Vegetarianism, Nature and Christianity
Well, here we are at the end of month two of the great vegetarianism experiment and I've got to say this has been the easiest life change I have ever made. When it comes to life altering decisions and my health, willpower has a tendancy to putter out. I have tried diets, fad diets, low carb diets, being 100% sober, working out every day, etc., all high willpower items. They all failed. I think that this one (vegetarianism) is easy because I KNOW in that gray mass of mine that it is the right thing to do.
I honestly don't see myself ever going back. I might stumble or fall here and there, but it will always be what I come back to. Which brings me to my next point, nature. Look at the photo attached to this post. Is it natural for us to think, "hey, there's some potential food..." Of course it is, we're animals, omnivores to boot. But does it mean we HAVE to eat other animals? Is it only because we are told to and media blitzed to (you know; pork, the other white meat, beef, it's what's for dinner, etc.) from a very young age?
Ask any smoker, drinker or overeater how easy it is to give up something and then ponder giving up meat. You might say it's not the same thing, giving up smoking/drinking/gluttony is good for you. You are correct, it isn't the same thing. But I counter with, isn't giving up meat good for the animals? Giving meat up is hard to do if you just say "can I give it up?" But, if you actually THINK about it, not just say "no I couldn't do that", but think of the pain, torture and anquish that animals go through when we murder (shut up, you know it is) them for meat. Remember they have the same intelligence (relatively) as your pet mouse, snake, cat or dog.
This brings me to my third part of this post. I read today in free inquiry that Augustine and Thomas Aquinas denied that we have any duties of charity to animals according to the Bible (I assume). Even a pope in the 1800's supported that idea... What do I think? Funny you should ask that.
If you've ever owned a pet you already know that this is complete bunk. The charity for and livelihood of our pets (as well as other animals) is our responsibility as the only species that has the ability to regard things from a moral standpoint (that we know of, damn that was pretentious of me).
Side note: The main point of this article was in support of the Great Ape Project (GAP), which looks to form "rights" for the closest genetic relatives to humans. I support the GAP. What right DO we have to allow torture and death of these amazing animals (watch the videos on the site, you might change your mind).
Those little birds in the photo there are dead now, and it really pissed me off that they died. I don't know what happened, maybe it was the few days topping 100 with some insane storms, maybe a predator, who knows, but it was more than likely nature... All I know is, that I cared for their well being. Why? What makes little birds with pea sized brains more important and more worthy of life than the mosquito I just smacked off my arm? I don't have the answer... I guess it's all about how much we really care to care, if that makes any sense. Some might say, "we are the superior being, and whatever we decide to do is okay." I leave you with this thought:
Isn't it the mark of an intelligent being to understand our place on this planet, the harm we do to it and the ramifications of our actions? Is torturing and killing animals, wasting natural resources (we could feed people many times over with what it takes to raise one cow) , and destroying the environment really worth it?
I honestly don't see myself ever going back. I might stumble or fall here and there, but it will always be what I come back to. Which brings me to my next point, nature. Look at the photo attached to this post. Is it natural for us to think, "hey, there's some potential food..." Of course it is, we're animals, omnivores to boot. But does it mean we HAVE to eat other animals? Is it only because we are told to and media blitzed to (you know; pork, the other white meat, beef, it's what's for dinner, etc.) from a very young age?
Ask any smoker, drinker or overeater how easy it is to give up something and then ponder giving up meat. You might say it's not the same thing, giving up smoking/drinking/gluttony is good for you. You are correct, it isn't the same thing. But I counter with, isn't giving up meat good for the animals? Giving meat up is hard to do if you just say "can I give it up?" But, if you actually THINK about it, not just say "no I couldn't do that", but think of the pain, torture and anquish that animals go through when we murder (shut up, you know it is) them for meat. Remember they have the same intelligence (relatively) as your pet mouse, snake, cat or dog.
This brings me to my third part of this post. I read today in free inquiry that Augustine and Thomas Aquinas denied that we have any duties of charity to animals according to the Bible (I assume). Even a pope in the 1800's supported that idea... What do I think? Funny you should ask that.
If you've ever owned a pet you already know that this is complete bunk. The charity for and livelihood of our pets (as well as other animals) is our responsibility as the only species that has the ability to regard things from a moral standpoint (that we know of, damn that was pretentious of me).
Side note: The main point of this article was in support of the Great Ape Project (GAP), which looks to form "rights" for the closest genetic relatives to humans. I support the GAP. What right DO we have to allow torture and death of these amazing animals (watch the videos on the site, you might change your mind).
Those little birds in the photo there are dead now, and it really pissed me off that they died. I don't know what happened, maybe it was the few days topping 100 with some insane storms, maybe a predator, who knows, but it was more than likely nature... All I know is, that I cared for their well being. Why? What makes little birds with pea sized brains more important and more worthy of life than the mosquito I just smacked off my arm? I don't have the answer... I guess it's all about how much we really care to care, if that makes any sense. Some might say, "we are the superior being, and whatever we decide to do is okay." I leave you with this thought:
Isn't it the mark of an intelligent being to understand our place on this planet, the harm we do to it and the ramifications of our actions? Is torturing and killing animals, wasting natural resources (we could feed people many times over with what it takes to raise one cow) , and destroying the environment really worth it?
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