Christianity:
Diet
There are four common arguments against a vegan diet that Christians are likely to bring to the table. Counterpoint arguments show that, in light of scriptures and Christian ethics, these reasons for rejecting a vegan diet are false claims, particularly in contemporary times.
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False Claim: God permits the consumption of animals so there is no need to be vegan.
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False Claim: Scriptures indicate that sacrifice pleases God, so how can it be wrong to kill animals for food?
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False Claim: God instructs Peter to eat animals and Paul teaches that all foods are acceptable, so it is acceptable to eat animal products.
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False Claim: Jesus ate fishes, served fishes, and helped catch fishes, so why shouldn’t we eat (or catch) fishes (and other animals)?
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False Claim: If a pig’s life is valuable in the sight of God, why did Jesus allow evil spirits to enter a herd of pigs, which cost them their lives?
Genesis Diet
Among Christians, the most common argument against choosing a vegan diet is that Genesis 9:3 permits humanity to consume “everything.” There are a handful of strong counterarguments that rest on a more complete understanding of scriptures, including God instructing humans to be vegan (first in Genesis and again in Numbers) and numerous descriptions of the nature of God.
False Claim
God permits the consumption of animals for food in Genesis 9, so there is no need to be vegan.
Genesis 9:3
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
4 Counterpoints
Genesis indicates that the creator strongly dislikes violence/corruption, that moving from the original vegan diet (no animal products) to omnivory (diet including flesh, dairy, and eggs) or vegetarianism (dairy and eggs) would be the cause of fear and dread, and in making such a shift we are accountable to God for anymals* we harm or kill. Finally, scriptures state and reaffirm God’s preference for a peaceful, vegan world.
Fact #1
God strongly dislikes human violence, which is corruption.
Genesis 6 teaches that God brought the flood because of corruption and earthly violence. (Corruption is defined as a departure, either from the original plan or from what is considered pure or correct.) “Corruption” and “violence” are used interchangeably in the passage, indicating that violence is corruption (of the Creator’s peaceful planet):
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Genesis 6:11-13)
God created a peaceful, harmonious, vegan world (Genesis 1:29) that was soon “filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11), causing the Creator to bring a great flood that would destroy all that had been made (Genesis 6:17). This provides a strong indication of how much God disapproves of human violence and how important it is that humans be peaceful and live harmoniously.
Violence is defined as an act that can harm or kill; violence and can be physical or mental, intentional or unintentional. Nearly everything that happens to animals in the dairy, egg, and meat industries constitutes physical or mental harm/violence and invariably culminates in premature death. The violence of omnivory (eating flesh, dairy, and eggs) and vegetarianism (eating dairy and eggs) not only harms animals, but also humanity and the planet. This is contrary to what scriptures indicate that the Creator intended for humanity and what God prefers.
Fact #2
Omnivory & vegetarianism cause fear and dread.
After granting “everything” as food, the language and tone of Genesis 9:3 reveal Divine displeasure, indicating that dairy, eggs, and meat are not what the Creator intended living beings to eat:
The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered.
God’s permission to exploit animals for food in Genesis 9:3 marks the end of the perfect world that God had created, a world where humans lived in harmony with all other creatures. The language and tone remind that dairy, eggs, and flesh are not what God intended living creatures to eat. Rav Kook, the first chief rabbi of pre-state Israel (considered among the most important Jewish thinkers) recognized a plant-based diet as ideal according to sacred texts. He viewed consumption of animal products as a temporary concession and the ideal or Messianic age as a world with peace and compassion realized fully across species.
Fact #3
God reaffirms a plant-based diet by providing manna.
Exodus and Nehemiah reaffirm Genesis 1: God provides nothing more than plants and plant products for our sustenance:
Exodus 16:13-16
When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer [measuring volume] to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.”
Nehemiah 9:15
For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven, and for their thirst you brought water for them out of the rock.
Manna (without flesh, dairy, or eggs) provided by God is of such importance that Moses instructs people to preserve and remember this food in Exodus 16:31-36:
The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, in order that they may see the food with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt’.” And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.” As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the covenant, for safekeeping. The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
Nonetheless, some of the lost wanderers were unhappy with manna and missed familiar foods of home. Numbers 11:4-6 tells us that this angered God:
The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the Israelites also wept again, and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
Those who are discontent with God’s vegan provisions are among the nonfaithful and are referred to as “rabble.” In the following paragraphs they complain loudly for “meat.” Finally the Lord provides meat in abundance (Num. 11:31-33), but
while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving. (Numbers 11: 33-34)
God was angry that the people could not be contented without eating anymal products, so angry that he brought a plague against them. Plant-based manna, provided by God, is another indication (and reminder) of what the Creator intends/prefers for our sustenance, of God’s preference that we share the planet in a state of peace and harmony, and that we be contented with what the Creator provided at the outset.
