Why do you teach about eating meat when there are more important issues in the world?
Question:
Hi,
The word violence means "extreme force".
Psalm 145:8-10
Jehovah is kind and merciful slow to get angry, full of love. He is good to everyone and his compassion is intertwined with everything he does. All living things shall thank you Lord and your people will bless you.
Psalm 11:5-7
He puts the righteous and the wicked to the test he hates those loving violence
Mathew 6:10
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Isaiah 11:6-9 & 65:25
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw as the ox does and poisonous snakes shall strike no more! In those days nothing and no-one shall be or destroyed in all my Holy Mountain says the Lord.
Genesis 1:29
The vegetarian diet was considered the ideal for humanity then as it is now as confirmed by the United Nations
Nimrod and Esau the hunters are depicted as villains in the Bible
It is the developed world's greed for farmed meat that keeps half the world starving which is going to get worse while we destroy God's creation (Rain Forests...Fact) to grow grain to feed farmed animals.
It is with all these Christian thoughts I have to question why you have a web site promoting violence. Violence toward animals is often linked with violence towards people or did you not know that. All this on a backdrop when it has never been easier to feed and clothe ourselves compassionately in the developed world. Well, if we could go through life without harming anything, we would wish to, wouldn't we? I am interested in the justification for your website and why as a Christian you think it is necessary when there are far more pressing issues facing the world and its population.
Answer:
You're using poor logic which only further defeats your position.
Violence
Violence: chamas in Hebrew. "Most often chamas refers to the wickedness of humans. ... The violence takes on both physical and verbal forms." [The Complete Biblical Library].
After giving a biased definition of violence, you then cited five verses, of which only one mentions the word violence. In Psalms 11:5-7 David speaks of the violence of the wicked, but you did not prove that it was violence against animals. The psalmist is speaking of the violence evil men do against their fellow men.
Psalms 145:8-10 is misquoted: "The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O LORD, And Your saints shall bless You" (Psalms 145:8-10). You limited to only living things but the psalmist says that everything God has done gives Him praise. That would include the universe that He created -- living and non-living. "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalms 19:1).
Matthew 6:10 counters your point. God's will is to be done. God stated, "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs" (Genesis 9:3). It is you who teach against God's will.
Isaiah 11:6-9 and Isaiah 65:25 are prophecies about the peace in God's kingdom -- the church. Since you seem to what to take this literally, tell me where the wolf doesn't hunt the lamb and poisonous snakes don't strike.
You claim that violence toward animals creates violence toward humans. But you broaden your use of "violence" to include the farming of livestock. First, you do not prove your point. Yes, cruel people are cruel to animals. "A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" (Proverbs 12:10). Cruelty to animals is not a national or cultural problem; it is one of many symptoms of wickedness on an individual scale. Teach people the ways of God and cruelty will naturally decrease. Since the nations with less violence tend to be those which farm livestock, your point that it increases violence is not supportable.
Diet
The United Nations is a political organization. It supports all sorts of odd notions, so a supposed claim that it supports vegetarianism holds no weight or authority. Yes, humans and animals alike ate vegetables at the creation. That changed after the flood (see Genesis 9:3 again). We don't live before the flood, therefore your proof doesn't apply.
Hunters
Nimrod is mentioned as being a mighty hunter, but he is not mentioned in the Bible as someone evil. See: Genesis 10:8-9 and I Chronicles 1:10. Esau was condemned, but not because of his hunting. "Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright" (Hebrews 12:16). Hunting is spoken of in the Bible and in a favorable light. See "Animal Rights and the Bible."
Raising Livestock
You make a claim, but are unable to give proof. You do not prove there is a connection between farming livestock and poverty in unrelated parts of the world. Since most poverty occurs in areas with poor farming practices, it is more easily established that farming livestock must improve a country's health and welfare since the richer nations practice it more consistently. Claiming a connection doesn't mean the connection exists.
Why do I point out your foolishness?
"For I didn't shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). Permission to eat meat is taught in the Bible and I teach the Bible. You try to justify your stance on a made-up teaching that you call "Christian." It is my duty to expose you by shining the truth on your doctrine. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (I John 4:1).
