Monday, December 15, 2003
Vegetarianism as an eschatological act?
The eschatological significance of what we eat is something that I have been thinking about for quite some time. The dietary laws as they develop from Adam to Noah, to Leviticus, to Acts 10, etc. are far more important than we usually think. Eating says something about where we stand in relationship to the creation. The question of how our eating habits such reflect this has given me much food for thought (sorry!).
This carnivore is not totally convinced by an argument for strict vegetarianism. Jesus ate fish (or at the very least He prepared it) with His disciples after the resurrection. The idea that meat-eating must be justified by a theory of exceptions for Christians (like war) is an interesting concept, but I am not sure that I find it wholly persuasive. However, this is one area in which I have much more thinking to do. What role (if any) do animals play in the new creation? As people of the new creation how do we embody this in our praxis?