Fact #4
Christianity teaches love & working for moral perfection
The core ethic of Christianity is love. One way to show our love for God is to follow the teachings of the faith (John 14:23): To love God is to protect and care for creation and live a life of compassion, kindness, generosity, and self- sacrificing service, especially when dealing with those who fall under our power.
Choosing to exploit the comparatively powerless by killing animals for food creates suffering, bloodshed, and death for trillions of individuals every year. Scriptures indicate that people of compassion follow the teachings of Jesus by choosing a plant-based diet and down through history, Christians have expressed attentiveness to God and to the teachings of their faith by abstaining from flesh.
Summary
Genesis Diet
Scriptures teach that humans may eat anymal products but:
At the outset, God prescribed a vegan diet for all living beings.
Eating anymal products is corruption, a departure from the original and preferred diet.
Eating anymal products is violence and God disapproves of human violence.
Omnivory (eating flesh, dairy, and eggs) and vegetarianism (eating dairy and eggs) create fear and dread.
Animals and all life belong exclusively to God.
God provides a vegan diet (manna) when the Israelites are lost in the desert and Moses tells people to commemorate and remember vegan manna provided by God.
Christian ethics call for love and ask that we strive for moral perfection.
Though humans are permitted to eat flesh, dairy, and eggs, scriptures show clearly that living vegan is preferable. Therefore, this choice shows respect for God and God’s creation. The teachings are clear. The choice is ours.
Sacrifice
Christians sometimes argue that, inasmuch as scriptures accept anymal sacrifice, there is no need to be vegan. There are a number of counterpoints to this assertion, including the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, a disconnect between ritual sacrifice and the dinner table, and the history of sacrifice more generally.
False Claim
Animal sacrifice is described in scriptures and is indicated as pleasing to God, so how can it be wrong to harm and kill animals for food?
Gen. 8:20-21
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.
Exodus 10:25-26
Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to sacrifice to the Lord our God. Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them for the worship of the Lord our God, and we will not know what to use to worship the Lord until we arrive there.”
Exodus 34:25
You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven.
Leviticus 1:1-17
The Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying: Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When any of you bring an offering of livestock to the Lord, you shall bring your offering from the herd or from the flock.
If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you shall offer a male without blemish; you shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, for acceptance in your behalf before the Lord. You shall lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be acceptable in your behalf as atonement for you. The bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord; and Aaron's sons the priests shall offer the blood, dashing the blood against all sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. The burnt offering shall be flayed and cut up into its parts. The sons of the priest Aaron shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the parts, with the head and the suet, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; but its entrails and its legs shall be washed with water. Then the priest shall turn the whole into smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Lord.
If your gift for a burnt offering is from the flock, from the sheep or goats, your offering shall be a male without blemish. It shall be slaughtered on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar. It shall be cut up into its parts, with its head and its suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; but the entrails and the legs shall be washed with water. Then the priest shall offer the whole and turn it into smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Lord.
If your offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, you shall choose your offering from turtledoves or pigeons. The priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head, and turn it into smoke on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out against the side of the altar. He shall remove its crop with its contents and throw it at the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes. He shall tear it open by its wings without severing it. Then the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Lord.
Leviticus 22:26-30
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as the Lord's offering by fire. But you shall not slaughter, from the herd or the flock, an animal with its young on the same day. When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that it may be acceptable in your behalf. It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall not leave any of it until morning: I am the Lord.
Luke 2:22-24
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
5 Counterpoints
Some assert that the presence and acceptance of ritual anymal sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible justifies contemporary omnivory and vegetarianism, but this conclusion makes no sense. Moreover, a closer look at scriptures in the historic context speaks against anymal sacrifice altogether.
Fact #1
Jesus was the ultimate and final sacrifice, replacing ritual sacrifices.
Hebrews 9:24-26
He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Hebrews 10:5-10
[W]hen Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will . . .
