VEGETARIANISM PART TWO
VEGETARIANISM PART TWOMarch 17, 11:55 am
Happy St. Patrick's Day... are you wearing green?
Many times people use verses either out of context, or they do not understand the differences between allegory, metaphor, or literal interpretation. Have you ever heard Acts chapter 10:9-15 used by some who believe this is speaking about meat and people eating food? Let me state emphatically, before explaining it that these verses have absolutely nothing to do with food or eating whatsoever!!!
Acts 10:9-20: “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius a centurion of the band called the Italian band. A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.” (This is the back story leading up to Peter's vision.)
Now verse nine: “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance. And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate. And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed. Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit, said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.”
Keep in mind the following facts. Peter was hungry... he goes up to the rooftop of his house to pray: as he prays he falls into a trance; in this trance he sees a vision of all-manner of clean and unclean beasts on a sheet, and this sheet is lowered and raised from heaven... three times! God is showing Peter that He has cleansed... what things... animals... or people? Well, let's see how Peter understood the vision, especially since he is the one who had it.
Remember, after he had the vision, even he didn't understand it at first... “Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate.” Now, though, with a knock at the door, God explains Himself and Peter has clarity. Three men stood at the door. That is why the sheet was lowered and raised three times, God was showing Peter that the three men, who before would have been considered as swine to Peter, and all devout Jews, were now “clean.”
Of course if you read the rest of the chapter you will see this truth brought to completion as Peter went with them to their city and house and preached Jesus Christ to the heathens and through believing faith in Jesus, they too were saved and cleansed.
Believe me, these verses have no more to do with eating meat than Christian's being the light of the world has to do with their ability to replace a reading lamp in a darkened room. Now, if instead of a knock, Peter had heard scratching at the door and upon opening it there stood a pig, a goat, and a chicken... then yes, Peter could have run and gotten his fork and bib... because a “whole lot of eatin' was about to happen.”
In part three I am going to explain a lot of verses similar to this one and show that they are not at all what people suppose they are upon just reading them alone, we need to compare verses with verses for proper understanding. As Christians, we are to properly discern Scripture. II Timothy 2:15: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
In addition, The Bible needs to be read as Isaiah 28:10 teaches. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept: line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little...” The next post I will state the rest of those known in both Testaments as vegan or vegetarian, even though they did have permission to eat certain animals and in a certain manner. Now, though, I would like to offer some facts as “proof” as to what is healthier to eat... meat or vegetables?
God originally intended man to be vegetarian, with plants, and fruits (Gen.1:29)... and mankind lived extraordinarily long lives, in fact, 912 years on average, and that for a period of 1,700 years. Only after the drastic changes of a global flood and the addition of a meat-eating diet did man's life-span diminish (Gen.9:3). Even today, as it was before the Great Flood, the healthiest and longest living people on Earth are also vegetarians.
Example: even though these people live in harsh environments, because they eat little to no meat, they live extraordinarily long lives: the Russian Caucasians, the Yucatan Indians, the East Indian Todas, and the Pakistan Hunzakuts live to be 90 to 100 years old. (That is 20 years longer than the average American.)
The three cultures that live the longest in the world are the Vilcambas (Andes of Ecuador), the Abkhasians (Black Sea), and the Hunzas (Himalayas of Northern Pakistan). All three of these cultures are completely vegetarian or very close to it. The largest group, the Hunzas, only consume an average of 1.5% of total calories from animal products. The elderly in these cultures not only live to be over 100 years old, but live vital, healthy lives until their death. (Robbins, John. Diet for a New America. Walpole, New Hampshire: Stillpoint Publishing, 1987. 154-155.)
Today, America ranks 38th in the world for life expectancy, despite the fact of our health care system and a hospital on every corner: we also lead the world in cancers and heart disease! (There are only two other countries in the world who eat more meat (per person) than we do: that is New Zealand and Denmark.) Per person, Americans eat an astounding 275 pounds of meat per year! Are you beginning to see a correlation between nations and peoples who eat little to no meat and having longer lives? Another prominent example is the Japanese people: their average life expectancy is several years longer than Americans, and their diet is mostly meat-free.
