Romans 2:6-8
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Name: Michael
Gender: Male
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,284
Points: 17,013, Level: 18 |
Join Date: July 9th 2009
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Re: Vegetarianism and Religion. -
August 3rd 2010, 06:35 PM
No. It's not against God, and I'll show you why in a second. But first let me clarify the law.
The Law:
From my understanding, the Levitical law prohibited certain kinds of meats because God was trying to protect His people from unclean animals. Things that carried diseases, etc. When Christ died on the cross, we were set free from the law of commandments expressed in ordinances. This is because Christ abolished the hostility of man and God in His flesh (Ephesians 2:15). The only "law" we abide by, is a new law, considered, "The Law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). Therefore, the laws that essentially passed over from the Old Testament, are the ones which Paul, and other Apostles, exhort to refrain from. Things such as adultery, thievery, murder, etc. The reason being is because the "Law of Christ" is summed up in two commandments. 1) Love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, mind, and strength 2) Love your neighbor as yourself. This is what Jesus, who claimed to be God (and was God in the flesh), said for us to do. Later, in the Epistles, the Apostles write that all the Law is summed up by loving your neighbor as yourself.
Regarding Meat:
In Acts 10:9-16, Peter has a vision where a sheet bound at the four corners descending to him on the earth. Inside the sheet were, "All kinds of four-footed animals, wild beast, creeping things, and birds of the air." Then Peter heard a voice that said, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean." The voice spoke again and said, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." It's explained that the Lord justified eating all kinds of meat through this vision.
In fact, later in the Epistles, it's even noted that in the end times, people will try to keep people from eating meats, things that God called good. Which is essentially what's going on today.
However, Paul noted that he was free, but when he was among people such as Jews, he would live as Jew in order to win people to Christ. It's also noted in the Bible that a certain man's faith may allow him to eat anything, while other man's may not allow him to eat certain foods. But both are to eat with thanksgiving. The man's faith who doesn't allow him to eat meat is not to condemn the man who eats meat, and the man who eat's meat is not to look down on the man who does not eat meat, because God has allotted different measures of faith. Therefore, we are to do what we do in private in order not to allow another to stumble.
"Daniel broke the kings decree, Peter stepped from the ship to the sea, there was hope for Job like a cut down tree... I hope that there's such hope for me... Blind as I've become, I used to wonder where you were. These days I can't find where You're not. Mine's been a yard carefully surface tended, foxes burrowed underground. Gardening so highly self-recommended, what could I have done but let You down? The sun and the moon, I want to see both worlds as one." -Aaron Weiss, mewithoutYou
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