The question is, "Why would a Christian be a vegetarian?" Genesis 2:9 suggests that man was only to be a vegetarian, this was because the animals had souls. After the fall, however, it was permissible to eat animals, and strict vegetarianism was no longer necessary. In fact, God shunned the offering of the fruit of the earth.( Gen.4: 4-5)

Later in Genesis 9, the command. "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it" is referring to animals that are still alive. It does not prohibit meat eating.

I think Christian vegetarianism is more of a personal choice. I don't think it really matters.

God shunned the offering of the fruit of the earth.( Gen.4: 4-5)
Though that really didn't have anything with the content of the offering (remember that in the Mosaic Law He institutes sacrifices of grain, bread, oil, wine, etc.).  The point in that instance was that Abel brought a sacrifice of the firstborn of his flocks, while Cain just brought an unimportant part of his produce.  Abel's sacrifice was made in faith, Cain's with doubt.  If you give away your firstfruits, you have no guarantee that there will be any more.  That's why our tithes are supposed to be the first 10% of our income.

But now I'm getting off-topic. 

Right.
The problem is, some Christians think that vegetarianism is folly.  There are also some Christians who believe Christians are supposed to be vegetarians.
So -- must we?  May we?

ok- the only reason that we eat meat is because of "the fall"- it is a direct result of SIN. why would we want to do something that directly relates to SIN???

rea

Here's a question to think about:  Should vegetarians eat animal crackers?

Summer

Im cool with vegitarians. I dont see whats wrong with um. They are doing a good thing if anything.

(even though vegetarians have shorter lives than people who are omnivores..... -.-)

Found you through the bashing of my church...above. Anyways, besides that lame subject there is great discussion going on here in my opinion. I was a vegetarian for about 4 years. I am not any longer BTW. (but only out of respect for my brethren...I eat meat when it's more convenient...like if someone from church invites me over to eat, etc.) Regarding the comment above... carnivores have not been proven to live longer. I believe data shows the exact opposite of that statement. And as for needing supplements...this one kinda gets to me...the REASON why we need supplements in the first place is because so many people (Americans, in particular) do not eat raw vegetables daily. The nutrients that are put in a supplement are from....you guessed it....raw vegetables. Which have been almost removed from Americans diets. Why do you think we have so much disease? Anyways I think that scripture supports a 'mainly' plant-based diet. Obviously after the fall they ate meat. Personally, I think and definitely could be wrong, that even after the fall meat was eaten for more special occasions than everday events. They ate it at feasts and celebrations, etc. I think we just eat too much meat today, not to mention the quality of the meat we are currently eating. I don't think a Christian should be legalistic about this topic either way.

I could say more, but I'll spare you and stop rambling now. Hopefully I answered the question...but probably not...back to work.  :) 

Firstly, Genesis 9:3-4 says this;

"3Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it."(NIV)

I do believe that God did not want us to eat the meat with 'Life blood' still in it possibly for health reasons because I don't think it's ever been healthy for a person to drink blood or eat raw meat, so that rule must have been added for the sake of not poisoning yourself.

Verse three basically explains everything else. For me, at least.
It was later mentioned which animals weren't clean, but that could also have been because those animals may have been particularly hard to cook or, to eat them, one would have to exercise a lot of extra caution. I sure don't perfectly know the Will of God that well, so take it as you will.

Also, in Matthew 15:10-11 it says
"10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

However, nowadays there are many messy slaughter routines, and they appear to me unorganized sometimes, and I have to not think about how it's killed and what's been injected with, just so I can choke it down(this is the reason my cousin went vegetarian).

But all-in-all I don't think that God made it crystal clear anywhere that we should not eat meat. It's more of a personal decision. And if you're going to decide on whether or not to eat meat because you think it'd tie in well with Christianity, pick whatever you think would keep you healthier for your body, since it is God's temple. Both choices can be extremely healthy and very unhealthy, depending on how you do it.

hey! okay, so anyway. . .i had a friend tell me recently that she thought that i was sinning by not eating meat. . .anyone want to comment on that?

btw- its great to be back, por la cruz- keep up the amazing job!