When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” . . . he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
The crucifixion of Jesus put an end to any need for ritual sacrifice: Jesus was the final sacrifice, the supreme, pure offering. The crucifixion of Jesus finally and completely replaced ritual sacrifices, rendering anymal sacrifices pointless and wrong- headed. In light of crucifixion of Jesus, the sacrificing of animals is a denial of the sacrifice of Jesus, a denial of faith in Jesus as God and savior.
Fact #2
Eating animals in the 21st century cannot be justified by scriptural descriptions of animal sacrifice.
Ritual sacrifices described in scriptures have nothing to do with the ethics of diet in the 21st century and therefore cannot legitimately be used as a moral or religious argument in favor of eating flesh, dairy, or eggs in contemporary times. Most obviously, the eating of flesh, dairy, and eggs at the dinner table does not qualify as a ritual sacrifice. Moreover, contemporary complications of anymal agriculture (suffering, threats to humanity, and environmental degradation) speak against omnivory and vegetarianism.
Fact #3
God does not delight in the smell of burning bodies.
It is not reasonable (or common) to read Genesis 8:21 literally—to believe that the smell of burning flesh pleased the nose of God, as if God has a physical nose and a sense of smell akin to that of animals. Moreover, divine pleasure in a dead and roasted body is inconsistent with scriptures that tell of God creating a vegan world, of God’s mercy and compassion, and of a God who is invested in the life and well-being of every living creature.
It is, however, reasonable to understand the Creator’s pleasure (described for both flesh and grain sacrifices) as stemming from the human act of remembering God and giving thanks: The Creator finds the smell of flesh pleasing not because God has a nose and finds the smell of burning bodies pleasing, but because the Creator knows that “the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth” (Genesis 8:21), and yet Noah has remembered God and given thanks. Would not the Creator be even more pleased if, rather than destroy life, humanity gave thanks to God by doing what we are commanded to do in Genesis 2—caretake creation as God would do?
Fact #4
Bloodletting rituals were phased out and replaced more than 2000 years ago.
In Mathew 9:13 (and 12:7), Jesus says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
In many parts of the ancient world, blood offerings were common and human sacrifice was widespread, including bloodletting, drowning, strangling, burning, and casting over cliffs and into volcanoes. Over time, these bloody practices were replaced with offering of handmade images, perhaps of dough or wood. Scriptures record this shift, and the first step was animals replacing human beings for blood-letting rituals in Genesis 22:1-14:
After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains ”
When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Here God instructed Abraham to spare his son. God does not tell Abraham to kill the ram—Abraham sees the ram and does this entirely of his own accord. (Note that God is not pleased by Abraham’s son’s blood, but by Abraham’s submission—his willingness to bend to God’s will, regardless of his own inclinations.)
Descriptions of anymal sacrifice in Leviticus 1 are followed by descriptions of grain offerings in Leviticus 2. Next, scriptures reveal a shift (more than 2000 years ago) to internal sacrifice—submission to religious laws and ethics. While scriptures make clear how blood sacrifice rituals were performed, the prophets who came later show a definite preference for other forms of supplication, particularly thanking and remembering God.
Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Isaiah 1:11-17
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
When you come to appear before me,
who asked this from your hand?
Trample my courts no more;
bringing offerings is futile;
incense is an abomination to me. . . .
Your new moons and your appointed festivals
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me,
I am weary of bearing them.
When you stretch out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
Amos 5:21-25
I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Micah 6:6-8
“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Bloodless remembrances of God align with the original Divine intent for a peaceful world as described in Genesis, a world where anymals and humans work together, tending and protecting creation, while also working toward the coming Peaceable Kingdom (Isaiah 11, Hosea 2). Bloodless remembrances of God are also in line with the teachings of the latter prophets. Justice does not admit of exploitation, goodness does not permit cruelty, and walking humbly with God does not allow a human-centered approach to creation: We are not entitled to use anymals as food production units, petri dishes, or clothing on the hoof. Our duty is to serve and protect all that is God’s on behalf of God.
It is not possible to pose a viable defense for the contemporary exploitation of anymals as food by pointing to ancient anymal sacrifice, which scriptures tell us were only one form of ritual sacrifice, and at that, a form replaced more than 2000 years ago.
Fact #5
Animals are not ours to give.
Scriptures note that it is redundant to offer life to God:
Psalms 50:9–11
I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds. For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in this field is mine.
