unclean under the old economy - the dispensation of the Mosaic Law which directed the Jewish lifestyle. For the Law during the economy of the Mosaic Law being a way of life for Jews, stipulated these commands unto separation unto the LORD and unclean not only for health purposes but in order for the Jews to not be influenced to adopt the false religions and commit to the spiritually unclean / sinful practices of the Gentiles which would cause them to turn away from the one true God.]

Sarah Withrow King writes that God uses this vision to remind Peter that he is to "remove barriers of fellowship and to reconcile with those from whom we have been separated in order to further the reign of God on earth.... the vision is one of radical inclusion".[54]

[This statement above is NOT in the bible in any form. God does not need us to further His reign on earth. In accordance with the Absolute Sovereignty of God, Reconciliation between God and man only comes with an expression of a moment of faith alone in Christ alone. God will do the rest of the reconciliation of mankind to God by changing all who believe in His Son unto perfectly harmonious beings. There will be no radical inclusion, those words do not appear in Scripture. Those who do not believe in God's Son for eternal life will be excluded. No statements were made to the effect of Gentile and Jew becoming believers in Christ. Albeit Christ does need Jew and Gentile as part of His body to include being joined together into His body]

John Vujicic agrees with King, noting that after receiving the vision, Peter did not eat anything. But, Vujicic writes, "In the sheet were also so called CLEAN animals. Peter could have at least selected some sheep or cattle and killed but he didn’t." According to Vujicic, the reason Peter didn't simply take up and eat a clean animal was because Peter was in fact a vegetarian.[51] Peter is reported as describing himself as a vegetarian in the apocryphal Pseudo-Clementine Homilies.

[Peter abided by the Mosaic Law which authorized the eating of meat of certain kinds. He was not a vegetarian. The Pseudo-Clementine is not part of the Bible. Stick to the 66 Books of the Bible until you have exhausted all 66 books]

Most Christians maintain that Jesus's teaching in Mark 7 [Mark 7:5–21] demonstrates that Christians can eat whatever they want, that dietary choices are a matter of "Christian liberty", and that therefore vegetarianism or veganism could never be obligatory for Christians.[55] Christian vegetarians and vegans counter that the point of Jesus's teaching in Mark 7 is that his followers should concern themselves with the status of their heart which "informs our relationship with God, with each other, and the world".[56]

[The phrase [Jesus' followers should concern themselves with the status of their heart which "informs our relationship with God, with each other, and the world" is clearly not what Mk 7:5-21 is about:

Mark 7:5-23 (NASB)
⁵ The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?"
⁶ And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
⁷ 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'
⁸ "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."
⁹ He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
¹⁰ "For Moses said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER'; and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH';
¹¹ but you say, 'If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),'
¹² you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;
¹³ thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that."
¹⁴ After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:
¹⁵ there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.
¹⁶ ["If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."]
¹⁷ When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.
¹⁸ And He *said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,
¹⁹ because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.)
²⁰ And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
²¹ "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
²² deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
²³ "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

Vegetarianism appears to have been a point of contention within some early Christian circles, notably in Rome. Within the Bible's New Testament, the Apostle Paul states that people of "weak faith" "eat only vegetables",[Romans 14:1–4] although he also warns both meat-eaters and vegetarians to "stop passing judgment on one another" when it comes to food in verse 13 and "[It is] good neither to eat flesh" in verse 21. Paul also said, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They […] order […] to abstain from certain foods".[1Timothy 4:1–3] According to the Christian Vegetarian Association, Paul was not referring to vegetarianism, which they say was not an issue in those times, but to the practice of not eating meat from the meat market because of fear that (like the above issue involving Daniel) it was sacrificed to an idol.[1Corinthians 10:19–29][52] "Wherefore, if meat [brōma, Strong's #1033,[57] 'anything used as food'[58]] make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."1 Corinthians 8:13

In the 4th Century some Jewish Christian groups maintained that Jesus was himself a vegetarian. Epiphanius quotes the Gospel of the Ebionites where Jesus has a confrontation with the high priest. Jesus chastises the leadership saying, "I am come to end the sacrifices and feasts of blood; and if ye cease not offering and eating of flesh and blood, the wrath of God shall not cease from you; even as it came to your fathers in the wilderness, who lusted for flesh, and did sate to their content, and were filled with rottenness, and the plague consumed them."[59]