Not only do you live longer lives with less meat consumption, your body is healthier and stronger. Many laboratory tests have been conducted in order to compare the strength and stamina of meat-eaters and their vegetarian counterparts. Yale Professor Irving Fisher selected men from three groups: meat-eating athletes, vegetarian athletes, and vegetarian sedentary subjects. He found that the meat-eating athletes showed far less endurance than even the sedentary vegetarians.
Dr. J. Ioteyko of Paris performed a comparable study and found that vegetarians averaged two to three times more stamina than meat eaters. Also, he found that vegetarians only took one-fifth of the time to recover from exhaustion than did their meat-eating counterparts. A Danish study in 1968 revealed that men peddling on a stationary bicycle until muscle failure lasted an average of 114 minutes on a mixed meat and vegetable diet, 57 minutes on a high-meat diet, and a whopping 167 minutes on a strict vegetarian diet. (Robbins, John. Diet for a New America. Walpole, New Hampshire: Stillpoint Publishing, 1987. 156-158.)
These facts also hold true in the animal world: on land, sea, and air, the longest lived, largest, most intelligent, and strongest animals are also strict vegetarians. Pound-for-pound the strongest animal in the world is the rhinoceros beetle: he can lift approximately 850 times his body weight, he is vegetarian. The land animal with the most brute strength, in that he can lift more weight from the ground than any living animal is the African bull elephant, of course, a strict vegetarian. The tallest animal in the world is the giraffe, another vegetarian. The Silver Back Gorilla has the strength of several men, and he is a strict vegan in his diet.
Scientists have done many tests with the Silver Back Gorilla and they believe they have found why he has such strength... it's because of his strict vegan diet. It has to do with the way that food is processed in an animal's body. Simply stated: plant protein is more efficiently used to build muscle than animal protein.
The longest lived animal on land is the giant tortoise, he is vegetarian: in the sea it is the tube worm, also a vegetarian that lives more than 250 years. And in the air there are many birds like the Sulfur Crested Cockatoo that lives more than 80 years and several types of parrots that live well over 100 years: all of these creatures eat plant based food and all of them outlive (by many years) their counterparts who are meat eaters.
Of the top ten animals measured with high intelligence seven of them are either complete vegetarian... or more than 80 percent of their diet is plant based. And in that same list of the ten most intelligent animals are two of the strongest animals on Earth... the elephant and the gorilla.
(This is just a side note.) Would you like to know what animal comes in at number ten on the list of the top ten animals that are highly intelligent? I'll give you a hint... he is like most Americans, he will eat whatever is slopped onto his plate. The pig comes in at number ten.
I can also prove to you that human beings never did adapt to eating meat like certain animals were forced to do. After the Great Flood God placed the dread and fear of man upon an animal's heart. For God was now going to allow man to kill and consume animals. Because of that, many animals who used to depend upon man to grow their food and care for them had to now learn to find their own food... and because of that they learned to be carnivore's, and good at hunting. However, man never did develop this trait, and I will prove to you that eating meat is a “learned” and not an “innate” trait for human beings.
For our example I want you to imagine two animals that are hungry. The one animal is human and the other animal is a lion. A large animal has died and its corpse is beginning to rot, The smell is putrid as it lies in the field: the hungry human and the hungry lion both catch the same scent. What do you suppose happens next? The hungry human who is not carnivorous by nature will begin to retch and immediately lose his appetite. The lion, at the same foul smell and because he has adapted to a carnivorous lifestyle, will begin to salivate in anticipation of his upcoming meal.
Out of all of the reading I have done and I have read extensively on this subject, Douglas Dunn gives the single best metaphor to further prove that meat-eating is a learned trait for humans and not innate. “Give a young child an apple and a live chicken. Instinctively, the child will eat the apple and play with the chicken. Now, do the same with a cat. Instinctively the cat will play with the apple and eat the chicken.” No human child is born desiring meat!
