… Why would God want humans to harm ANY of his creations?
Samita Sarker
When a vegan mentions the commandment ”thou shall not kill” to include all sentient souls, a common reaction from some religious people is, “But didn’t God put animals on Earth for us to eat?” As they have grown up believing that animals are food and not friends, they seem genuinely confused as to why anyone would refuse to eat something granted to them by God.
I was equally confused by their reaction: why would God want humans to harm any of his other creations?
The Bible
The Bible
Here is a quote from Genesis 1:29: “And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.'”
Romans 14:21 purports vegetarianism even more clearly: “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”
The Bible
There is also the Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” It doesn’t say “Thou shalt not murder.”
The Bible
Many people claim that the Bible frequently mentions that humans have “dominion” over the animals, but this means that we should protect and care for them. They are not to be killed or eaten.
Many people claim that the Bible frequently mentions that humans have “dominion” over the animals, but this means that we should protect and care for them. They are not to be killed or eaten.
The Bhagavad Gita (17:8, 17:10) describes the types of foods preferred according to one’s qualities: “Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart,” and, “Food that is tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food consisting of remnants and untouchable things is dear to those in the mode of darkness.”
The Gita is aligned with the Bible’s assertion that flesh is unhealthy and “weakens” the human body, while juicy, fatty, wholesome foods (fruits, nuts, grains, etc.) promote vitality because they are full of life; meat is dead matter that elicits darkness as it contains no life force (“praan” in Sanskrit).
At the end of the day, one should not use religious texts as an excuse to twist words into acts of cruelty. We should be guardians of this planet and her creatures not monsters.
vegan #Veganuary2022 #God #animalrights #frequency
“Bhagavad Gita is not a religious Book”
Gaur Gopal
Awakening369 