www.manitobaharvest.com
A loving, omniscient God states, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of 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 breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:29,20 RSV)
No violence evident in this original “Eden diet”– man and beast were both designed to be plant-based in their eating. No blood-letting; no blood sports; no cooking; no wars.
Harmony between Creator and creation; vibrant good health and the promise of continued balance of life and intimacy in relationships.
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After the Fall there was provision made for humans to eat flesh. God’s original Garden Diet was referred to as “very good” (Genesis 1:31), a comment that is never made about the killing of animals for food. Genesis 9:3 can be seen not so much as a granting of the divine authority to dominate nature and to eat meat so much as a remorseful concession for the harsh survival that man has ‘chosen’ when he stepped outside the bounty of the Garden and the sacred relationship with his Creator.
Somewhere along the way some “Christians” decided that it was okay to eat anything that was not nailed down, justifying their out-of-control appetites on a misinterpretation of Peter’s vision in Acts 10. Failing to read on and acknowledge that this vision symbolizes God’s desire to bring ‘gentiles’ into the Christian fold is similar to the sorts of convenient abbreviated reading of Paul’s instructions to wives to “submit” to their husbands without going on to acknowledge that husbands are also commanded to treat their wives as Christ treats the Church.
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“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” (Matthew 22:40). Many Christians have trouble reconciling the institutionalized violence that occurs in slaughterhouses and blood sports. I don’t consider myself to be an overly sentimental kind of person, but when I look at my little pup– all dewy-eyed and wanting nothing more than to please me– I have a difficult time justifying the eating of other mammals… or birds… or fish… or their progeny and embryos. There are a whole number of health reasons for not eating flesh products (addressed in the page called “Health Considerations”), but there are also a number of moral/spiritual reasons for not doing so as well.
“For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; thou shalt not lack anything in it…And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.” Surely a vegan blessing if ever there was one!
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“Judaism has many important teachings concerning the proper treatment of animals. Moses and King David were chosen for leadership, and Rebecca was deemed suitable to be a wife for Isaac, because they were kind to animals. Proverbs teaches that “The righteous person considers the life of his beast.” (12:10) The psalmist states that, “The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His creatures.” (Psalms 145:9). Concern for animals is even expressed in the Ten Commandments, in a verse that is recited every Shabbat morning as part of kiddush. Many Biblical laws command proper treatment of animals.
In contrast to these powerful Jewish teachings, most animals raised to produce food spend their entire lives under brutal conditions in crowded cells, where they are denied fresh air, exercise, and freedom of movement.” (taken from Should Jews Be Vegetarian?)
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Inspite of all of the above, we recognize that we are not saved or lost based on whether or not we choose to eat meat. A spiritual and health consideration is that we “are what we eat” and furthermore, as Christians, we are put in charge of keeping the (body) temple healthy because it is the conduit to the Holy Spirit. If we eat animal fats we increase the kind of blockages of our arteries that make it difficult, sometimes impossible, to have the kind of communication with the Holy Spirit that we desire. Cholesterol hardens in the arteries and other passages (ear canals, for example) that divert us from hearing and making sense of the “still small voice”.
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More Quotations from Christian Vegetarians and Vegans:
“[I]t will not be long until animal food will be discarded by many besides Seventh-day Adventists. Foods that are healthful and life sustaining are to be prepared, so that men and women will not need to eat meat…Not an ounce of flesh meat should enter our stomachs….
“[For] [t]he moral evils of a flesh diet are not less marked than are the physical ills. Flesh food is injurious to health, and whatever affects the body has a corresponding effect on the mind and the soul. Think of the cruelty to animals meat-eating involves, and its effect on those who inflict and those who behold it.”
“How it destroys the tenderness with which we should regard those creatures of God! [We should therefore] [n]ever be ashamed to say, “No thank you; I do not eat meat. I have conscientious scruples against eating the flesh of dead animals.”
“How much better to get it direct by eating the food that God provided for our use!”
-Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (quotations found in the compendium, The Ministry of Healing)
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“Thanks be to God! Since the time I gave up the use of flesh-meats and wine, I have been delivered from all physical ills.”
-John Wesley, prominent Calvinist Evangelist and Founder of the Methodist Faith
(See:
ebook:Medicine and moral reform: the place of practical piety in John Wesley’s art of physic.: An article from: Church History [HTML] (Digital)by Deborah Madden)
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