Because statistics all show the same thing, eating meat is deleterious to your health, the question must be asked: as a born-again Christian (though you have the right to do so) should you be eating meat? Everyone ought to be aware that there are two wills that God has: there is His divine will and His permissive will.
Scriptures teach us for a fact that He “divinely” made man to be vegetarian, then after man's fall, God “permissively” allowed him to kill and consume flesh. Here is another example of the difference between God's divine and permissive will for mankind: God permissively allows men and women to divorce: yet, His divine plan is that no one should divorce.
In the matter of food choices you have to ask yourself if you want to try and follow His divine will for your life and do what is best for your overall health, or do you want to live in His permissive will and constantly take things into your body which causes great harm and shortens your life expectancy?
In the West, prostate cancer is the second largest killer of men after lung cancer. An international study conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School showed that men who eat the most meat and dairy products run the greatest risk of dying from the disease. Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1998), the report confirmed that men who eat plenty of grains and nuts are the least likely to die from prostate cancer.
The study was based on a survey of cancer deaths in 59 countries. It corroborated the results of earlier investigations into the role of a meat-based diet in cardiovascular disease and cancer. A higher intake of cereals, nuts and oil seeds, on the other hand, has a protective effect. Thus the plant-based diets found in many less-advanced societies are the healthiest - as long as people get enough to eat. The report further stated: "For prostate cancer and cancers of other sites that are sensitive to serum (blood) hormone levels, animal fat may influence the risk for cancer by raising adult's sex hormone levels.”
The third-biggest cancer killer in the United States is colon cancer - another thoroughly nasty disease. Colon cancer, too, has been strongly linked with a diet high in animal fat and low in fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products.
With what I write next I know that I run the risk of losing some who regularly read my blog, but that's okay, as long as what I present I have clear Bible teaching. At one time I had a counter on my website that allowed me to see, not only the number of readers but their location: now though I can only tell who is reading my blog by those who email me, and of course a hard number is still recorded.
I wrote that part to let you know that I have (at least) four preachers who regularly read my blogs. I know that because I receive emails from them. Other than people writing I have no sure way of knowing who might be reading. I suppose it is possible with what I am now going to write, I will alienate some, perhaps even the four (known) preachers I alluded earlier? Let me set this up the best way I know how, then I'll begin.
I want to ask all of you who believe the Bible a question... (especially the God-called preachers and Bible teachers.) How do we know what doctrines were set-forth in the Old Testament are binding to us in the New Testament? That's my question. Now, isn't this the answer? If an Old Testament doctrine is brought forth into the New Testament, then we know that it is for our church age, that is for all of us New Testament believers. Isn't that correct? I mean, that is why we do not honor the Sabbath Day... correct... it has not been brought forth into the New Testament teachings of our church age.
Every preacher or teacher has probably wrestled with exactly how much do we say about a topic, at least in public I mean, even if something is true, do we hold back... or just tell everyone and let the Lord sort it out. I suppose that I err on the side of caution... and hold back some. Even though I got after Dr. Hutson for doing the same thing, and in principle I still disagree with him... though I understand why he did it.
Have you ever heard the expression... “taking candy from a baby?” What follows is my feeble attempt to try and do that: except, it is not candy I am referring and babies are not my target audience.
Many troubling things had been going on in the New Testament church, and it was causing discord between the Jewish believers and the new (heathen) Gentile converts. The early Christian leaders gathered to pray and ask God's guidance on certain matters. We'll pick the story up with the verdict;
Acts 15:19-31: “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: (20) But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. (21) For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. (22) Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: (23) And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: (24) Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: (25) It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, (26) Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (27) We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. (28) For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; (29) That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. (30) So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: (3) Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.” Please read again... verses 27-29...
“We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. (28) For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; (29) That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.”
Do not miss this important truth. The men gathered here were the whose who of early church leaders... and they, along with guidance from the Holy Ghost gave forth their commandment about what was to be laid upon the followers of Christ in this New Testament age. Remember also, the things they were laying out were... necessary things! Paul, Barnabas, and Silas... chief men among the brethren, first wrote, then by mouth delivered this epistle to the new converts.
