And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. ' And it was so. In these verses, God institutes a plant-based diet for both humans and non-human animals alike.
Many biblical scholars believe that Jesus was a vegetarian. Jesus' message is one of love and compassion, and there is nothing loving or compassionate about factory farms and slaughterhouses, where billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths.
Jesus essentially ate a Mediterranean diet rich in whole grains, fish, fruit and vegetables and with modest amounts of olive oil, meat and wine, Colbert says.
There is no direct statement on the subject by Jesus in the New Testament. The story of Jesus feeding fish to people would support the view that Jesus may have been a pescatarian. Paul seems to have been more open to meat eating, but even Paul was open to vegetarianism.
And it was so. In this passage, God prescribes a plant-based diet not just for humans, but for all land-based non-human animals. Christian vegetarians and vegans point out that it was this creation—where all creatures ate plants—that God then declared "very good" in verse 31.
Prohibited foods that may not be consumed in any form include all animals—and the products of animals—that do not chew the cud and do not have cloven hoofs (e.g., pigs and horses); fish without fins and scales; the blood of any animal; shellfish (e.g., clams, oysters, shrimp, crabs) and all other living creatures that ...
“He really likes fish. In fact, He cooked fish for us disciples at the shore of Galilee soon after His resurrection.” “That's right,” said James and John the Sons of Thunder, “We were there and ate fish with Him for breakfast.” Abraham replied, “Well, maybe fish is okay for breakfast but we are thinking about supper.”
Chief crops were wheat, barley, olives, grapes; legumes such as lentils, fava beans, chickpeas; and vegetables such as onions, leeks, and garlic. Life was also made sweeter with fruits such as olives, grapes, date palms, apples, watermelon, pomegranates, figs, and sycamores (a low-quality fig eaten mainly by the poor).
Today, Lent is connected with the 40-day fast that Jesus undergoes (Mark 1:13; Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13). Mark tells us that Jesus was tempted by Satan, but it is in Matthew and Luke that the details of the temptation are fleshed out. All three accounts say that Jesus went without food for the 40 days.
Jainism. Jainism is a nontheistic religion based in India that embodies the ahimsa principles of non-violence, so some strict Jains follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Should Christians be vegan? Christians do not have to be vegan. They can be vegan if they are convicted about eating animal products. Other Christians go vegan for health reasons.
According to two passages in the Bible, Daniel fasted twice. During the first fast, he ate only vegetables and water to set himself apart for God. For a second fast mentioned in a later chapter, Daniel stopped eating meat, wine and other rich foods.
Veganism and vegetarianism are important aspects of spirituality and the return of the soul to its own realm. One of the spiritual benefits of being a vegetarian is that it improves meditation. A vegetarian diet aids our growth in meditation if we seek to perceive ourselves as souls.
In a poll of several hundred experts, angel food cake was voted the preferred cuisine of heaven. Angel hair pasta came in second.
Biblical references to eggs are only in reference to gathering them from the wild (for example, Deuteronomy 22:6–7 and Isaiah 10:14). Eggs seem to have increased in use for food only with the introduction of chickens as food and were commonly used as food by Roman times.
A bean stew, lamb, olives, bitter herbs, a fish sauce, unleavened bread, dates and aromatized wine likely were on the menu at the Last Supper, says recent research into Palestinian cuisine during Jesus's time.
Milk for Strength
In Christ, God offers to gratify the appetite for such growth and goodness. “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation — if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2–3).
The seven species listed are wheat, barley, grape, fig, pomegranates, olive (oil), and date (date honey) (Deuteronomy 8:8). Their first fruits were the only acceptable offerings in the Temple.
Meals were simple but wholesome. Bread, usually barley bread, was a feature of every meal, and women made it as often as needed.
Prohibition in Jewish law
According to Leviticus 11:3, animals like cows, sheep, and deer that have divided hooves and chew their cud may be consumed. Pigs should not be eaten because they don't chew their cud. The ban on the consumption of pork is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:8.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" but God did say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.
A sin-eater is a person who consumes a ritual meal in order to spiritually take on the sins of a deceased person. The food was believed to absorb the sins of a recently dead person, thus absolving the soul of the person.
Why might Christians consider going vegan? There are four reasons that overlap with the reasons anyone else might give: concern for the environment, concern for animals, concern for human welfare, and the desire to adopt a more healthy diet.
Most Christians in the Western Hemisphere eat meat. Though a small vegetarian/vegan minority exists, for the most part Christianity in North and South America is a meat-eating religion.