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NASB | 1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if [my eating a certain] food causes my brother to stumble (sin), I will not eat [such] meat ever again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble. |
Bible Question: I am feeling a strong pull towards vegetarian eating and am wondering if this would in any way conflict doctrinally with my beliefs as a Christian. I am having difficulty finding other Christian vegetarians. I feel that a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is healthier for me and feel better eating that way but would not continue it if it would be unbiblical to do so. |
Bible Answer: There's no basis in Scripture for requiring Christians to eat meat, and I don't know of any orthodox Christian groups that would even suggest such a requirement. The only Scriptures I'm aware of on the topic are those removing previous limitations (i.e. allowing meat after the flood and allowing "unclean" foods under the New Testament). If you're confident that a vegetarian diet would be more healthy for you, there's no reason I know of not to pursue one. However, you may run into cultish groups that try to draw you in by affirming your stance and suggesting that there is something more spiritual about being vegetarian. You should be wary of this, since Satan often seeks to encourage our natural elitist tendencies to feed our pride (in an evil sense) and use it to draw us away from God. In this sense, vegetarianism is probably no more "dangerous" than scholastic Arminianism or Calvinism. ;-) |