Neither sacrifice nor the willful consumption of flesh, dairy, and eggs are supported by scriptures, especially in contemporary times. However, tending God’s creatures (as we are instructed to do in Genesis 2) is an appropriate expression of obedience and devotion to the Creator.
Summary
Sacrifice
Ritual sacrifice in Biblical times is a completely separate topic from the ethics of eating anymal products in the 21st century, and the former therefore does not and cannot justify the latter. Many (if not almost all) Christians understand that killing animals does not wash away sins and that God does not prefer the kind of sacrifice that destroys life. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, rendering ritual sacrifice obsolete. We are to give of ourselves. We are to sacrifice our willful desires so as to live a Christian life. Any argument attempting to use ancient ritual anymal sacrifice to defend contemporary omnivory/vegetarianism likely indicates a lack of sincere commitment to the Christian faith and to God.
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Peter's Dream, Pauls Teachings
Acts 10:9-16 & Mark 7:14-21
(Supported by Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Christians sometimes state that Acts 10 and Mark 7 teach that we can (and should) eat all foods that God has given, including anymals. But in contemporary times, supported by writings in Romans and 1 Corinthians, this passage calls for a vegan diet.
False Claim
God instructs Peter to eat animals and Paul teaches that all foods are acceptable, so it is acceptable to eat anymal products.
Acts 10:9–16
About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.
Mark 7:14-21
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”
When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come.
3 Counterpoints
Acts 10, taken at the surface level, might lead readers to believe that eating animals is not only permissible but an important act. A broader and closer read indicates a vegan diet.
Fact #1
Acts 10:9-16 indicates a vegan diet.
Dietary differences have long been defining characteristics for humanity, critical to membership and group identity. There are at least three important reasons for this religious focus on food restrictions, which generally lean strongly against anymal products:
discipline—abstinence is viewed as part of a holy life;
purity and morality—bloodshed and violence, especially against the comparatively helpless (animals), is discouraged in all religions;
ideals—for both of the above reasons, in many religious traditions a vegan diet is portrayed as ideal.
A number of religious orders have been set apart by food choice at least since the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, including Jews and Christians. Jewish food restrictions separated Jews from Gentiles, helping to establish the exclusivity of Judaism. Meticulous dietary laws were also central to Jewish rituals, for which some were martyred. (For example, Leviticus 11:4–30 forbids eating pigs, rabbits, shellfishes, camels, vultures, geckos, weasels, and bats; locust, katydids, and grasshoppers are permissible.) For a Jew in Peter’s time, eating forbidden/pagan foods was an abomination, and sharing food in the house of a pagan was sacrilege.
Early Christians such as the Essenes, also adopted food restrictions, as did later denominations such as the Seventh Day Adventists (19th century), who are largely vegetarian or vegan. Jewish division between clean and unclean foods, however, had no meaning in the new religion, which centered on faith in Jesus, so diet quickly became a point of contention and separation between Christians and Jews: Practicing Jews stayed clear of Gentiles, whom they viewed as unclean. But the Apostles were tasked with making bringing the Good News to all people. While Peter was in the habit of keeping distance from Gentiles, as was then deemed appropriate, he needed to share fellowship at tables in households in order to minister to all people. Ultimately, Christianity was destined to become a religion for all, which required removing the complicated layers that divided individuals and communities at that time.
By the end of the story, the importance and meaning of Peter’s vision in Acts 10 is clear: Peter refused to eat at certain tables that were serving meats because some of those meats were unclean and taboo for a Jew, but Peter received gentiles as guests and as a consequence his guests receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44). Peter learns from this that God has not rejected non-Jews and that he is responsible for baptizing Gentiles—for bringing Gentiles to Jesus.
News of this radical change traveled swiftly. Some objected that he had not only associated with, but eaten with Gentiles—people that Jewish law clearly indicated were unclean. Replies to these criticisms reveal the importance of Peter’s vision, which made clear that unclean meats could now be eaten and that the “unclean” Gentiles could find salvation. Peter’s vision explicitly and officially renounces the divisive old food laws (Mark 7:14).
Theologians/Scholars widely agree that Acts 10 breaks old barriers and lets go of prejudice, requiring Christians to spread the Good News to everyone. The message of Acts 10:9-6 is that Peter was to stop maintaining the dietary wall (created by clean and unclean foods) between himself and those whom he might otherwise teach of the Good News—this is the key message of Peter’s vision.
