Hermenuetically God was refering to the Gentiles, not diet.
But...
As I reflected on the notion of Christian vegetarianism I began to consider some things. I’m a big meat eater and I was over 245 lbs, and at my height (5.4”) that’s a heart attack waiting to happen. My mother died last year of a heart attack at 54 years old and everyone in my family over 50 has already had some form of heart surgery. I was 31 years old and my blood pressure was through the roof. After consulting with my doctor she advised that I eat less red meats and that I eat more fruits, vegetables and sea food. I’ve now lost a lot of weight and my blood pressure has stabilized. Things look good in all the tests now. Eating meat in modest amounts isn’t a problem, but when meat is eaten with every meal and if that meat is high in fat, fried, or is red meat the body suffers. I believe this is by design, we’re not designed for so much meat intake. Many who are big on meat are men given over to appetite and excess, obese, and abusing their bodies… the temple of the Holy Ghost. While they might decry the idea of drinking a glass of wine with dinner (something found to be pretty good for us) and smoking, they are more than willing to down massive steaks, cheeseburgers, friend chicken, gravy, and all the “fixin’s”. I know…I was there. What they fail to realize is that these foods are more deadly and cause more harm to the temple (our bodies) than modest intake of wine or spirits. Yes, regular eating of a double cheeseburger and fries (especially Super Sized) will do more harm to the body than a glass of Merlot or Chardonnay with dinner or before bed 4 to 5 times a week. Most people I know eat like this for lunch and dinner day in and day out. It’s no wonder America has such a high obesity rate. Man wasn’t designed to be a carnivore.
I have great respect for those who have the discipline to eat vegetarian diets. Those vegetarians who eat a diverse range of fruits and vegetables and grains get all the nutrients they need and they are far healthier by and large than their meat eating counterparts. In a sense vegetarians are returning to man’s Edenic eating habits.
While eating meat isn’t a sin…abusing the temple of God (our bodies) is. Eating too much meat and being obese has to be sin by virtue of how bad it is for your body. Bad health or being obese hinders your ministry, your witness, and essentially buries the light you have under a bushel of fat. This is why I believe God condemned gluttony in the OT. Gluttony, in my opinion, is not only “overeating” but I also see it as undisciplined eating that causes serious harm to our bodies. I put it on the same moral level as fornication. If a man commits fornication he sins against his own body…so to if a man fails to eat properly and damages his health he sins against his own body.
God began to speak to me about this subject after my bout with high blood pressure and other health issues that were the result of my eating habits. I don’t mean this in any condemnatory way, I present it as an admonition from someone who’s been there and done that. Dear brothers and sisters…beware of the idolatrous flesh pots of Egypt.
Hermenuetically God was refering to the Gentiles, not diet.
But...
As I reflected on the notion of Christian vegetarianism I began to consider some things. I’m a big meat eater and I was over 245 lbs, and at my height (5.4”) that’s a heart attack waiting to happen. My mother died last year of a heart attack at 54 years old and everyone in my family over 50 has already had some form of heart surgery. I was 31 years old and my blood pressure was through the roof. After consulting with my doctor she advised that I eat less red meats and that I eat more fruits, vegetables and sea food. I’ve now lost a lot of weight and my blood pressure has stabilized. Things look good in all the tests now. Eating meat in modest amounts isn’t a problem, but when meat is eaten with every meal and if that meat is high in fat, fried, or is red meat the body suffers. I believe this is by design, we’re not designed for so much meat intake. Many who are big on meat are men given over to appetite and excess, obese, and abusing their bodies… the temple of the Holy Ghost. While they might decry the idea of drinking a glass of wine with dinner (something found to be pretty good for us) and smoking, they are more than willing to down massive steaks, cheeseburgers, friend chicken, gravy, and all the “fixin’s”. I know…I was there. What they fail to realize is that these foods are more deadly and cause more harm to the temple (our bodies) than modest intake of wine or spirits. Yes, regular eating of a double cheeseburger and fries (especially Super Sized) will do more harm to the body than a glass of Merlot or Chardonnay with dinner or before bed 4 to 5 times a week. Most people I know eat like this for lunch and dinner day in and day out. It’s no wonder America has such a high obesity rate. Man wasn’t designed to be a carnivore.
I have great respect for those who have the discipline to eat vegetarian diets. Those vegetarians who eat a diverse range of fruits and vegetables and grains get all the nutrients they need and they are far healthier by and large than their meat eating counterparts. In a sense vegetarians are returning to man’s Edenic eating habits.
While eating meat isn’t a sin…abusing the temple of God (our bodies) is. Eating too much meat and being obese has to be sin by virtue of how bad it is for your body. Bad health or being obese hinders your ministry, your witness, and essentially buries the light you have under a bushel of fat. This is why I believe God condemned gluttony in the OT. Gluttony, in my opinion, is not only “overeating” but I also see it as undisciplined eating that causes serious harm to our bodies. I put it on the same moral level as fornication. If a man commits fornication he sins against his own body…so to if a man fails to eat properly and damages his health he sins against his own body.
