According to Philo and Josephus practically all of the Jewish and Greek Messianic cults of the first century were vegetarian and many didn't allow marriage.
The Christians in Judea, whoever they actually were, shared many of the beliefs and practices associated with the Pythagoreans, Theraputae, Nasoreans, Essenes, etc., such as communal living, rejection of Temple Sacrifice, refusal to bury the dead or come in contact with the dead, a leader or central figure who was considered a 'Teacher' and even a Messiah.
I'm not saying that they definitely were, but if the Christians weren't vegetarians they would have been practically the only Messianic group in the region that wasn't.
Most of the reasons for thinking they weren't come from the letters of Paul who cannot be considered a reliable source for the practices of the Jerusalem Church since he disagreed with them on so many subjects and slandered them more than once. The Gospels are unreliable for the same reason.
2007-06-16
01:54:24
·
8 answers
·
asked by
Anonymous
in
Religion & Spirituality