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practical applications, and living compassionately.
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Veganism
and Christianity
Are Christianity and veganism compatible?
 Although
veganism is not a religion, many people find moral guidance
and spiritual solace in the vegan ethic. Because vegan
principles are so all-encompassing, they often function
as a core value system for practitioners.
Vegans come from all walks of life as
well as all religious affiliations and spiritual perspectives.
There are numerous biblical passages which support a
cruelty-free lifestyle. Nevertheless, when opposing
groups engage in scriptural sparring, they each invariably
unearth every imaginable excerpt to support their contrary
positions.
If a person believes in a supreme being
or higher power who created all life, it would certainly
take a cruel god indeed to beget sentient beings whose
sole purpose is to suffer and die at the hands of humans.
One argument opposed to a compassionate life is that
Christianity contends that nonhuman animals do not have
souls and therefore cannot go to heaven. If one believes
this, then it makes even more sense that we be as kind
as possible to animals now, if this is the only life
they may experience.
When we extinguish a precious life,
it is gone forever; we cannot bring it back. When we
kill without need (and what need is there to kill?),
we are committing murder. Judeo-Christian theology embraces
the ten commandments, the precepts given to Moses on
Mount Sinai. The commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill" is
a tenet which the people of Israel and their followers
(including Jesus and his followers) were mandated to
obey. Vegan principles champion this directive. Furthermore,
those who practice vegan living and believe in a higher
power honor their god ever more fully by actively protecting
and defending all life and all creation.
None of the world's major religions
assert that "might makes right." However, when we take
the lives of other animals in the name of food or clothing,
we are contending just that. Killing other animals becomes
even more heinous in light of the fact that we have
innumerable alternatives to animal products for virtually
every commodity.
Veganism is compatible with Christianity
and essentially all other religions as well. Your conscience
is your consummate guide. To effect peace within yourself
and your world, you must do what you know in your heart
to be true and right and then live in accordance with
that inner wisdom.
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