Today's Message: Is Vegetarianism Biblical?

[Guest guest]

My reaction is: so what?

 

Lots of stuff is Biblical. For example, stoning people to death for blasphemy.

Oh yeah, and the Bible is full of divinely-sanctioned genocide -hmm, where have

we seen that lately? Subjugation of women is certainly biblical.

 

You can't take Jesus out of the Bible -- in fact there is no evidence, aside

from those ancient religious texts that the guy even existed at all.

 

Vegetarianism doesn't require any religious propping-up to be the right way of

doing things. Instead, arguments for it should be based on widely-agreed upon

ethical norms that are common throughout the world's cultures, which with help

from the findings of modern science, easily generalize to our animal cousins.

 

What Jesus, Buddha, or George Washington would or wouldn't have thought about

factory agriculture is not especially relevant to our cause.

 

DG

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Except that many people use " Jesus ate meat " as a reason not to go

vegetarian (including my own mother). Of course there are other factors

(aren't there always?) but that's a hard one to come up against.

 

While I don't personally feel that the religious aspect of it is very

relevant to many people's decision to embrace or not embrace

vegetarianism, there is obviously some need to counteract the kneejerk

reaction of many people out there that because some dude 2,000+ years

ago ate a few fish, that gives them the right - indeed, it encourages

them - to have pork chops for dinner. It's yet another rationalization,

another roadblock that they can put up for themselves to keep them from

having to change or think too hard about the subject.

 

I actually found a few of those websites discussing religion and

vegetarianism as helpful for understanding where my mom was coming from,

and figuring out how to discuss the topic rationally with her.

 

But I agree with you that vegetarianism doesn't need to be " proved ok "

by religious scripture - indeed, some of those sites are stretching

quite a bit. I feel that it should stand on its own as a modern ethical choice.

 

But it's nice to have an answer when you hear the " but Jesus ate meat! "

argument. :-)

 

-Kim

 

 

DAVID GOGGIN wrote:

>

> My reaction is: so what?

>

> Lots of stuff is Biblical. For example, stoning people to death for

blasphemy. Oh yeah, and the Bible is full of divinely-sanctioned genocide -hmm,

where have we seen that lately? Subjugation of women is certainly biblical.

>

> You can't take Jesus out of the Bible -- in fact there is no evidence, aside

from those ancient religious texts that the guy even existed at all.

>

> Vegetarianism doesn't require any religious propping-up to be the right way of

doing things. Instead, arguments for it should be based on widely-agreed upon

ethical norms that are common throughout the world's cultures, which with help

from the findings of modern science, easily generalize to our animal cousins.

>

> What Jesus, Buddha, or George Washington would or wouldn't have thought about

factory agriculture is not especially relevant to our cause.

>

> DG

[Guest guest]

I agree with both Kim and David's points. But, while an ethical position

by definition doesn't 'need' a religious rationale, still that rationale is

very useful to the many, many people that rely on religion for help making

ethical and moral decisions. While to many of us in the Bay area, whether

there is biblical support for vegetarianism seems irrelevant or even

misguided, Jack is from the Midwest and you can bet that there are a great

number of people between the coasts who are very influenced by it!

Personally, I support what he's doing for that reason. And besides, the

" wrong reason " argument is inevitably one of prejudice.

 

Bruce