With this information in hand, it is easy to see that the message of Peter’s vision is not to kill and eat living creatures, but to remove barriers that might block the spreading of the Gospel, to remove barriers that might exclude people from the church, the community, and Christian salvation. Acts 10:9–16 warns against the dichotomy between sacred and profane, refocusing on a more important distinction between all things centered on God and all things secular. God’s message in Peter’s vision does not encourage bloodshed, but opens the doors of the Christian faith to all people of all places at all times. In the process, Acts 10 indicates that it is permissible (though not desirable) for people to eat flesh, as indicated in Genesis 9.
Peter’s vision speaks against dietary practices that cause division or exclusion. In contemporary times, Acts 10:9-16 provides much to ponder. Is the church a place where vegans feel accepted? Where they can join in the abundance of delicious, nutritious foods at a church potlucks and pancake breakfasts?
Vegans (largely young people) have been leaving churches for decades because they feel alienated by overtly non-vegan church leaders and congregations, because foods at social functions are laced with dairy, eggs, and flesh, whether the after- service cookie and coffee socials, Sunday afternoon barbeques, or ice-cream socials, and because sermons, week after week, ignore the sufferings of animals, the many ill-effects of consuming anymal products, and the Christian moral imperative requiring those who have access to plant-based meals to choose vegan.
There is nothing in scriptures that speak against choosing vegan and there is much in Christian ethics and teachings that point clearly to choosing a vegan diet in contemporary times. At a minimum, why not make churches vegan friendly? Or better yet, why not serve only foods that speak to peace and compassion?
Fact #2
Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 provide critical information on diet as relates to Acts 10 and Mark 7.
Romans 14:15–21
If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Let us then pursue what makes
for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.
1 Corinthians 8:8-13“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.
In Biblical times, flesh that was sold in the markets had generally been offered to idols beforehand and some Christians were concerned about eating food that had been “offered to idols” (1 Corinthians 8:4). This prevented Christians from sharing meals with non-Christians, which prevented spreading the Good News around the table.
As noted (Acts 10:9-16, above), Christians were to be mindful of dietary choices that might prevent spreading the Good News, and social life almost always involves the sharing of food. Consequently, Jewish food laws were set aside (Mark 7:14).
Paul speaks to the growing concern over divisions and exclusions caused by dietary laws in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8. He instructs Christians not to make choices that are likely to alienate people from joining the church or cause people to veer away from faith in Jesus. He instructs Christians to adjust their eating habits accordingly. Toward this end, certain foods are to be avoided not because they are forbidden (they are not) but because they might turn people away. Paul is clear: Those whose diet causes others to fall away from Christianity “destroy the work of God” (Romans 14:20).
The letters of Paul teach that Christian love requires that food choices invite people in and not drive people out of the fold. Today, many vegans find their church unfriendly to those who choose a vegan lifestyle, and as a consequence, vegans tend to leave their churches. This leads to a different reading of Paul’s writings. Today, those who serve anymal products in community “sin against . . . family,” and in so doing, “sin against Christ” (1 Corinthians 8:12). To serve anymal products is to “destroy the work of God” (Romans 14:20) both literally (killing animals and wrecking the earth) and figuratively (preventing the spreading of the Word of God to vegans). In communities where vegans feel excluded Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8, and Acts 10 speak to choosing vegan.
Fact #3
Mark 7 also supports Acts 10
Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come. (Mark 7: 18-21)
Indeed, hands, teeth, and stomachs are not the problem— the problem is our hearts. To know of the sufferings and destruction caused by flesh, dairy, and eggs and to know that vegans feel alienated in omnivorous churches, and yet to carry on as if no vegans were present, reveals a problem of caring, a noticeable lack of compassion and neighborliness. In excluding vegans from fellowship, churches also miss an opportunity to take a stand against misery, death, and indifference toward God’s creatures. Christians who exclude vegans simultaneously throw peace, redemption, and inclusivity to the wind. It is not merely meat, flesh, and dairy that reveal a lack of fidelity to core Christian ethics and values, but rather the hard-heartedness that allows someone to continue this diet despite readily-available alternative options and despite knowledge of the sufferings, deaths, damage, and alienation these foods cause.
