a response to the vegetarian quotes

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am that vegan who lives in cattle country in Missouri. I homeschool

my kids not for religious reasons but because the local schools are

pitiful. When I read the vegetarian quotes on the vegetarian parents

emails the other day I forwarded them to several people, the local home

school group included. I really touched a nerve in at least one of the

members. I have enclosed my response to her letter that she sent me

after reading the quotes.

Upon reading her letter I was reminded that animal rights have a long

way to go in this country and it will take many genarations to get

there.

We MUST speak for those who cannot.

Teresa

 

taldrich

Re: [stClairCHEF] off topic

January 22, 2005 4:52:11 PM CST

s.west

 

Hi,

I forwarded the vegetarian quotes to many people I know, not just the

CHEF group. It never occurred to me that the integrity of the authors

of the quotes would come into question by anyone.

I am sorry if I have upset you. I have included a couple of links to

some Christian Vegetarian websites that may communicate the vegetarian

standpoint to someone as deeply Christian as yourself.

 

http://www.johndear.org/

 

http://www.jesusveg.com/

 

Peace,

Teresa

 

On Jan 21, 2005, at 2:02 PM, September West wrote:

 

> Hi Teresa,

>

> I carefully read over all the Vegetarianism Quotes that you shared with

> us and would like to share some thoughts with you. (This is a private

> reply to you and not to the entire group.) I also agree that hunting

> animals for sport is wrong and I respect your decision to refrain from

> eating meat, but I do question your reasoning for this decision. I

> noticed that all of your quotes were from well-known people, but only

> one was from the Bible. The passage in question, Ecclesiates 3:18-19,

> is actually Solomon's record of the reasoning of a man living without

> God, in contrast to the later chapters of this book, which reflect

> Christian reasoning. It is also interesting to note that among those

> quoted in the vegetarian statements, there were several Buddhists and

> evolutionists, a lesbian, and an atheist anthropologist who was

> instrumental in the founding of Planned Parenthood. What concerns me

> most is that although none of these people have a Biblical worldview,

> you agree with their statements. A couple of years ago, I was

> challenged to be sure that my thinking was in line with the Word of

> God.

> As I dug into the Bible, I found that in many areas, I was not thinking

> like a Christian, but had accepted the teachings of secular society.

> As

> homeschool moms, it is especially important that we are imparting truth

> to our children, and not merely the opinions of men. Since we will

> give

> an account for every idle word that we speak (Matt. 12:6), and Jesus

> has

> a special love for children (Mark 10:14), we need to take special care

> that what we say agrees with his Word (Matt. 18:6).

>

> There were three recurring themes throughout the Vegetarianism Quotes:

> evolution as an accepted fact, animals being equal to man, and the

> eating of meat being immoral. I would like to compare these ideas with

> Scripture and see if they meet the test of truth. I pray that you will

> have an open mind and heart to this discussion, as I have spent several

> hours praying about and preparing this letter, and my desire is to

> speak

> with love.

>

> How do the teachings of evolution compare to the Word of God? To

> begin,

> evolution negates the clear teaching of the creation account in

> Genesis.

> Instead, it tells us that if God was at all involved in the

> evolutionary

> process, he is imperfect because he could not create correctly the

> first

> time. If God is imperfect, however, how can he be God? Evolution also

> teaches that there were millions of years of death and suffering in the

> world before Adam came upon the scene. Romans 5:12 tells us, however,

> that death is the result of Adam's sin. If death is just a natural

> circumstance according to evolution, then it is not the effect of sin,

> and therefore we do not need a Saviour to deliver us from sin.

> Evolution, therefore, is diametrically opposed to the Gospel. Although

> this is the most important reason why evolution is an unbiblical idea,

> there are many others, all of which can creep into our teaching on

> other

> subjects. An excellent resource for more information on this topic is

> www.answersingenesis.org. I also have some wonderful videos that I

> could give you regarding creation and evolution from Dr. Kent Hovind,

> who will be speaking at the St. Louis Science Center next month.

>

> Let's look at the second recurring theme, animals being equal to man.

