Is eating meat a sin?

[surreal_platypus]

Forgive me since I'm not very experienced with the bible and theology yet.

I have always been a meat eater, I love eating it, I rarely eat fresh vegetables to be honest even though I know they are great for me.
But I'm struggling to understand if God actually intended for us to eat meat, or if he didn't is he still okay with it?
To me it doesn't sound like Adam and Eve were intended to eat meat at least, it talks of them being able to eat from any tree but one in the garden, so I assume they were meant to have a plant and fruit diet, it was only after they first sinned that it talks of them killing an animal and using it to cover themselves.
I know it also says it in the bible that every moving and living and crawling thing shall be food to eat, but was this specifically referring to man as a whole and for all time, or was that specifically instruction for after the great flood when plants and vegetables may have been scarce and it was necessity to survive?
The bible seems to mention contradictions regarding the issue.

On one hand:
Genesis 9:3
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

1 Corinthians 10:25
Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.

On the other hand:
Romans 14:21
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

Leviticus 19:26
“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.


I could name many other verses that show both sides, that eating meat is good and can glorify God, and that it's not good and is basically a sin. It's like 50/50, so which is the truth?

 

[Sabertooth]

Eating meat has absolutely zero spiritual consequences.
(It can be argued that some meats are healthier than others, though.)

 

[tampasteve]

I could name many other verses that show both sides, that eating meat is good and can glorify God, and that it's not good and is basically a sin. It's like 50/50, so which is the truth?

But it is not anywhere close to 50/50 when we consider that Jesus himself ate fish as written in the scriptures.
"When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence." (Luke 24:40-43)

The actions of God in the flesh should show that eating meat (or at least fish) is fine. There are also whole sections in Leviticus that speak how to prepare meat to eat ourselves and to sacrifice to God himself. So while there may be a verse here and there that seem to imply that it is a sin, when the scriptures are taken as a whole it is clear that is not the case. As for Genesis, that is before the fall and the dietary instructions were clearly modified after the fall, hence Leviticus.

 

[HTacianas]

Forgive me since I'm not very experienced with the bible and theology yet.

I have always been a meat eater, I love eating it, I rarely eat fresh vegetables to be honest even though I know they are great for me.
But I'm struggling to understand if God actually intended for us to eat meat, or if he didn't is he still okay with it?
To me it doesn't sound like Adam and Eve were intended to eat meat at least, it talks of them being able to eat from any tree but one in the garden, so I assume they were meant to have a plant and fruit diet, it was only after they first sinned that it talks of them killing an animal and using it to cover themselves.
I know it also says it in the bible that every moving and living and crawling thing shall be food to eat, but was this specifically referring to man as a whole and for all time, or was that specifically instruction for after the great flood when plants and vegetables may have been scarce and it was necessity to survive?
The bible seems to mention contradictions regarding the issue.

On one hand:
Genesis 9:3
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

1 Corinthians 10:25
Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.

On the other hand:
Romans 14:21
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

Leviticus 19:26
“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.


I could name many other verses that show both sides, that eating meat is good and can glorify God, and that it's not good and is basically a sin. It's like 50/50, so which is the truth?

Eating meat is fine. Those verses you posted have very specific meanings. Genesis 9:3 is part of the covenant with Noah given long before the law of Moses and has always applied to all people. Later the Jews were given dietary requirements (no pork, shellfish, etc.) that only applied to them.

At 1 Cor 10:25 the writer is addressing what we would call "leftovers" from a pagan sacrifice. Often members of other religions would sacrifice animals as part of their rituals and whatever was left over they would take and sell in the markets. For a Christian, the meat itself was not prohibited as long as they weren't participating in the sacrifice itself.

Romans 14:21 applies to eating any type of meat that a new believer might not fully believe is alright. The meaning is if it causes someone else to doubt their faith in any way it's best to not do it in front of them. Romans 14:23 goes on to say that if someone has any doubt if something is permitted they shouldn't avoid it for the sake of their conscience.

Leviticus 19:26 is meant to prohibit eating or butchering an animal while it is still alive. To drain the animal of its blood ensured that it was in fact dead. In Judaism there has always been a prohibition against consuming the blood of an animal. That carries over into Christianity at Acts 21:25 with the prohibition against "things strangled". An animal that has been strangled still has its blood in it. In the modern Western world animals are typically drained of their blood during the processing of the meat so it isn't that much of a concern for us in modern times.

 

[surreal_platypus]

Thank God, I don't know if I could make it on vegetables and fruit alone. It would be very difficult lol.

 

[lsume]

Forgive me since I'm not very experienced with the bible and theology yet.

I have always been a meat eater, I love eating it, I rarely eat fresh vegetables to be honest even though I know they are great for me.
But I'm struggling to understand if God actually intended for us to eat meat, or if he didn't is he still okay with it?
To me it doesn't sound like Adam and Eve were intended to eat meat at least, it talks of them being able to eat from any tree but one in the garden, so I assume they were meant to have a plant and fruit diet, it was only after they first sinned that it talks of them killing an animal and using it to cover themselves.
I know it also says it in the bible that every moving and living and crawling thing shall be food to eat, but was this specifically referring to man as a whole and for all time, or was that specifically instruction for after the great flood when plants and vegetables may have been scarce and it was necessity to survive?
The bible seems to mention contradictions regarding the issue.

