A Vegan New Year’s Resolution (with PETA thrown in for good measure) Gen 1:29 “Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;” The basic argument presented by Christian Vegan/Animal Rights Activists is that, in Genesis 1:29, God’s original plan for mankind was for him to be a vegetarian and to live in harmony and kindness with his fellow beasts. This argument is made because there are no specific verses in Genesis chapter one stating that man has the authority to kill and eat animals. What follows in this blog are reflections based on my daily Bible reading and a recent, interesting conversation. My practice of reading through the Bible every year stems back to my sophomore year at the University of Texas, when Christian businessman, Gene Warr, challenged me to have a daily Bible reading program. It seemed formidable but then he asked me to divide the number of pages in my Bible by 365 and it came out to roughly five pages a day. Now, that is something I could handle and it has been my practice since that day to read through the Bible every year. This spiritual discipline brings me, of course, to the book of Genesis every year and the topic of animal rights—and what we can and cannot eat is once again brought before me. Meshing with this Bible reading reflection, I remember a conversation with a contemporary, who said that he was going to switch to being a vegetarian because, after reading the creation account, he had become convinced that the vegan lifestyle was the original will of God. He was, therefore, going to return to God’s original plan. With this decision he was also going to become an advocate for all animals, because the eating of meat was cruelty to God’s creation. This blog, then, does not address one’s personal taste for pork verses broccoli--that is not a moral decision. Nor does it question a person’s kindness to his pets or livestock. That is a Christian virtue. God the Holy Spirit clearly teaches in Proverbs 12:10 “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.” What follows, then, is not an attack on personal taste nor an advocacy for cruelty to animals but, instead, a Scriptural approach to the subject of the morality of killing and eating animals from Genesis chapters one through three. Since time and space do not permit a full development of this subject, I will present to you the basic points of rebuttal for your consideration and meditation. I. In God’s economy of life, things must die that man may live. II. In the secular humanist hierarchy of life, pain, thoughts and worth are arbitrary. III. God kills animals to clothe man. Genesis 3:20 & 21 IV. Animals, which were sacrificially killed, pleased God. Genesis 4:4; 8:20 & 21; Leviticus 17:6 V. In God’s value system, killing animals and then eating their meat is an act of worship. Leviticus 3:16 VI. God gives animals to be eaten. Genesis 9:2, 3; Exodus 16:8; Deuteronomy 12:20; Acts 10:13 VII. Jesus declared all foods to be clean. Mark 7:16 & 19 VIII. Jesus fed the disciples fish. Mark 14:17 IX. God the Holy Spirit calls the forbidding of eating certain foods demonic. I Timothy 4:3 X. The vegan lifestyle is defined as evidence of spiritual weakness. Romans 14:2 XI. You cannot make the argument that Adam was a vegetarian by omission. First, you can argue that verses Genesis 1: 29 & 30 are linked to that rule and food comes under the same heading. Secondly, if verse 29 means that, by omission, mankind is to be vegan, then 30 means that, by omission, the animal kingdom is to be vegan. XII. If Genesis 1: 29 reveals a higher form of dietary vegan lifestyle to which man should return, then 2:25 reveals a higher form of lifestyle in terms of nudity, to which man should return.
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