According to Lightfoot, "the Christianized Essennes […] condemned the slaughter of victims on grounds very different from those alleged in the Epistle of Hebrews, not because they have been superseded by the Atonement, but because they are in their very nature repulsive to God; not because they have ceased to be right, but because they never were right from the beginning".[39]
Other early Christian historical documents observe that many influential Christians during the formative centuries of Christianity were vegetarian, though certainly not all. The Clementine homilies, a second-century work purportedly based on the teachings of the Apostle Peter, states, "The unnatural eating of flesh meats is as polluting as the heathen worship of devils, with its sacrifices and its impure feasts, through participation in it a man becomes a fellow eater with devils."[60][citation needed] While the Didascalia does not itself endorse vegetarianism, it records a group of individuals who believe they "should not eat flesh, and said that a man must not eat anything that has a soul in it."[61]

[Where does any of this come from the Bible. Do animals have humanlike souls, chapter and verse please.]

Although early Christian vegetarianism appears to have been downplayed in favor of more "modern" Christian culture, the practice of vegetarianism appears to have been very widespread in early Christianity, [chapter and verse] both in the leadership and among the laity.[3] Origen's work Contra Celsum quotes Celsus commenting vegetarian practices among Christians he had contact with.[62] Although not vegetarian himself and vehemently against the idea that Christians must be vegetarians, Augustine nevertheless wrote that those Christians who "abstain both from flesh and from wine" are "without number".[63] [Was Augustine a believer? Chapter and verse from his writings please. He wrote on Jn 6 and it was not conclusive whether or he was a Christian]

Followers of the Gnostic sect known as Catharism practiced vegetarianism as early as the Middle Ages, though eating fish was allowed.[64]

[So what. They were not Christian. Besides Christians were not banned from eating meat! Millions and millions of non-Christians throughout history were vegetarians, and many omnivours, and many meat eaters. Greater numbers do not prove out which God has commanded. Most of the time people who as believers faithfully follow the doctrines of the faith including what to eat in the Church Ages and others age number as a remnant = very small portion of the population]

The Bible Christian Church founded by Reverend William Cowherd in 1809 followed a vegetarian diet.[15] Cowherd was one of the philosophical forerunners of the Vegetarian Society.[17] Cowherd encouraged members to abstain from eating of meat as a form of temperance.[65] Cowherd emphasized that vegetarianism was good for health, whilst eating meat was unnatural and likely to cause aggression.

Later he is reputed to have said "If God had meant us to eat meat, then it would have come to us in edible form [as is the ripened fruit]."[17]

[Christians came in the first century AD!!!! Cannot apply commands to Adam & Eve in the Garden then out of garden, then to Noah, then toMoses. Check what Paul has to say]

The Seventh-day Adventists present a health message that recommends vegetarianism and expects abstinence from pork, shellfish and other foods proscribed as "unclean" in Leviticus.[66] A number of the founders of the [CC Seventh-day Adventist Church, including Joseph Bates and Ellen White adopted a vegetarian diet during the nineteenth century, and Ellen White reportedly received visions regarding the health benefits of a vegetarian diet.[67] More recently, members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in California have been involved in research into longevity due to their healthy lifestyle, which includes maintaining a vegetarian diet.[68] This research has been included within a National Geographic article.[69][70] Another denomination with common origin, the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement recommends vegetarianism as a part of fellowship, with many of its members being practicing vegans as well. Typically, however, these sabbatarian pro-vegetarian Christian fellowships do not "require vegetarianism as a test of fellowship."[citation needed]

The Word of Wisdom is a dietary law given to adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement (also known as Mormonism), which states that "flesh also of beasts and of fowls of the air... are to be used sparingly," and that "it is pleasing unto [God] that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine".[71] Unlike injunctions against tobacco and alcohol, compliance with this part of the Doctrine and Covenants has never been made mandatory by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest Latter Day Saint denomination. Many LDS Church leaders have expressed their views on the subject of meat, but since Joseph F. Smith became church president in 1901, emphasis on refraining from meat has largely been dropped.[72] An official church publication states, "[m]odern methods of refrigeration now make it possible to preserve meat in any season".[73] As recently as 2012, official church spokesperson Michael Otterson stated "the church has also encouraged limiting meat consumption in favor of grains, fruits and vegetables."[74] Of note is that the LDS Church owns and operates Deseret Ranches in central Florida, which is one of the largest cow-calf operations in the United States.[75]

