Is it Spiritual to be a Vegetarian?
The concept that ‘God is love’ has been the basis for accepting a variety of lifestyles in the Christian church.
Thus one argument goes, “Does God not love animals? If he does should we eat them?”
Vegetarianism
In Hinduism, which has many forms, the law of karma and reincarnation is widely held. Depending on how a person has lived, they may be reincarnated into another life form. It is therefore widely held that to kill any life is wrong. Vegetarianism is therefore a dietary ideal among many Hindus, based on the concept of ahimsa - non-violence and compassion towards all beings. It is also considered satvic - purifying the body and mind lifestyle in some Hindu texts.
A typical Hindu diet excludes meat and eggs. There are three main reasons for this:
1. The principle of nonviolence (ahimsa) applied to animals,
2. Vegetarian food is offered to their preferred deity and then received back as prasad, food which is then distributed and eaten by devotees,
3. The conviction that non-vegetarian food is detrimental for the mind and for spiritual development.
Much Hindu thinking has permeated into the west and has influenced many people. The Rev. William Cowherd started his ordained life as an Anglican but he found it difficult to get on with people and he fell out first with the Church of England and later with the Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenberg who had had a series of visions suggesting new ways to interpret the Bible. Cowherd loved animals and he came to believe that God inhabited every animal and therefore it was a sin to eat meat! He started the first vegetarian church in Salford, near Manchester and demanded that everyone in his congregation should eat a meat free diet. Thus the ‘God is love’ argument was used as a basis for vegetarianism.
The problem with such a view is that the Bible teaches that mankind may eat meat. God said to Noah after the flood,
“Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meant that has its lifeblood still in it.” Genesis 9:3-4
It was obligatory for all God’s people to eat the passover lamb. So has God’s character changed?The Lord later fed his people with quail.
The Lord gave strict food and other laws to the Jews; they could eat some meats but they were clearly to be different from other people – they were to be God’s distinct chosen people. God later gave Peter a dream that was to change how this distinctiveness was to be seen. Peter saw something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners:
“It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
‘Surely not, Lord!’ Peter replied, ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’
The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ This happened three times.” Acts 10:12-16
The meaning was clear, now not only all animals, even ‘unclean’ ones, could be eaten by God’s people. It also meantthat Gentiles, who had previously been considered unclean, could now become members of God’s kingdom,. Immediately he had a visit from the servants of a Gentile centurion, Cornelius asking him to come and teach a group of Gentiles the gospel.
God’s character had not changed but the way he was organising his new ‘Chosen People’ to be his representatives to his world was being refreshed. There were some preachers who were disturbing the early church with a demand that all Christians should follow the old Jewish practices. The council in Jerusalem were against this. They wrote:
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” Acts 15:28-29
These limited directions were to distinguish God’s new people from the sexually immoral Greeks and yet keep in step with basic Jewish practices. The point was to facilitate the outreach of the church into these different groups.
Paul later wrote to the church at Colosse who were also troubled by Jewish adherents,,
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
Jesus, who ate the passover lamb and fed people fish, made it clear that it is not what a person eats that makes them unclean, but what comes out of a person’s heart.
“In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean’.” Mark 7:19
Jesus followed this statement with a clear explanation of what makes people unclean in God’s eyes:
“What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean’. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality (porneia), theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’. Mark 7:17-23
Today there are still religious groups who insist on their members following religious food rules, often taken from Judaism, but who fail to emphasise the importance of all Christians behaving like Jesus and his apostles by making holiness and evangelism their priority:
“I have become all things to all men, so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:22
Too many churchmen are trying to make themselves righteous by following accepted church practices instead of accepting the righteousness that Christ has declared can be theirs. They have been given this status because they are committed to following him, and are living in a way that brings Jesus glory. This will involve persuading others about who he is and what he offers us.
God’s character has never changed. God has always intended that his people should be a light to the nations. Jesus said very succinctly,
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke 19:10
God’s character
The God described in the Bible is certainly a God of love but that is not his only characteristic. He is also a holy God who hates sin in all its forms. He told Moses clearly about his character:
“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.” Exodus 34:6-8
God wants everyone to know that he welcomes all people into his world, into his kingdom, but this has to be on his terms. Ultimately sin is the rejection of the rule of God and his Son and if this continues we will face God’s judgment.
The only way anyone can be considered righteous is not by anything we do. Righteousness is a status that God gives to those who are following his Son. In the early church these were people on ‘The Way’. Christians have been ‘declared righteous’, we cannot make ourselves righteous. The apostles were very clear on this. There is no other way to become ‘righteous in God’s eyes.
“Therefore no-one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” Romans 3:20
The gospel or ‘good news’ is that anyone can be given this status if they change direction and become followers of Jesus Christ.
“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘the righteous will live by faith’. Romans 1:17
Paul made this same point in his letter to the Ephesians:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10
When we have been given this status of righteousness there is nothing more we can achieve by following certain rules , dress codes or diets. Our over-arching responsibility is to trust and obey Jesus in all we do. He wants others to see that we have been saved by him because of our loving, selfless lifestyles and because of what we say about our Lord. Too many people think that Christians are trying to be righteous by what we do, so we can come across as arrogant, self righteous prigs. This will not help others understand the gospel which is about how anyone can enjoy being a member of God’s family.
Practical Problems
Christians are here to show the Lord Jesus to others so social relationships are vital. The Bible talks much about the need for Christians to be hospitable. If we have dietary peculiarities it does put a hindrance in the way of others inviting us to their homes for a meal.
Longterm health problems can also occur in those who are very strict about their vegetarian diets. Mankind has eaten an omnivorous diet for thousands of years and we are genetically made for this.
Researchers found that avoiding all animal foods may lead to nutritional deficiencies in vitamin B12, omega-3, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, and high-quality protein. These deficiencies may be associated with increased risk for certain types of cancer, stroke, osteoporosis and bone fractures, preterm birth, and failure to thrive. Avoiding consumption of animal-sourced food may also be related to higher rates of depression and anxiety. Hair loss, weak bones, muscle wasting, skin rashes, hypothyroidism, and anaemia are other issues that have been observed in those strictly following a vegan diet.
We also know that diets high in sugar, processed foods and fats are also detrimental to health. The God who loves us and made us wants us to be healthy so a healthy mixed diet that includes some animal products is surely the best way forwards.
BVP
June 2023