> God gave life to both animals and man, however only man was made in

> God'

> s image (Gen. 1:24-28). In this same passage, man was also given

> dominion over all of the animals. Genesis 2:7 also tells us that God

> gave man a soul, but this is never said of animals. Jesus taught that

> man was superior to the animals in Luke 12:6-7 when he said, " Are not

> five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten

> before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

> Fear

> not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. " This same

> message is repeated by our Lord in Matthew 6:26, " Behold the fowls of

> the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;

> yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than

> they? " God required capital punishment for the murder of humans is

> Genesis 9:3, but no such commandment is required for the slaying of

> animals. This command is also present in the New Testament, Romans

> 13:4.

>

> If animals and man are distinct creations, then, is it immoral for man

> to kill and eat animals? Although not for the purpose of providing

> food, God himself killed the first animal when he provided " coats of

> skins " as a covering for Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:21). God also apparently

> commanded Adam and his family to continue sacrifices as a picture of

> the

> forthcoming Messiah since we are told of Abel presenting " the firstling

> of his flock and of the fat thereof " to the Lord, who " had respect unto

> Abel and his offering " , but not unto Cain's offering of the " fruit of

> the ground (Gen. 4:4) " While at this time man was under instruction

> to

> eat only plants and seeds (Gen. 1:29), God removed this restriction

> after the flood when he told Noah, " Every moving thing that liveth

> shall

> be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

> (Gen. 9:3) "

>

> God established the system of sacrifices in the Old Testament, and the

> animals which were slain were then used to provide skins for the

> covering of the tabernacle and food for the tabernacle and temple

> priests (Lev. 10:12-13). At the dedication of the temple, King Solomon

> sacrificed " twenty and two thousand oxen and an hundred and twenty

> thousand sheep " and God blessed the nation of Israel for this act of

> worship (II Chron. 7:5-10). Although some animals, i.e. pork,

> shellfish, etc., were prohibited to be eaten by God's people in the Old

> Testament (Lev. 11), he removed this restriction in Acts 10:10-13.

> Nearly all of the great heroes of the faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 are

> spoken of as having eaten meat. In one of the most compelling cases,

> Abraham killed a calf from his herd and had it prepared for the Lord

> and

> two of his angels to eat when they appeared unto him (Gen. 18:8). In

> the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ condoned the killing of

> animals

> for food and ate meat several times. These incidents include

> instructing Peter to catch a large multitude of fish (Luke 5), eating

> fish at the feeding of the 5,000 (Matt. 14:19), the feeding of the

> 4,000

> (Matt. 15:36), and twice with the disciples in his resurrected body

> (Luke 24:42-43 and John 21:5-14). Jesus also kept the Passover in

> Matthew 24:19, commanding his disciples to prepare for the meal by

> killing a spotless lamb. Was it cruel and immoral for Jesus to condone

> the killing of fish and lamb for food? If He is the Son of God, the

> Word clothed in human flesh " who did no sin " (1 Pet. 2:22), then this

> cannot be.

>

> Romans 14:2-3 teaches that as Christians we are at liberty to either

> eat

> or not eat meat. Even though eating meat was looked down upon by some

> New Testament Christians because the meat had been offered to idols

> before being sold in the marketplace, Paul clearly states that while

> those who do not eat meat have that freedom, they are not to judge

> those

> who do. God received them both. " But meat commendeth us not to God:

> for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are

> we the worse. (1 Cor. 8:8) " By contrast, religious leaders who

> command

> others to abstain from meats are called " seducing spirits " speaking

> " doctrines of devils... For every creature of God is good, and nothing

> to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is

> sanctified

> by the word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:1-5). " Therefore, if we choose

> to abstain from any activity which is not judged sinful by God's Word,

> (including eating meat), it should be because of reasoning that agrees

> with the Bible (staying in good health, being good stewards of our

> money, etc.) not by the unbiblical opinions of men. " Beware lest any

> man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition

> of

> men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. "

> Colossians 2:8. This has been my purpose in writing to you-not to

> dissuade you from being a vegetarian or to start a debate, but to

> lovingly challenge you, as I have been, to see everything through the

> light of God's holy, infallible Word. If you have any questions, or

> would like the videotapes I spoke about earlier, please don't hesitate

> to contact me.

>

> In Christ's love,

> September West

>