Jesus Christ was born among animals as prophesized by Isaiah (1:2-3) and Habakkuk (3:2) (note 1), and as indicated in the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (note 2) and Luke (2: 8-16) (note 3). This is supported by traditional Christian artworks (note 4). How strange that the majority of Christians consume the very animals they envisage were present to revere the infant Jesus!
And in Genesis 1:29, God prescribed a vegan diet to the first humans and animals. How weird that fundamentalist Christians, who assert that every single word of the Scriptures is in the literal sense truthful, disregard the sections where God's initial dietary plan in the Garden of Eden for humanity, and for all animals, was entirely vegan (note5)?!
Equally importantly, upon Christ’s Second Coming, the wolf and the lamb will feed together and there will not be any harm or destruction (Isaiah 65:25) (note 6). How curious that those who anticipate the imminent return of Jesus to inaugurate the Messianic Age overlook the foretold dietary practice of that era—a restoration of the vegan ideal seen in the Garden of Eden.
If God’s preference for a vegan diet is evident at both the alpha and the omega of time, what exactly are Christians awaiting (cf. Thompson 2024)?
Full Text: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/meatism-is-incompatible-with-nativity-by-dr-chapman-chen
Notes
1. Jesus' nativity scene (manger scene) had long been prophesized by Isaiah and Habakkuk: "The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's manger; Israel has no knowledge, my people have no understanding" (Isaiah 1: 2-3 NIV); "O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and I feared. I have contemplated your works, and I was awestruck. In the midst of two living creatures, you will be known." (Habakkuk 3:2 Septuagint).
2. In the apocryphal Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew it also says: "And on the third day after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the most blessed Mary went forth out of the cave, and entering a stable, placed the child in the stall, and the ox and the ass adored Him. Then was fulfilled that which was said by Isaiah the prophet, saying: The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib. The very animals, therefore, the ox and the ass, having Him in their midst, incessantly adored Him."
3. Apart from the ox and the donkey, sheep must also have been present in the manger. Don't forget it was the shepherds to whom an angel first broke the good news of Jesus' birth. They then hurried to the crib, together with the sheep which they watched over:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and…said unto them, Fear not: for…unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord… Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger... the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem... And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. (Luke 2: 8-16)
4. This interpretation is corroborated by traditional Christian artworks such as the sarcophagus of the city gate in the Church of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan (made around 380-400 AD) - also known as the 'Sarcophagus of Stilicho'. Here Jesus lies all alone in the crib, in the absence of Mary and Joseph - only protected by an ox and a donkey.
5. “Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’” (Gen. 1:29-30 NIV)
6. “The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. But the snakes will eat dust. In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” (Isaiah 65:25 NLT)
References
Thompson, Dave (2024). Facebook, Dec 15. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0pepjivVM2NWHAFrEwPBFJdWQ518cbyAxRW47dhAHhVXU7RyVfKUjQLkPGJtFb6gbl&id=100003311469571&__cft__[0]=AZW5YG7BSX85PKrBaPJJx1c6px6GCeLMnIS9MdyKAdvazfXYDwBB824Svd-ZkDALo_ovxl6WbzhhShVwzqChkMAQX2ubB8vQjvCPN39Uya25ba4M7f0RVrQ3wnolYQTccfc&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Pic credit: Central image @Chapman Chen; Background image: from the internet .
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