Some members of the Religious Society of Friends (also known as Quakers) practice vegetarianism or veganism as a reflection of the Peace Testimony, extending non-violence towards animals.[76] Historically, the early vegetarian movement had many Quaker promoters. Some Ranter groups – non-conformist Christian groups that existed in 17th-century England – were vegetarian.

Roman Catholic monastic orders such as the Carthusians and Cistercians follow a pescatarian diet. Carmelites and others following the Rule of St. Albert also maintain a vegetarian diet, although the old and sick are permitted to eat meat according to this rule of life.
The Liberal Catholic Movement traditionally had many people who were vegetarians and still have.[77]

Christian anarchists, such as Leo Tolstoy, Ammon Hennacy, and Théodore Monod, extend the Christian principles of compassion and nonviolence through following a vegetarian diet.[78][79][80]

The Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA) is an international, non-denominational Christian vegetarian organization that promotes responsible stewardship of God's creation through plant-based eating.[81] The CVA produced the 2006 film Honoring God’s Creation.[82]

Sarx is a UK-based organization which aims to "empower Christians to champion the cause of animals and live peacefully with all God’s creatures".[83] Sarx publishes interviews with Christian vegans and vegetarians on its website, and provides people to speak at Churches in the UK on topics such as Christianity and veganism, animal welfare and faith, creation and animals.
CreatureKind is an organization which exists "to encourage Christians to recognize faith-based reasons for caring about the well-being of fellow animal creatures used for food, and to take practical action in response".[84] It was founded by David Clough, Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chester, and is directed by Clough and Sarah Withrow King, an American author and deputy directory of the Sider Center at Eastern University. CreatureKind produces a course for churches to do which facilitates church groups to think through how Christians should respond to and treat animals.

Catholic Concern for Animals (CCA) is a charity which calls Catholics "to cherish and care for all of [God's] creation".[85] CCA has for "many years" promoted a vegetarian/vegan diet as a way of caring for creation, in particular animals.[86][87]

The group Evangelicals for Social Action have suggested that a vegan diet is a way of demonstrating Christian love and compassion to farmed animals, and argue in particular that this is what a consistently pro-life ethic looks like.[88]

Christian Vegetarians and Vegans UK is an organization seeking to promote a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle in the Church in the UK.[89]

During Lent some Christian communities, such as Orthodox Christians in the Middle East, undertake partial fasting eating only one light meal per day.[90] For strict Greek Orthodox Christians and Copts, all meals during this 40-day period are prepared without animal products and are essentially vegan.[90] Unlike veganism, however, abstaining from animal products during Lent is intended to be only temporary and not a permanent way of life.[91]

Eastern Orthodox laity traditionally abstains from animal products on Wednesdays (because, according to Christian tradition, Judas betrayed Jesus on the Wednesday prior to the Crucifixion of Jesus) and Fridays (because Jesus is thought to have been crucified on the subsequent Friday), as well as during the four major fasting periods of the year: Great Lent, the Apostles' Fast, the Dormition Fast and the Nativity Fast. Catholic laity traditionally abstain from animal flesh on Fridays and through the Lenten season leading up to Easter (sometimes being required to do so by law, see fasting and abstinence in the Roman Catholic Church), some also, as a matter of private piety, observe Wednesday abstinence. Fish is not considered proper meat in any case (see pescetarianism, though the Eastern Orthodox allow fish only on days on which the fasting is lessened but meat still not allowed). For these practices, "animal rights" are no motivation and positive environmental or individual health effects only a surplus benefit; the actual reason is to practice mortification and some marginal asceticism.

Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic monastics abstain from meat year-round, and many abstain from dairy and seafood as well. Through obedience to the Orthodox Church and its ascetic practices,[92] the Orthodox Christian seeks to rid himself or herself of the passions, or the disposition to sin.[citation needed]

According to Canon Law, Roman Catholics are required to abstain from meat (defined as all animal flesh and organs, excluding water animals) on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent including Good Friday.[93] Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also fast days for Catholics ages 18 to 60, in which one main meal and two half-meals are eaten, with no snacking.[93] Canon Law also obliges Catholics to abstain from meat on the Fridays of the year outside of Lent (excluding certain holy days) unless, with the permission of the local conference of bishops, another penitential act is substituted.[93] Exceptions are allowed for health and necessity like manual labor and not causing offense when being a guest.[93] The restrictions on eating meat on these days is solely as an act of penance and not because of a religious objection to eating meat.[93] In 1966,[94] the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops the conference of bishops has made substitution of a different penitential or charitable act an option for ordinary Fridays in their territory.[93] After previous abolition, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales restored the meatless ordinary Friday requirement for their territory effective September, 2011.[95] A popular misconception is that Pope Gregory I (who ruled from 590 to 604, and who is also a canonized saint) declared that rabbits were not meat. This is apparently a corruption of a manuscript in which Saint Gregory of Tours described one person (who was also ill and might not have been Catholic) eating a rabbit fetus during Lent.[96] The rules are widely ignored; a 2016 survey found that only 62% of U.S. Catholics said they avoid meat on Fridays during Lent.[97]

[Somewhere Under the Rainbow
September 1, 2012 by Bob Wilkin in Grace in Focus Articles
Genesis 9:1-17

Introduction
The rainbow is an amazing thing even for unbelievers. But it should have much more significance for the believer in Jesus Christ.

I realize, of course, that the rainbow as a symbol has been hijacked in our day and it now has lost its God intended meaning for many people. Well, for those of us who believe and know the Bible, we are not distracted. We know the true meaning of the rainbow.

We all today are somewhere under the rainbow. As believers we ought to live in light of what the [rainbow represents].

The rainbow reminds us of the flood and God’s hatred of sin. It reminds us that God will not destroy the earth in the same way again. There will never again be a universal flood.
We should live in light of the truth of the rainbow. This is an exciting section of Scripture as Noah, his sons, and their wives exit the ark to start over.

The new Adam (Noah) gets the same command the original Adam received: Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Gen 1:28; 9:1).

This suggests that God will ultimately fulfill His original design for man. However, as we shall see, there are now changes.

God’s purpose for man is that we would be productive, growing, expanding, creating.

God created us in His image. Theologians have varying opinions on what the image of God is. It seems that at least part of the image of God in us is creativity. He has made us to be creative and productive. That is where we find fulfillment in life.

Of course, as believers we find fulfillment in being creative and productive for Him, which is what the rainbow represents

Animals Will Now Fear Man
(Genesis 9:2)
God told Adam and Eve that they would have dominion over the animals (Gen 1:26, 28). Here (Gen 9:2) God says that the animals will fear humans.
Many commentators suggest this is another way of saying the same thing. I wonder.
It seems that the change in wording might be significant, especially considering the next verse. Possibly before the flood the animals were submissive to humans, but were not afraid of them. After the flood the animals fear humans, but are not necessarily submissive. There are many wild animals today, like lions and tigers and bears (oh, my!) that are far from submissive to humans. While they surely have fear of humans, they sometimes hurt and even kill us.
I doubt that a single human was hurt or killed by an animal before the flood (other than the spiritual attack of the snake in the Garden of Eden). The Bible certainly gives no indication of that. But after the flood we learn of humans being hurt and killed by animals.

Dispensationalism is the view that God has given humans different commands at different stages of human history.

Clearly there was a Dispensational change from when men were kicked out of the garden.

Clearly there was a new change when Noah and his family got out of the ark. Later there would be a change when the Law of Moses was put in place. And later again a change would occur when the Church of Jesus Christ was born.

The statement that “every moving thing that lives shall be food for you” (Gen 9:3) is new. Before the flood there was no such statement nor was there any indication before the flood that humans ate meat. Possibly they did, but no statement like this was given to Adam and Eve in the garden or after they were expelled from the garden.

It is highly likely that prior to the flood humans were vegetarians and that after the flood they became omnivores, eating both plants and animals.

God does give a prohibition in regards to the eating of animals: we were not to eat flesh with its blood.