Of course, those verses forbidding the eating of meat mingled with an animal's blood, is taken directly from Genesis 9:4. In verse three, and for the very first time, God gives mankind permission to kill and eat flesh... but, there are still prohibitions to eating animal flesh. Genesis 9:3-4: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (4) But the flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”
That's what the apostles were bringing forth into the New Testament in verses 19-20 from Acts 15. So, unless you, as a New Testament Christian, are eating only kosher meats, then you are eating your meat mingled with blood! And of course... that was expressly forbidden by God... and now, after this meeting of God's chosen leaders, it is forbidden in the New Testament as well.
I would encourage everyone who names the name of Christ to consider what the Bible, not me, has to say about what you consume. (For this next part I am copying passages that tell EXACTLY how meat must be prepared in order to be free of blood, that is if you are going to consume it God's way.)
Sadly, many modern Jews do not accept Christ as Saviour, because of that they are still in their sins. But, one thing they do understand is God's dietary laws. What follows is how they prepare their meat before eating. They do not want to eat meat mingled with blood.
One of the main biblical food laws is the forbidding of eating blood on account of the life [being] in the blood; this ban and reason are listed in Genesis 9:4, the Noahide laws, and twice in Leviticus 13, 14, as well as Deuteronomy 15. The Priestly Code also prohibits the eating of certain types of fat (chelev), if it came from sacrificial land animals (cattle, sheep, and goats), since the fat is the portion of the meat exclusively allocated to YHWH (by burning it on the altar).
To comply with this prohibition, a number of preparation techniques became practiced within traditional Judaism. The main technique, known as melihah, involves the meat being soaked in water for about half an hour, which opens pores: after this, the meat is placed on a slanted board or in a wicker basket, and is thickly covered with salt on each side, and left for between twenty minutes and one hour. The salt covering draws blood from the meat by osmosis, and so the salt must be subsequently removed from the meat (usually by trying to shake most of it off, and then washing the meat twice in order to complete the extraction of the blood.
Melihah is not sufficient to extract blood from the liver, lungs, heart, and certain other internal organs, since they naturally contain a high density of blood, and therefore these organs are usually removed before the rest of the meat is salted; roasting on the other hand will usually cause blood to be discharged, and it is therefore the usual treatment given to these organs (if they are to be eaten at all) and it is also an alternative cooking method for the rest of the meat.
So, will you at the least admit that every time you eat bologna, hot dogs, potted meat, steak, chicken, turkey, etc. etc. etc. and you have the meat mingled with the blood... that, according to the Bible... a Book we all profess to believe... you are sinning and breaking clear teaching from both Testaments of the Bible.
Now, let me try and explain something about personal responsibility as it relates to Christianity, especially if you are being obedient to God and are an active soul-winner. I will begin these thoughts with a question: “Are we our brother's keeper?”
Several years ago I was attending a Pastor's School in Hammond and it was a service where Curtis Hutson was preaching. I always enjoyed hearing him preach as he was a talented and entertaining speaker. If you ever attended a school you would know that the church provided a box-lunch for all of the visitors. It was a good lunch, yet rather plain.
Curtis Hutson decided to use this fact in some of his opening remarks. He began by telling how that he and Jack Hyles had enjoyed an excellent lunch in a fancy restaurant that he often eats at. Naturally, those listening are supposed to be imagining what this place was like and the fare they had compared to what was provided for the preachers at the meeting. After going on for awhile about how nice the place was and how good the food was, he said, “As a matter of fact, I eat there so often that I now have arches growing between my shoulder blades.” It was funny, and everyone laughed.
I bet I know, for a fact, when that joke was no longer funny, Dr. Hutson was 58 years old when his doctor said that he was dying from cancer. And this particular cancer... prostate, is brought on by too much meat consumption. It is one of the long list of cancers that are almost unheard of among practicing vegans! Now, let me explain what I meant by, “Are we our brother's keeper?”
