Is it a sin?

Question

Is it a sin to be a vegetarian? Some people tell me im wrong for not eating meat because God wanted us to eat animals, but i have a lot of personal reasons why i dont eat meat.

Answer 1

I would not consider it a sin but people have different ideas as to what they believe are sins. If you are not harming anyone, including yourself them I wouldn't worry about it.

Answer 2

You aren't wrong for not eating meat. I'm sorry I don't have a Bible in front of me, so I can't cite exact passages but you can always look them up yourself or do a web search.
According to Genesis, Adam & Eve were told to eat the fruit from the Garden. This implies that a diet of non-violence is closer to God's ideal. Yes, Adam & Eve were told to "rule" over the animals, but if God is a fair & loving ruler over humans, wouldn't the idea be for humans to be fair & loving towards God's other creatures?
After the Flood, humans were allowed to eat animals but this seems to be a choice & a careful reading implies that animals were already being consumed anyway, but ppl didn't have Divine permission. I can't help but think of a parent who reluctantly permits a teenager (who has been smoking in 'secret') to go ahead & smoke publicly. More importantly, God tells Noah that the animals will now be run in terror from humans-- this seems to be another step further from the original paradise. Maybe most important-- God makes a covenant not only with humans, but with all creatures, so it is obvious that God loves all living things.
The animal sacrifices may have been an excuse for ppl to eat meat & there are various places in the Old Testament that say God doesn't want worshippers to have blood on their hands, is opposed to "the slaughter of terrified beasts" etc. as well as several passages on the importance of treating one's domestic beasts humanely.
While it is true that Jesus may have eaten fish, various non-Biblical sources believe that He was from the Essene sect, who were vegetarian. Also, as someone else noted, ppl weren't over-fishing or polluting the ocean in those times & fish were @ least able to enjoy lives of freedom until the time they were caught.

Answer 3

I wouldn't think it would be. If you have heath reasons why you don't eat meat, than I would stick to be a vegetarian. They are not the ones who have to deal with your reasons. I eat meat, but I have to be care full of some of the things I eat because my stomach becomes upset easy and it's annoying when someone tries to get me to eat something I know will upset my stomach and make me be in the bathroom for the next half hour.

Answer 4

I can't answer that (only God knows), although I know I feel less guilty since becoming a vegetarian.

If it is a sin, I think I would rather spend eternity in hell, with all the other vegetarians. Grilled/roasted veggie partay.

BTW - recently had a discussion about "hell" which is never described in the bible, it took Dante's Inferno to give us an idea of what hell is. So the actual "hell" may not be so bad if it is filled with vegetarians.

Answer 5

It's not a sin, And how can god say eat the meat if there living beings just like you? they have the right to live just like we do.

Answer 6

a sin? that's moronic.
you'd have to be a fool to think that being healthy is a sin.

how could you possibly think that NOT eating carcasses would be a sin?

the 'god wants us to eat meat' vs being vegetarian or vegan is probably the dumbest argument ever.
who the hell told anyone that god wants us to eat meat?
people are simply uneducated and believe everything their parents have told them.

people need to stop being so close-minded and start thinking for themselves.

Answer 7

It is not a sin to be a vegetarian! It's your own idea to be! God wanted us to heathy so continue what you have started! But remember to be wise in what vegetable you are eating because some like eggplant, people doesn't remove the worms inside there. So be careful!

Answer 8

From one Christian vegetarian to another... the answer is a resounding NO.

The original diet God intended for humans BEFORE there was sin was a vegetarian diet. Read Genesis. If this is what God wanted when things were PERFECT, do you think he'd have a problem with us eating that way, do you?

God gave PERMISSION for mankind to eat meat at the time of the flood, for obvious reasons (plenty of animals on the ark, but plants took awhile to re-grow after the flood). Interesting to not the life-spans of people in the book of Genesis. There is a DRAMATIC drop from how long they lived before the flood, to how long people lived after the flood.

Yes, yes, yes, Jesus ate meat (okay, at the very least he served fish to other people, but let's say he ate it) But back then, there were no industries dumping trash into the lakes of Gallilee, polluting the water, making it unsafe to eat fish.

Also back then there were no hormones being pumped into cattle, cattle were allowed to roam free and graze, not fed ground up sheep or diseased cows, treated more humanely.. etc..

Basically.. Back in Bible times it was SAFE to eat meat. I think it is very debateable whether it is still safe.

God DOES want us to take care of our health. With the way meat is produced today, it is harmful to our health. With the things are today, I'd venture to say that God prefers us to be vegetarians, because it's the healthiest, but he doesn't tell us we can't eat meat either. I don't think eating meat is a sin. But vegetarianism CERTIANLY isn't.

Answer 9

Read the first chapter of Genesis. It clearly states that the original diet was a vegetarian one. If God himself wanted Adam and Eve to eat a plant based diet, how can it be a sin?

Answer 10

No it's not a sin. The religious dogma will try to convince you that it's a sin to cross the road without praying first. Eat what you want...um, as long as your not a fan of Geoffry Dalhmer, then I think he/she would be a little upset.