Tuesday, July 07, 2015

If God didn’t want us to eat animals, he wouldn’t have made them taste so good?

If you believe in God then surely you also believe that God is compassionate, and if he intended for us to eat animals he would have had enough compassion and foresight not to have given animals the ability to feel pain and fear. And clearly they feel both.

Whatever your religion or belief system, I think the old ‘thou shalt not kill’ is pretty self-explanatory and shouldn’t come with a get out clause of ‘except if something’s tasty’.

Incidentally, animals do taste good. Then again, probably so do people if cooked with a bit of seasoning and maybe a bit of BBQ sauce. Doesn’t mean I’m going to start chowing down on human tenderloin.

If you are a follower of Judaism, Christianity or Islam, look no further than the Garden of Eden. It was a vegan haven, and Adam and Eve were the first vegans on this planet. Genesis 1:29, God's first dietary law, states, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food." Isaiah 11:7, God's last dietary law, states, "The wolf will live with the lamb, the cow will feed with the bear, the lion will eat straw like the ox, and a little child will lead them. And neither will harm nor destroy on My Holy Mountain." The beginning and the end are vegan because veganism causes no bloodshed and cruelty. Many other scriptures like Hosea 2:18 and Ecclesiastes 3:19 also profess God's love for animals.

Since animal products cause almost all of our diseases, and the human body is 100 percent herbivorous, rationalizing God's approval of this deadly fare doesn't make sense. It's awfully convenient that most people believe God, Jesus and Mohammad embrace the misery, murder and consumption of animals. Yet, those same people also believe God, Jesus and Mohammad are all-compassionate, all-loving and all-merciful, not bloodthirsty, murderous devils. These scenarios contradict each other, so it can't be both ways. Causing misery to animals and supporting their murder is causing misery to God, Jesus and Mohammad and murdering Their souls.

The THOU SHALT NOT KILL commandment should make everyone vegan anyway. Since each vegan spares the lives thousands of animals every year, honoring this commandment can only bring one closer to God.

In the Gospel of the Nazirenes, viewed as inauthentic by the Church, Jesus proclaims, "Wherefore those who want to be my disciples, keep your hands from bloodshed and let no flesh meat enter your mouths for the Lord is just and bountiful who ordains that man shall live by the fruits and the seeds of the earth alone." He also states, "Verily I say unto you, for this end I have come into the world; that I may put away all blood offerings and the eating of the flesh of the beasts and the birds that are slain by men. In the beginning the Creator gave to all the fruits of the trees and the seeds of the earth and the herbs for food. But those who loved themselves more than the Lord or their fellows, corrupted their ways and brought diseases into their bodies and filled the earth with lust and violence."

Of the 114 chapters in the Qur'an, 113 begin with the phrase "In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful." All Muslims accept that showing compassion and charity is a service to Allah. Yet, to kill animals and eat their flesh is anything but compassionate and charitable. The Holy Prophet Muhammad states, "Allah will not be affectionate to a man who is not affectionate to Allah's creatures. Whoever is kind to the creatures of Allah is kind to himself. A good deed done to an animal is as good as doing good to a human being while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being."

Animals are the most innocent beings on this planet and need the most protection. When we exclude animals from God's circle of compassion, we exclude God from our lives. God demands mercy, compassion and meekness. After all, the meek shall inherit the earth, and the meek are the animals and those who walk humbly with them.

For more detailed information about religion and veganism, check out the book Food for the Gods by Rynn Berry.