Summary:
Peter's Dream, Pauls Teachings
Gatherings that include meat, diary, and eggs can be a stumbling block for a growing population of Christian vegans, who are most often part of a shrinking young generation of churchgoers. Scriptures instruct Christians to avoid foods that are contentious, so as to avoid turning people away from Christ. The foods themselves are not unclean and cannot defile us, but our hearts (which drive our choices) most certainly can. While vegans are likely to be morally repulsed by flesh, dairy, and eggs, omnivores and vegetarians can and do choose to eat (and certainly enjoy) many vegan foods (from green beans to potatoes, from pasta to cucumbers, from bagels to alternative milks). These foods are inclusive—anyone can eat them—so these are the foods that ought to be served at church gatherings if churches want to be inclusive, and as is clear from the rest of this book, ethical. Acts 10, Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8, and Mark 7 teach Christians to say what is written in 1 Corinthians 8:13: “if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat so that I may not cause one of them to fall.” In almost all contemporary communities, dairy and eggs must be mentioned along with “meat.” A welcoming church is a vegan church.
- IV -
Jesus—Fishes and Fishing
Some Christians argue that Jesus assisted those fishing and he ate fishes, so why shouldn’t we?
False Claim
Jesus ate fish flesh, served fish flesh, and helped people to catch fishes, so why shouldn’t we eat (or catch) fishes (and other animals)?
Matthew 14:19-20 (similarly in Mark 6:36-44)
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled.
Matthew 15:36-37 (similarly in Mark 8:1-9)
…he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled.
Luke 5:4-6
“Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.
John 21:5-6
“Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
John 21:13
Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
Luke 24:36-42
They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Five Counterpoints
Subsistence fishing 2000 years ago was not a dietary choice. Moreover, Jesus multiplied and served fishes who were already dead (and so did not kill fishes to serve them); Jesus filled nets in order to convert fishers to a different livelihood, and scriptures indicate that he personally ate only one small piece of a fish after resurrection.
Fact #1
Eating fishes in the 21st century does not align with core Christian ethics.
With regard to caretaking the earth and earth’s many living creatures (including ourselves) there are three serious concerns associated with choosing to consume fishes:
• Fishes and ocean systems are in a state of collapse because of contemporary consumers and the industrialized fishing that supplies this demand.
• Fishes are sentient individuals whose lives matter to the Creator; fishing methods bring a prolonged and painful death to fishes, whether caught by a hook or pulled from the water with a net.
• Eating fishes is risky. Thanks to human pollution, fish flesh is contaminated with mercury, a potent neurotoxin that attacks the central nervous system and can damage the brain, and which is particularly dangerous for children and the unborn. There is no “safe” level of mercury consumption.
It is important to distinguish between eating fishes 2000 years ago and choosing to purchase/consume flesh, diary, and eggs in the 21st century. When Jesus lived there were far fewer people and they generally lived much more simply, much more in balance with the rest of creation, eating local foods. In Biblical times fishes were not pulled from the seas by the millions to feed trillions of human beings spread around the world, and oceans were not polluted with mercury. Contemporary fishing, whether for sport, as part of a family business, or as a corporate enterprise, is cruel. Fishing destroys not only lives, but ocean/lake ecosystems. There are now many other food options that are generally readily available (and less expensive, despite heavy government subsidies for anymal agriculture and aquaculture), including rice and beans, lentils and potatoes, pasta and vegetables, peanut butter/humus and bread.
The question is not “What did Jesus eat?” but rather, “What would Jesus eat today?” If we are to caretake the earth and earth’s many living creatures (including ourselves) we cannot choose to eat fishes. The Prince of Peace, the compassionate savior, would choose to preserve and protect life and the Creator’s work of beauty and love. Today, there is very good reason to believe that Jesus would choose vegan.
Fact #2
In multiplying bread and fishes, Jesus does not cause the death of even one fish.
Matthew 14:15-21 (similarly in Mark 6:36-44)
“We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled.
Matthew 15:32-38 (similarly in Mark 8:1-9)
Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled.
Importantly, in multiplying loaves and fishes, Jesus does not cause suffering or loss of life. Jesus takes fishes who are already dead, and from those bodies creates enough food for all who are present. In contrast, when we buy/consume fishes, we create demand for fishing, thereby causing suffering and death and contributing to the destruction of ocean ecosystems.
Fact #3
Jesus fills fishing nets to pull people away from fishing.
Luke 5:4-7
[H]e said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats.