This later became part of the Law of Moses as well. Thus humans were not to drink blood or to eat meat that was covered in blood. This meant that we had to drain the blood from animals before preparing the meat.

There is possibly an allusion to the blood of Jesus Christ here. The life of any animal, including humans, is in its blood. Thus the death of animals and the shedding of their blood likely alluded to the fact that one day the Messiah would willingly shed His blood for all of mankind (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2).

Prior to the flood, murder was clearly wrong, but there was no established penalty for it. God did not take Cain’s life after he killed Abel, for example.
Now, after the flood, a law is set in place. If a man willfully and intentionally takes the life of another, then his life will be forfeited when he is caught and found guilty. This later became part of the Law of Moses.

Note that the reason why murdering a human is wrong is because humans are made “in the image of God.”

Note too that this refers to humans after the fall and after the flood. Adam and Eve were made in the image of God. Even after they fell, their descendants remained in the image of God. That image was marred, but not lost.

People who are against the death penalty think it is hypocritical of people to be against abortion and yet in favor of the death penalty. Yet they do not see the obvious: both relate to the preciousness of human life. God says human life is so precious that one who murders someone who is in the image of God forfeits his own life.

Clearly there is a deterrent built into the death penalty. In the first place, the one put to death will not be free to murder anyone else. In the second place, men may be hindered from murder if they know that the death penalty awaits them if they are discovered.

After the flood it is possible that Noah and his sons would think that God thought of human life as cheap and expendable. They just saw billions of humans and animals die. (I realize that most think that only a few million people died in the flood. However, given a thousand years with no wars and people living over 900 years and with each couple having well over a century of childbearing years, likely there were well over a billion people and over a billion animals that died in the flood.) God is here affirming that human life is precious to Him (compare 2 Pet 3:9-12). And He is about to show them that He will never again destroy the earth with a universal flood.

The Rainbow Is a Sign that there Will Not Be Another Universal Flood
(Genesis 9:8-17)

In any case, from this day forward the rainbow would be a sign in the clouds that God would never again destroy the world by universal flood.

Do you think of this promise when you see a rainbow? I do at times. But at times I forget. The beauty of the rainbow can make us enjoy it just for itself, not for what it stands for. But we should remember what it signifies.

And we should remember that this promise is linked with the promise that after the Millennium God will destroy the world and the entire universe with fire.

Look at 2 Pet 3:10-13. After the return of Christ—and here Peter skips the entire Millennium since he is looking at the very big picture, the Lord will wipe out every trace of sin in the universe. Everything “will be burned up” (v 10). We are to live with expectation of this coming day (v 11-12). We look forward to a “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (v 13). Won’t that be great?

And that is also something we can recall when we see a rainbow. There will only be one other worldwide destruction. The first was by flood. The second will be by fire.

People in the ecology movement are scared that humans are destroying the planet. They come up with movies to express their views and all kinds of laws and taxes to save us from destroying ourselves and our planet.

We certainly should be good caretakers of the planet God gave us. But we should remember that God promises that we will not destroy ourselves or our planet. He will not allow it. The world will continue, no matter what people do or do not do, until the Lord returns and overthrows wickedness and establishes His kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. Only after that will the heavens and earth be destroyed and a new heavens and earth be put in place.

When we see a rainbow, we should think not only of the promise not to destroy the earth by flood again, but also of the promise of the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness dwells. A number of other applications come to mind:
1. God hates sin.
2. God highly prizes human life.
3. Every single human has the image of God within him.
4. We were made to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth, and to bring glory to God by what we do with the earth.
5. The rainbow is a call to holy living in view of Jesus’ soon return.

We face death daily. None of us knows how long we will live. Many times each year we learn of the death of people close to us or close to our friends. Yet all the deaths we learn of in a lifetime are few in comparison to the deaths that Noah and his family witnessed. Except for eight people, the entire human race - probably over a billion people at that time - was destroyed. The only survivors were the humans in the ark.

The sign of the rainbow was a promise of peace and of continuation to them and it is to us as well.
Ultimately living in light of the rainbow is living in light of Jesus’ soon return. Soon He will establish His righteous kingdom.

Before He does, before the Millennium starts, every Church Age believer will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ to determine [his] eternal rewards (2 Cor 5:9-10; 1 John 2:28).

