Those who know me recognize that at my professional core I am an industrial hygienist not a philosopher. Nonetheless this last month has gently nudged to me to the inevitable. What does all this mean? If Jesus were alive today would he practice vegetarianism?

While I could easily spend my time this evening discussing cruelty to animals, rehashing the deaths suffered each year by the 9 billion farm animals and 15 billion aquatic creatures to accommodate me and my fellow countrymen’s carnivorous habits, I prefer not to take that road. But does the Bible provide us any hints as to how we should live our lives?

In the first chapter of Genesis (1:29): “God said ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.” Is this an incomplete thought or a lifestyle directive? I honestly don’t know, but I am struggling with what to do with Luke 12:6. “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?” Jesus later asks. “And yet not one of them is forgotten by God.”

I am at once disturbed and simultaneously reassured by the notion that God has his finger on the pulse of every living creature. If I really need to consume what was once a blinking, breathing animal to maintain my life, I think I could stand at Saint Peter’s Gate and make a case as to the necessity of meat eating. But for me, and many people in this country, it is a choice, not a necessity. The theologian Clement of Alexandria urged Christians to become vegetarians, saying, “It is far better to be happy than to have your bodies act as graveyards for animals.”

Happiness it is.

Tomorrow: The last day of the challenge.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 9:59 pm and is filed under Diary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.