John 21:5-6
Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
Only in these passages from Luke and John do we read that Jesus is implicated in the deaths of fishes. Importantly, in each story where the miracles of Jesus fill the nets of fishers, the story moves on to show that Jesus is not interested in the killing of fishes, but in pulling men away from boats and nets: Those fishing are called to leave the fishes and become fishers of humanity, pulling people to God and Christianity:
Matthew 4:19-20 (also Mark 1:16-18)
[T]hey were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers . . . mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Luke 5:10
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Jesus does not encourage fishing. On the contrary. Jesus redirects these men to a new occupation: spreading the Good News.
Fact #4
In scriptures, food and eating are often metaphors, not to be taken literally.
Food metaphors (which are not actually about food) are common in scripture, particularly in the words of Jesus:
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 6:25
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
John 4:31-38
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
John 6:27
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.
John 6:35
I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
2 Corinthians 9:10
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
1 Peter 2:2-3
Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Revelation 3:20
I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.
These passages are not about food and what we ought to eat, but instead teach spiritual lessons. For example, conveying the idea that accumulating physical/material wealth is not worthwhile in comparison with accumulating good deeds, such as spreading the Good News. Biblical passage about fishing or eating fishes do not teach that we ought to eat fish flesh, but instead convey important spiritual messages. Exploiting these passages to attempt to justify eating meat, dairy, or eggs overlooks and obscures the message, which invites people of faith to align dietary choices with Christian ethics, which will promote both peace and justice.
Fact #5
One Gospel reports that Jesus ate a piece of a fish to prove to doubting disciples that he had risen. This is not a legitimate reason to choose to consume fishes today.
Luke 24:36-42
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
John 21:9-14
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Fishes were important for subsistence in the region where Jesus lived and taught, and fish flesh was likely critical to the diets of most of the people who saw him after he rose from crucifixion. Those who saw him did not believe that he had defeated death. In order to demonstrate that he was not a ghost or a figment of their imagination, he shared food: Eating, as a basic act of sustenance for the physical body, is an excellent way to show embodiment.
By eating a piece of a fish after resurrection, Jesus demonstrated to a doubting humanity that he was alive. The importance of this act cannot be overstated: Jesus demonstrates the power of God to resurrect those who have died, indicating that all of us might be saved from the grave. Jesus defeats death, showing the way for others.
Narratives that merely record what people ate in Biblical times are not intended to teach what we ought to eat more than 2000 years later. This is especially true given that we now live on a planet suffering from mass extinctions and life-threatening environmental degradation.
Arguments that attempt to defend omnivory or a vegetarian diet by focusing on what Jesus ate are tantamount to arguing that we ought to wear the same clothes or footwear that Jesus wore, or that we ought to sleep in similar beds or under similar roofs, or that we ought to use the same boats or nets as described in scriptures. To argue that we ought to do what people did in biblical times only where eating fishes is concerned, is disingenuous.
Importantly, scriptures do not indicate that Jesus ate fishes (or any anymal products) in his lifetime. Scriptures only indicate that Jesus consumed one morsel of a fish after resurrection. This does not provide grounds for eating fishes in any century, let alone cows, pigs, and turkeys in contemporary times. Especially given the moral complications of omnivory and vegetarianism in the 21st century, and given the wide availability of foods such as red beans and rice, peanut butter or humus on bread, and lentils with vegetables, all of which are more in keeping with Christian ethics.
Summary:
Jesus—Fishes & Fishing
Buying or consuming fishes in the 21st century is fraught with 21st century moral concerns that did not exist 2000 years ago. The Bible reports habits of the day but does not recommend eating fishes in the 21st century. Eating fishes today contributes to serious environmental problems and damages human health (and always causes suffering and premature death for fishes).
- V -
The Swine of Gerasene
Some look to the Gospel story of the swine of Gerasene (Gadarene/Girgesene) to demonstrate that the lives of pigs are not of much value in the sight of God, that they are certainly not as valuable as human life. Such a conclusion misses the point and is problematic when applied to other portions of scripture.
False Claim
If a pig’s life is valuable in the sight of God, why did Jesus allow evil spirits to enter a herd of pigs, which cost them their lives?
Luke 8:26-39
Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
Three Counterpoints
The story of the Swine of Gerasene (Matthew 8:28-34 is the shortest version, also Mark 5:1-20, and Luke 8:26-39) tells of a man who is possessed by many demons so that he is dangerous to the community, becoming “so fierce that no one could pass that way” (Matthew 8:28). When these evil spirits are about to be exorcised by Jesus they are mortified by the thought of having no embodiment, and request to be sent into the swine. Jesus gives them permission and the possessed herd dashes into the nearby waters and drowns.