I heard Dr. Hutson preach in person many times, quite by chance I met him in a back hallway at a church in Tennessee; we spoke briefly. After that time we corresponded several times. Though we had a disagreement about two different topics in the Bible, his letters were always gracious and I greatly respected his preaching and thought him to be a true man of God.
Having said many nice things about Dr. Hutson, let me add something else. Are we responsible to see the lost preached to and hopefully led to the Lord? Are we our brother's keeper? If both of the above are answered in the affirmative, let me give you a very important reason to become vegan: I will try and prove my next point by using the record of Curtis Hutson as a well-known soul-winner.
Curtis Hutson died from prostate cancer at 60 years of age... let's see what probably would have happened if he had lived his full three-score-and-ten. Some of his soul-winning methods were legendary... example: calling up men in his church at 2:00 in the morning and going soul-winning. He would buy a full can of gasoline and then just cruise the interstate system around Atlanta and find cars broken down and out of gas. He would gas them up for free and while he was doing this he would preach to them: he led many to the Lord in this manner! Let's put some numbers to my hypothesis.
I taught school for several years and I learned something important during that time. If I only gave an answer, it might, or might not be retained. But, if I only aided someone in getting their own answer, it became a part of them and they owned whatever teaching I was trying to get across. Beginning with my next blog, part three, I will start with the answer I am looking for... and the possible ramifications from Christian's who die before their time.
Therefore, I would like to have some involvement from those who read this blog: so, I am going to start, but not finish my math problem. I will do this like I did my very first blog many years ago... I will give a prize to whoever emails me first... with the correct answer. My prize will be dinner for two in a restaurant that will serve a meat-free meal. I would like to do that to show you that there really are very tasty and healthful meals that does not include meat.
However, if you would not be willing to at least try a vegan or vegetarian meal, I will still award the winner a dinner for two at a restaurant that serves small dead animals. (lol) I remember Lester phrasing it like this: “Why do people think they haven't eaten a meal unless there is a small dead animal in the middle of their table?”
Beginning with year three, my mathematics problem starts to get a little tricky. I could not find a formula I could write to make it easier for me to do. So, I did it the old-fashioned way... pen and paper. Some of you who are more capable in mathematics... might know an easier way? I will begin part three of my blog with the name of the winner of the meal... and the restaurant they chose.
Let's say that Dr. Hutson personally (apart from public preaching) led only one soul per week to the Lord. I'm quite certain if you ask him in Heaven one day that is probably a low number. If you are traveling a lot, and you speak to most everyone you come into contact with, one convert a week would be a low number. But, for my example we will stick to that number. Now, let's say only 20% of those he led to Jesus ever becomes soul-winners themselves, Now, each successive year there are ten more soul winners out there... (that is approximately 20% of 52) which are new, as well as the ten soul-winners being carried over from the previous year.
Now, let's further say they are either not as good or as bold as he was, or perhaps they just don't have the same opportunities... regardless, they only average a new convert every 30 days, or 12 per year. So, with two extra years of life for Dr. Hutson, at the very least, would have helped to usher into the Kingdom of God... how many souls ??? (For my math problem I am counting only the 52 converts won by him alone in the first year. For year two and following, please apply everything that follows.)
Here is the key to figuring this out, and where I messed up the first three times I did it. Do not forget that only Dr. Hutson's numbers remain constant... 52 yearly or 520 in total, but, every successive year, and for all others... the numbers increase.
Remember Hutson winning 52 yearly means that his number is set: 520 for ten years. Every year though, of the 52 saved: 20%, or ten people... every year win twelve also. Of the twelve converts who are won by someone other than Dr. Hutson, only 20%, or (approximately) two of them win souls. The only way I found that I could figure this out was year-by-year. Although, others out there who are better than I am at mathematics probably can figure out a formula to make it easier. LET THE MATH BEGIN!
Part three of my blog, I will begin with Daniel.
You can always email me at clarkmatthews1@aol.com
posted by Robin Johnson @ 11:56 AM
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