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==Biblical Issues==

==Biblical Issues==

In Daniel 1:4-15, Daniel and his companions declined to eat Babylonian royal food and instead requested fresh water and vegetables. At the end of ten days, they were healthier than those who ate the rich food.  This seems to imply that a vegetarian diet is perfectly acceptable, and certainly preferable to an unbalanced diet of rich food.

Nearly all of the Bible operates on the premise that meat is a normal part of the human diet. Beginning with Genesis 1:26, God gives dominion of the animals to man, where specific reference is made to cattle (in the King James Version) or livestock (in the English Standard Version and others). Genesis 1:29 indicates that the human diet was originally limited to plants, but sin entered the world as part of a vegetarian diet.

However, Genesis 1:26 clearly states that God gave dominion over the animals to man, furthermore after the worldwide flood God says to Noah that every moving thing shall be food to him (Genesis 9: 3). Jesus eats lamb (Luke 22: 7-8), eats fish (Luke 24:41-43), serves fish during the miracle of the loaves and fish (Matthew 15:34-37) and encourages the consumption of fish (John 21: 5-6). A fair reading of the bible doesn't unearth any commandment against vegetarianism, neither is it endorsed, though the current ideological climate of vegetarians is usually hostile to Christ.

By Genesis 4, animal sacrifices are offered to God, indicating the value of meat to humans. This is reinforced in Genesis 7:3, where Noah was commanded to bring ritually clean animals aboard the Ark. Verses such as Exodus 16:3, Numbers 11:4, Deuteronomy 12:15 and 12:20-21 indicate that a meat-based diet was a blessing. Psalm 78:27 and 105:40 recall God's divine provision of meat during the Exodus, along with bread from heaven in abundance.

 

From this perspective, a meat-based diet was considered preferable to vegetarianism; meat was only considered sinful if it were of a ritually unclean animal. With this in mind, Daniel 1:4-15 tells the story of Daniel and his companions who declined to eat Babylonian royal food, and instead requested fresh water and vegetables. At the end of ten days, they were healthier than those who ate the royal food. The narrative indicates that eating the royal food (which likely included unclean meat) would have been defiling.

 

In the New Testament, Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19). His diet was not a vegetarian one, but consisted of lamb (Luke 22:7-8) and fish (Luke 24:41-43). His provision of fish to others (Matthew 15:34-37, John 21:5-6) was miraculous.

 

In echoing Daniel, Acts 15:29 condemns the consumption of food sacrificed to idols and meat that has been strangled. In Romans 14:2, the Apostle Paul stated that a weak person eats only vegetables. Nonetheless, the ensuings verses caution against personal judgement towards abstinence from meat.

 

When diet is associated with positive things in the Bible, meats are often included. When negative sentiments are expressed, links are usually made with unclean meat or a vegetarian diet. Although there are some vegetarians who obey the Bible, the current ideological climate of vegetarians is usually hostile to Christ. In addition, the ideological justification places little or no reliance on Biblical revelation.

==Famous Vegetarians==

==Famous Vegetarians==