On one hand:
Genesis 9:3
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

1 Corinthians 10:25
Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.

On the other hand:
Romans 14:21
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

Leviticus 19:26
“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.


I could name many other verses that show both sides, that eating meat is good and can glorify God, and that it's not good and is basically a sin. It's like 50/50, so which is the truth?

The World is headed away from God’s teaching more rapidly by the day.
1Tim.4

1. [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

 

[tampasteve]

The Word is headed away from God’s teaching more rapidly by the day.
1Tim.4

1. [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Meats in this instance is better understood as general food. The KJV use of "meats" here is a older English term for general food or a main meal course. Many uses of "meat/s" in the KJV should be thought of more generally than specifically as meat/flesh as we understand it now.

Regardless, even thought of as a more general "foods" the point is made that meat is OK.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Thank God, I don't know if I could make it on vegetables and fruit alone. It would be very difficult lol.

Welcome to CF and may you grow in Him among us.

 

[dqhall]

Forgive me since I'm not very experienced with the bible and theology yet.

I have always been a meat eater, I love eating it, I rarely eat fresh vegetables to be honest even though I know they are great for me.
But I'm struggling to understand if God actually intended for us to eat meat, or if he didn't is he still okay with it?
To me it doesn't sound like Adam and Eve were intended to eat meat at least, it talks of them being able to eat from any tree but one in the garden, so I assume they were meant to have a plant and fruit diet, it was only after they first sinned that it talks of them killing an animal and using it to cover themselves.
I know it also says it in the bible that every moving and living and crawling thing shall be food to eat, but was this specifically referring to man as a whole and for all time, or was that specifically instruction for after the great flood when plants and vegetables may have been scarce and it was necessity to survive?
The bible seems to mention contradictions regarding the issue.

On one hand:
Genesis 9:3
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

1 Corinthians 10:25
Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.

On the other hand:
Romans 14:21
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

Leviticus 19:26
“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.


I could name many other verses that show both sides, that eating meat is good and can glorify God, and that it's not good and is basically a sin. It's like 50/50, so which is the truth?

A Seventh Day Adventist named Ellsworth Wareham was a vegan cardiac surgeon. He worked in his 90’s and lived to be 104.

Excessive red processed meat in the diet has been linked to a shortened life span.
Changing your meat-eating habits could mean a longer life, study suggests | CNN

A Japanese man who believed a lower body mass index led to long life lived to be 105. He ate two servings of meat a week and a little fish with his grains and vegetables.

 

[Ivan Hlavanda]

Since food is merely physical, no one who eats it will defile his heart or inner person, which is spiritual. Physical pollution, no matter how corrupt, cannot cause spiritual or moral pollution. Neither can external ceremonies and rituals cleanse a person spiritually.

By overturning the tradition of hand washing, Jesus in effect removed the restrictions regarding dietary laws. This comment by Mark had the advantage of hindsight as he looked back on the event, and was no doubt influenced by Peters’ own experience in Joppa (Acts 10:15)

Jesus had already taught them that no food was unclean, if prayer was said before they ate it. Food just passes through the body and goes out in the draught, so that could not possibly hurt anyone. The bitter thoughts that originate in the heart and are spoken out the mouth destroy people

 

[dqhall]

Since food is merely physical, no one who eats it will defile his heart or inner person, which is spiritual. Physical pollution, no matter how corrupt, cannot cause spiritual or moral pollution. Neither can external ceremonies and rituals cleanse a person spiritually.

By overturning the tradition of hand washing, Jesus in effect removed the restrictions regarding dietary laws. This comment by Mark had the advantage of hindsight as he looked back on the event, and was no doubt influenced by Peters’ own experience in Joppa (Acts 10:15)

Jesus had already taught them that no food was unclean, if prayer was said before they ate it. Food just passes through the body and goes out in the draught, so that could not possibly hurt anyone. The bitter thoughts that originate in the heart and are spoken out the mouth destroy people

There are certain food allergies such as allergies to nuts, soy, gluten, and milk requiring some people to restrict their dietary choices. People with Crohn’s disease are not supposed to eat gluten.

Not thoroughly cooking free ranging pig meat might result in parasitic worms eating you on the inside.

If eating too many hotdogs increases your risk of cancer, you may wish to avoid that path the same as not smoking cigarettes or drinking too much wine.

Eating certain mushrooms might be fatal. I watched a survival show where a man ate poisonous mushrooms and had to tap out and be hospitalized for weeks.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Romans 14:21
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

this passage only applies if there is one church for the whole world.

Due to the diversity of doctrine, anything you do will ... most likely .. offend .. somebody .. somewhere ...

it cannot be helped.

 

[truthisfreedom2019]

The fatted calf was classed as a special meal in the celebration of the return of the prodigal son. If it was wrong to eat it then Jesus would not use it in the parable.