Does this mean that Jesus did not care about the lives of the swine, or that the demoniacs matter more than the swine?
Fact #1
This story is not about weighing the value of lives.
The story of the swine of Gerasene is not a moral lesson about the value of pigs versus human beings. This story records the miraculous power of Jesus, making it clear that we are right to put our faith in him. Many New Testament narratives carry this critical message. For example, in Matthew 21:18-22, Jesus withers a fig tree and speaks of throwing mountains into the sea. People do not generally argue that these narratives speak to a lack of value for fig trees, mountains, or nature more generally. These narratives are intended to reveal the power of God and the importance of faith in Jesus. Only those intent on defending a habit of eating pigs (who are not equally interested in defending a habit of withering trees or throwing mountains into the water) are likely to make such an argument regarding the swine of Gerasene. Nonetheless, the same is true in each case: These narratives are not about the value of creation, but about the power of God and the importance of placing our faith in Jesus.
Fact #2
This story is not about the value of life.
At the outset of the Book of Job, Satan and God talk. Job is noted as a servant of God, “blameless and upright” (1:8). Here, Satan speaks first:
“Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:9-12)
The next passages have important parallels in the story of the Swine of Gadarene:
One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
(Job 1: 13-22)
As with the Swine of Gadarene, evil forces ask permission to do something that results in loss of life; in this case, human lives are among those lost. In the end, Job is given another set of offspring, and even more wealth, but the dead do not return to life on Earth. Regarding Job, people do not generally argue that these human beings die because they are of little, lesser, or no value: The narrative is not about the value of life, but about human ignorance in comparison with God, and the importance of humility and faith.
The lesson of Job is primarily this: It is not ours to question (let alone challenge) God, but to obey and worship, no matter what befalls us. The intent is not to devalue life but to highlight our place as living creatures, as humble supplicants. Similarly, the story of the Gadarene demoniac is not about the value of pigs but speaks to the miraculous powers of the Creator, making clear that we are right to put our faith in Jesus. It is difficult for mere mortals to understand why God allowed Satan to kill Job’s family and why Jesus allowed the demons to enter and destroy the pigs. However, it is easy to understand the core message of each of these stories, which is not that people or pigs do not matter, but that God is powerful and our responsibility is to maintain unwavering faith.
Fact #3
The pigs’ presence is symbolic.
There is a convincing argument to be made that the Gospel story of the swine of Gerasene is “a coded political tale that grew out of anti-Roman sentiment,” and that the swine are not to be taken as pigs but as representing the occupying Roman army, and the dispatching of the pigs as driving out the unwelcome military force (Spalde and Strindlund 103). For the purposes of dietary choice and Christian ethics, there seems a more important point to be made. Recall that Christianity emerged from Jewish culture and that pigs were not kept, slaughtered, or consumed by observant Jews because they have cloven hooves and are therefore forbidden as “unclean”:
And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their carcasses. (Deuteronomy 14:8, also see Leviticus 11:7)
The story of the swine of Gerasene is not about pigs or what we ought to eat, though the pigs are important to the intended message. Having pigs in the story tells readers that Jesus was working either in a gentile community or in a non-observant Jewish community. Importantly, the pigs relay the message that the ministry of Jesus extend beyond the Jewish community.
Summary:
The Swine of Gerasene
When reading complicated scriptures, it is important to remember core ethics and primary themes. God is compassionate and merciful, and the creator lovingly caretakes all of creation. The Gospel story of the swine of Gerasene seems a complicated bible story, but in the larger context of scriptures and Christian ethics, the story is simple and beautiful: The swine are symbolic and they teach of the power of God, faith in God, and the Christian responsibility to minister to all people, including vegans.
Image Credits
Genesis Diet:
Sacrifice:
Peter’s Dream: Domenico Fetti, “Peter's Vision of a Sheet with Animals.” (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)
Jesus - Fishes & Fishing: Ernst Zimmerman, “Christ with the Fisherman” (1852-1901). (Courtesy of Anthony’s Fine Art/Antiques.)
Swine of Gerasene: Visoki Dečani. “The Demons and the Swine” (14th century). (Image courtesy of Pravoslavie.)