The Bible is the work of men. Essenes were vegetarians. Jesus was an Essene, so Jesus could not have eaten meat
Question:
Regarding: Did Jesus Eat Meat?
Have you read a book on the Essenes by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely? This shows his original research to show that the Essenes (thus Jesus) were pro-vegetarian.
My own personal views on meat-eating are as follows:
- The Bible should not be taken literally - man has changed/edited over the years; and due to the span of time that the gospels were written, with wide differences, with their own agendas to suit a particular person's opinions.
- The Christian churches phased out the idea of mediumship/healing...(probably because most that wanted to become "clergy" could not deliver prophecy/mediumship/healing - and the focus became on Jesus the person and his "uniqueness" rather than Jesus being an example we can ALL follow and do - healing and mediumship too. This is an example of how the story of Jesus was twisted/edited to suit an agenda.
Now, as far as vegetarianism goes:
- I feed birds from my flat window, throwing seed/bread, and it brings me such joy to see them, and it makes ME feel like God, looking down and providing love and sustenance. In that moment I am God. Would a loving and compassionate God materialize and slit our throats for food? The more we are like God, the more we are doing the right thing..by not slaughtering, maiming, hunting, experimenting. None of those things God would do.
- People say there is "truth in nature" and that animal kills animal. But we have the chance to be above that. We have a choice. If we have developed and evolved from the animal, we do not need to take negative steps back down to that level.
- Einstein (one of the greatest living figures ever) stated: “Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” [Albert Einstein, letter dated 1950, quoted in H. Eves’ Mathematical Circles Adieu, 1977].
- The author, Edmond Bordeaux Szekely stated in his book about the Essenes that they were vegetarian, and that they lived to great ages, on a lifestyle of meditation, worship, bathing, living off the land, and all working together, and none greater than the other. They did not eat meat as they saw the dead animals as having had "negative" energy.
- The thing that animates us is "spirit" - the same thing animates you and me. Everything in the universe of matter is nothing but fluctuating energy (within molecules are atoms, within atoms, subatomic particles which are nothing but fluctuating energy.
- The only thing that survives "physical death" is consciousness and spirit. If you have lived your life in a dead state, e.g. butchering/torturing animals, no spiritual awareness, then you don't take that aspect with you, so what have you gained in this life? It is much better to be "awake" due to having spiritual awareness, e.g. admiring animals, plants, nature, having a love for animals and nature, enjoying walking/outdoors and giving love to people and animals/nature, etc.
- All fear-based-ego-driven thoughts die the moment the physical body dies. What you take with you is the consciousness and spirituality that you have been able to develop (pity those who die spiritually dead).
- "What we think - we put out". If you put out aggression/violent thoughts, and butchering of animals (animals often have a subtle awareness and gentleness similar to babies)..and if thoughts are living things/entities, then that is what you are putting out into the astral world - "your reality" to come.
I hope I have listed some valid reasoning. I can see very little validity in murdering animals. All living entities on this planet are linked, we are not separate both human and animal.
I have sat in a spiritualist church and seen Mediums provide life after death proof of family pets. This proves that the animal does not cease completely at death; neither is the animal a disposable object, gifted by God for us to live off.
Answer:
It appears you agree that the Bible is contrary to your position; therefore, you had to find excuses to disbelieve the Bible.
First, you claim that the Bible has been changed over the years. You offer no proof, and the reason is simple we have copies of the Bible spanning over a 2,000 year period which are consistent. There is no evidence of tampering. Quite the opposite really. Less than 1/2 percent of the Bible is in dispute as to what the original text would have had.
"a careful study of the variants of the various earliest manuscripts reveals that none of them affects a single doctrine of Scripture. The system of spiritual truth contained in the standard Hebrew text of the Old Testament is not in the slightest altered or compromised by any of the variant readings found in Hebrew manuscripts of earlier date found in the Dead Sea caves or anywhere else. It is very evident that the vast majority of them are so inconsequential as to leave the meaning of each clause doctrinally unaffected.
...Even though the two copies of Isaiah discovered in Qumran Cave 1 near the Dead Sea in 1947 were a thousand years earlier than the oldest dated manuscript previously known (AD 980), they proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text. The 5 percent of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling." [Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1974, p. 56-57].
If the Bible was as edited as you claimed, then you know nothing about Jesus and cannot use him as evidence that we should be vegetarians. A claimed false source cannot be used to support truth.
You claim the Essenes did not eat meat. Josephus, a historian who lived at the time of Christ, wrote about the Essenes and said, "And after this purification is over, they every one meet together in an apartment of their own, into which it is not permitted to any of another sect to enter; while they go, after a pure manner, into the dining-room, as into a certain holy temple, and quietly set themselves down; upon which the baker lays them loaves in order; the cook also brings a single plate of one sort of food, and sets it before every one of them; but a priest says grace before meat; and it is unlawful for anyone to taste of the food before grace is said" [Josephus, Jewish Wars, II.8.4]. But it is easy to ignore historical evidence.
You claim that Jesus was an Essene but offer no proof. Such a claim certainly does not come from the Bible, which doesn't even name the Essenes. Nor does the lifestyle that Josephus records about the Essenes match the lifestyle of Jesus. Hence, another falsehood being offered as an assertion.
You are not God. You are unable to create any life. Hence, your argument based on your imagination of what God would do is false because it has no support.
You claim that humans evolve from animals and are above eating meat. By what standard do you claim that non-meat eating is "higher?" Again this is an empty assertion with no support other than your own assumption.
You claim to know what life after death is like, but again you have no support for your assertions. You can't use the Bible because you reject that as authoritative. All you are left are works of men which are unproven or disproved.
You then document that you have been taken in by frauds who call themselves "mediums."
When I come to the end I only find someone living in a fantasy world making assertions based on flawed human reasoning and having no authoritative source behind his opinions. You reject the Bible because you imagine it to be the work of men. So why should anyone accept your opinion which is the work of a man?
