The following are question that were answered by two seperate preachers who wish to be anonymous
What is the Church’s official stance on the origins of God’s views on eating meat?
In Genesis 1:28, God tells Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Later in Deuteronomy 14, Moses restates the law given to him by God as for as dietary laws are concerned. Starting in Deuteronomy 14:4, the law states, “These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud.” Deuteronomy 14 continues to tell of animal, fish and birds that you can eat and cannot eat.
Did Jesus eat meat?
Aside from the many passages in the Bible where Jesus eats fish with his disciples, He also ate lamb at least once a year. You must understand that Jesus was a Jew and a practicing Jew at that. Once a year all Jews celebrated Passover. In the Passover ritual, one of the steps was slaying a pure lamb and then cooking and eating the meet. The Last Supper in the Bible is actually the Passover Supper. Therefore, the night before Jesus was crucified, He ate lamb.
How does he (the pastor), personally view PETA? And is he aware of its ties with domestic terrorist groups?
PETA has done some good things like going into places where some animals are being abused and seeing that the abuse is stopped, but a lot of their actions are extreme. The pastor did not know that PETA was tied to domestic terrorist groups.
PETA claims eating meat is committing murder. It is comparable to killing a human, and that one would go to hell for doing it. What does he (the pastor)think about this?
Killing animals is not committing murder because 1) God has given us animals for our consumption as referenced in Deuteronomy and 2) Animals are not made in God’s image. The fact that murder is a sin is because man was made in God’s image, therefore, killing another man or woman is defacing the image of God.
1.Is it immoral to eat meat?
No. According to the King James Version of the Bible, the following scriptures gives examples of God commanding people to eat meat:
Genesis 9: 2-3
All animals, birds, reptiles, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them under your control, and I have given them to you for food. From now on, you may eat them, as well as the green plants that you have always eaten.
Acts 10: 12
Wherin were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that not call thou common.
2.Was Jesus a vegetarian?
No. Jesus repeatedly told others to eat meat and that it was acceptable to do so. Jesus would not have advised his believers to do something he wouldn't do himself, as in the following scripture:
Luke 8: 52-55
And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. and he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
3.Are there any passages in the bible that shows jesus or anyone else eating meat?
Yes. In the following scripture, Isaaic requested meat:
Genesis 27: 3-4
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison. And make me some savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before i die.
Also, Jesus was speaking(acceptably), in the following scripture in matthew about a wedding feast containing meat:
Matthew 22: 2-4
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready come unto the marriage.
4.Animal rights activists claim eating meat is murder, what is your opinion?
It is not murder because God put these animals on this earth for the purpose of food for humans.
5.Do animals have a soul?
No. In the beginning when God created man, he was created as a lining soul the following scripture tells:
Genesis 2: 7
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
However, animals were not created as a living soul, but as a living creature; as the following scripture shows:
Genesis 2: 19
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and ever fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
6.Do you believe in using animals for experiments?
I believe one should search their own heart for the answer to this question for their individual opinion.
7.Animal rights activists claim that "morals" and the Bible/God have nothing to do with each other, what is your view on this?
Though a man can have morals without beiing a Christian, these will not get him into heaven, according to the Bible. However, a Christian does have Bible-listed morals to live by such as the Ten Commandments givwn to Moses in Exodus 20, and many other places in the Bible where jesus(in the Gospels) also taught amny things of moral nature which were necessary to be a Christian.
Also, the Bible teaches that we are made in God's image...but he gives us a choice whether to live for him or not, which living for god would be to live with a much higher standard of morals.