God began to speak to me about this subject after my bout with high blood pressure and other health issues that were the result of my eating habits. I don’t mean this in any condemnatory way, I present it as an admonition from someone who’s been there and done that. Dear brothers and sisters…beware of the idolatrous flesh pots of Egypt.
yawn
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
I cast my vote in the primary, and it was the only time this season that I will be able to do it with a good conscience. I will no longer vote *against* anyone. I've said it before...voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil.
Too many "men of God" straining at wine and dress codes while swallowing camels...with extra cheese and two strips of bacon of course. Oh...and don't forget the fries.
I cast my vote in the primary, and it was the only time this season that I will be able to do it with a good conscience. I will no longer vote *against* anyone. I've said it before...voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil.
Ron Paul voter?
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
Too many "men of God" straining at wine and dress codes while swallowing camels...with extra cheese and two strips of bacon of course. Oh...and don't forget the fries.
Abuse of the temple is nothing to yawn at.
some of the things that come out of the end of your finders is.....
and I think you get hearburn confused with the voice of God on a regular basis.
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
Eating whatever we like whenever we like in spite of the consequences of our health is terribly selfish. When my mother died I was facing high blood pressure and other health problems relating to my weight. After my mom died I was eating a double cheeseburger at MacDonald’s on a Saturday. It dawned on me that I had eaten at fast food places all week…and I had eaten whatever I liked. I looked down at my little boy and he looked up at me with so much love and beaming joy. I felt something…I was being selfish. My mother died at 54 from heart disease (it runs in my family). When I’m 54 my son will be 23. Do I want my 23 year old son looking down into the casket at his 54 year old father? Do I want him, not even 25 years old, weeping while speaking at my funeral? What was I doing? Where were my priorities? My son loves me and needs me. He needs a father to walk with him as he grows into manhood, being a husband, and fatherhood. Was my “double cheeseburger and fries with coke” worth robbing him of years with his father? And my wife…oh God…is it fair to her, after being so faithful to me, for me to eat like a human locust until it kills me and she is left a widow and alone after all her love and tenderness?
I was eating whatever I liked without regard to my health or my family’s need of a father. I was in sin. Yes, sin. Not necessarily for eating meats etc….but for being gluttonous and selfish. Me, my desires, my appetites, my tastes. That was my concern when I pulled up a plate. Today I don’t eat like that. Today I eat far more veggies (though not vegetarian), grains, lean chicken, and fish. I have red meat maybe once a week if that. When I’m preparing my seafood Caesar salad (which I’m having for lunch today), I say my prayers and take an extra couple seconds to pray for my family. I think about my mom’s funeral, my son, and my wife and I ask God to bless my food for the nourishment of my body that I might live long and be the husband and father he desires me to be.
If you are a vegetarian or practicing temperance in regards to your diet don’t be ashamed. Don’t let anyone cast judgment upon you. In fact, I’d question their judgment and lack of wisdom and foresight. You can be sure they'd protect their financial investments...but your health is the greatest investment other than Heaven itself. Eat to the glory of God. Let what you eat be a sweet life giving sacrifice of love before your God and creator. Let what you eat be a form of worship, praising him in all things, and building up the temple of the Holy Ghost with health and vitality.
Odds are you will not face bankruptcy, be killed in a terrorist attack, or be killed in an armed robbery. However, the odds are pretty good that if you're an average American you may face America's leading killer...heart disease. When you preach your 54 year old mother's funeral it opens your eyes to the more important and more practical things in life. Advice like this is perhaps more practical and more important than most are willing to admit.
yo ONE SEE, did you see my answer to your abortion question?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ferd
Now, my stance on abortion.... not that it relates in any way to this discussion... but.... at the point where the first blood cell exists (around day 21) there is absolutly no justifyable reason to kill the baby unless not doing so would cause the mother to die.
innocent life is to be protected. the bible says the life is in the blood. (this is my own view and my experience is that most people dont make this connection but this is what I got from studing scripture on the subject.)
the reason why I would make an expection of the life of the mother, is that at the point where the baby could cause the mothers death, the baby though innocent itself, is an instument of death. also generally speaking the baby would die as well.
I also think there is some argument to terminate a pregnancy where the baby is not viable. but this is slippery. some "not viable" babies would live for some period of time. others would be born with no brain and arent capable of survival in any form at all. so where is that line?
so there. thats my stance on abortion. its really really bad.
Ferd,
Here's my stance on abortion.
If a woman willfully engages in sexual intercourse, she shouldn't be allowed to abort, even if the condom brakes or the anti-birth pills were defective.
If a woman feels to emulate Jezebel, she should responsibly accept the outcome! Furthermore, a man should also take responsibility and raise his child!
I only see one exception for abortion, if a woman is raped, and eventually becomes pregnant through rape.
If a woman willfully engages in sexual intercourse, she shouldn't be allowed to abort, even if the condom brakes or the anti-birth pills were defective.
If a woman feels to emulates Jezebel, she should responsibly accept the outcome! Furthermore, a man should also take responsibility and raise his child!
I only see one exception for abortion, if a woman is raped, and eventually becomes pregnant through rape.
thank God! reasonable conversation has returned!
my brother I agree to a point.... but I have to ask, why is it ok to terminate an innocent life, because of rape?
Now i understand the increadable mental strain i am speaking of. but is that justifcation for ending a human life?
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
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