What does god say about eating animals

Genesis 9:3 - Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Leviticus 11:1-47 - And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,   (Read More...)

Genesis 1:30 - And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Romans 14:1-23 - Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.   (Read More...)

Deuteronomy 14:1-29 - Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.   (Read More...)

Leviticus 11:2 - Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

Genesis 1:26 - And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:29 - And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Leviticus 11:1-30 - And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,   (Read More...)

Genesis 1:29-31 - And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.   (Read More...)

Genesis 9:4 - But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

Proverbs 6:16-17 - These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:   (Read More...)

Mark 7:19 - Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

Acts 10:9-16 - On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:   (Read More...)

Isaiah 66:3 - He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

Isaiah 11:6-9 - The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.   (Read More...)

Daniel 1:12 - Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.

Romans 14:21 - It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Acts 15:29 - That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

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Question: I have the terrible suspicion that I’m a hypocrite. I’m an animal lover, but I eat meat. I don’t eat the meat of young animals, like veal and lamb, but I do eat meat, fish and fowl, along with eggs. Is there anything in the Bible referring to the practice of eating meat, or to Christ’s practice? Did he eat meat?

I’m aware that I’m seeking absolution for eating meat, but I do face a conflict. Although I would never hunt or fish, I eat animals that other people kill. Is killing and eating animals a crime in the eyes of God or Jesus? What would Jesus have said about this? P.S.: I contribute to many animal advocacy groups, especially to help farm animals and to ban dog racing, but this doesn’t erase the guilt. — L., via snail mail from Boynton Beach, Fla.

Answer: Your morally sensitive e-mail touched my own hypocritical meat-eating heart (or should I say, stomach). I think every sensitive soul must realize that eating food that does not have to be killed first is spiritually and morally superior to killing animals for food.

We all should be eating as low down on the food chain as we can to reduce animal suffering, reduce factory farming of meat, prevent the leveling of the rain forests to plant grasslands for cheap beef, reduce the fat- and artery-clogging cholesterol in our bodies, and generally to honor God’s creation by not killing it for lunch.

The Bible does indeed reinforce this vegetarian impulse of our higher souls. When God created Adam and Eve in Genesis, the only foods specified for their diet were fruits and vegetables: Genesis 1:29, “And God said: ‘Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed--to you it shall be for food.’”

The biblical permission to eat meat doesn’t come until God’s covenant with Noah after the flood in Genesis chapter 9:3-6: “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.’” (NKJV)

This passage makes clear the biblical belief that eating meat is, in God’s eyes, a regrettable concession to human weakness, not a virtue. The connection between eating meat and murder of human beings in this passage is also instructive. It makes the case that seeing animal blood spilled can make us callous to the sight of human blood being spilled.

The New Testament is also filled with contradictory messages about vegetarianism. In an article, Keith Akers writes, “The New Testament takes contradictory stands on this issue, sometimes seeming to condemn and sometimes seeming to support vegetarianism. Jesus feeds bread and fish to the five thousand (Mark 6:34-44) -- seeming to approve of eating fish. But Jesus also speaks of compassion toward animals (Matthew 12:10-12, Luke 12:6-7, 13:15-16) — seeming to hint at vegetarianism.”

Paul, however, seems more comfortable in supporting a carnivorous diet, “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.” (I Corinthians 10:25).

So what do we learn from all of this? Against the radical claims of some vegans that “meat is murder,” we must dissent and affirm the radical difference between killing animals and killing people. Animals are blessed by God and urged to “be fruitful and multiply” but they are lower on the order of sanctity than people.

Vegetables and fruits and grains are, however, still lower on the sanctity scale and therefore eating them is spiritually preferable, if not actually commanded. Eat low on the food chain seems to be the combined wisdom of both God, Jesus, ethicists, environmentalists and nutritionists.

To those of you like me, who still eat meat, there’s great wisdom in all of this. We learn that God’s words to us are not directed only to saints. The genius of the Bible is that it gives us all ways to live a morally compromised life while urging us on to try every day to live lives of modestly higher virtue. Eating meat is OK, but we can do better. So my suggestion, and my present practice, is to try to eat less meat, fish and fowl (eggs are another matter).

The food writer Mark Bittman, of the New York Times, recently declared his practice as being, “a vegetarian until dinner.” By not consuming animals during the day, we lower our carnivorous footprint dramatically while trying to find a healthy and morally sustainable way to eliminate it altogether. I’m presently on a high-protein, low-carb diet. This makes vegetarianism particularly challenging for me, but I am trying.

Finally, don’t beat yourself up. You’re not a hypocrite. You may not even be a sinner, but you are trying to do better. There’s no shame in this. Go have a salad. I’ll join you. Your diet may not be perfect, but your soul is in terrific shape.

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