Wouldn’t it be great to hear Him say to you, “Well done, good servant” (Luke 19:17)? His praise and approval would mean so much.

We know we have everlasting life because we believe the Lord Jesus who said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). Because of that gift, we should long to please Him. We should crave His approval.

The rainbow reminds us that He is coming again and that He has a plan for history. Ultimately, man will not mess up His plan. God is in control of history. May we always keep in mind the message of the rainbow.

*****************************************************************************

You’ve heard buzz over the years that following a vegetarian diet is better for your health, and you’ve probably read a few magazine articles featuring a celeb or two who swore off meat and animal products and “magically” lost weight. So does ditching meat automatically equal weight loss? Will it really help you live longer and be healthier overall?

First of all, what exactly constitutes “vegetarian”? There are two basic kinds of vegetarian diet: lacto-ovo and strict (vegan). Most vegetarians fall into the lacto-ovo category: They eat only non-animal products (fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, soy, etc.), but do eat animal byproducts, such as yogurt and eggs. In terms of nutritional requirements, being a lacto-ovo vegetarian isn’t all that different from being a meat-eater, according to Katherine Tallmadge, RD, LD, past media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Vegans, however, don’t eat any animal products whatsoever -- and as a result, “they must be very careful in their selection of foods so that they get all the nutrients they need,” says Tallmadge. (Potato chips are vegan, after all.)
That said, following a vegetarian diet “can be nutritionally superior to any other way of eating,” says Tallmadge. “It can be one of the healthiest ways to eat, because we know plant foods are loaded with nutrients to protect our health.”

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than meat eaters. Vegetarians also tend to have a lower body mass index, lower overall cancer rates and lower risk of chronic disease.

But if your vegetarian co-worker is noshing greasy veggie burgers and fries every day for lunch, is he likely to be healthier than you, who always orders the grilled salmon? Definitely not!
“A vegetarian diet doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss -- especially if you eat out at restaurants often,” says Tallmadge. “A lot of times, the only vegetarian dishes on the menu are cheesy and fattening.” It can be hard to find restaurants serving soy burgers or beans and rice, and eating restaurant-size portions of pasta, rice, nuts and cheese could quickly add up to weight gain. According to Tallmadge, the desire to eat lighter meals that provide adequate protein is what makes many vegetarians change their minds and start eating fish.

The most important thing for vegetarians of all kinds to remember is to make sure they are getting key nutrients, including protein, fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium and vitamins D and B-12. Protein is essential for building muscle mass, amino function, fighting disease and healing, according to Tallmadge, so make sure you’re getting protein in each meal throughout the day for optimum absorption. “In order to get essential amino acids and nutrients,” says Tallmadge, “vegans must eat soy protein -- the only vegetable protein which is as complete as animal protein. Or they must mix beans with grains.”

1. There are numerous research-proven health benefits to following a vegetarian diet, but only if you’re doing it properly and not substituting meat with processed or high-fat vegetarian products.

2. Both lacto-ovo vegetarians and vegans need to make sure they are getting adequate nutrition. It’s a good idea to purchase a book on how to follow a vegetarian diet, or to meet with a nutritionist to outline what a few days of meals looks like.

3. Be aware of how much of your diet is made up of nuts as a source of protein, especially if you’re trying to lose weight. An ounce of nuts is about 180 calories and 5 grams of protein. You should be getting between 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal. So: You’d have to eat thousands of calories worth of something like nuts in order to get the amount of protein you need to be healthy, according to Tallmadge. They’re a healthy food, but high in fat and calories -- so be sure to round out your diet with a variety of vegetarian proteins.

[So being a vegetarian has it's difficulties not the least of which is having to spend loads of time studying every single thing you eat in detail including verifying the contents of labels that are supposed to tell you the truth about the vitamins, minerals, protein & fat content - which includes making sure you are not consuming hybrid / engineered vegetables and fruits which might have unsatisfactory ingredients including insecticides; and loads of extra time searching for beneficial products to consume as well as lots more money. Most labels on products, especially fresh fruits and vegetables have very little information on the packages / containers as to the vitamins, minerals, protein & fat content - even those which are supposed to be 'organic']