In The Beginning was Vegetarianism

1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
1:29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.
1:30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.
1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
(from the Book of Genesis)

It's fun debating with people about what God intended us to eat. I tell some Christians that I'm a vegetarian, and mention Christianity as one reason why, and many of them during the discussion wind up pointing out the Mosaic provision where Moses, giving the law to the ancient Hebrews in the desert, gave the children of Israel a big, long list of animals that they can eat.

So, I ask, is a man allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason? Of course, I am leading them to this passage:

19:3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"
19:4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
19:5 "and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
19:6 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
19:7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"
19:8 He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."
(from the Gospel according to Matthew)

Moses permitted divorce, but that came about after The Fall, after Original Sin -- after we were booted out of the Garden of Eden. In The Beginning it was not so.

So, then, I ask them if man is permitted to eat just any animals. Of course there is the Mosaic list of what animals can and cannot be eaten. It's a fairly long list.

People then typically point to the passage in Chapter 7 of Mark or Chapter 15 of Matthew (the account in Mark is a little better for our purposes) where our Lord explains that it is not what goes into a person that defiles, but rather what comes out -- the evil thoughts and evil actions. Of course, the explanation is intended to draw attention away from the ceremonies of the Pharisees (handwashing) and towards the intent behind the law; that is, after all, what Jesus had been doing all along. Many people understand that passage to abrogate Mosaic Law regarding foods.

I, however, disagree with that understanding.

5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
5:18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
(from the Gospel according to Matthew)

My question then follows: was it so in The Beginning? I usually get blank looks in response.

God gave us the plants as food. We have dominion over the animals. God also gave the plants as food for the animals. We were not intended to eat animals, neither were animals intended to eat each other. We were intended to have dominion over animals -- they would be our companions, friends, "pets" -- but we, and they, were intended to eat plants.

People eating animals (and animals eating each other) came later, after The Fall.

As we approach Easter, we are in Great Lent. Check the Orthodox links in the sidebar and learn about the lenten fast. Pay particular attention to what one may and may not consume, and when. One of the main things we are to avoid is animal-based products. Many of the rules deal with which animal-based products can be eaten, and when.

For me, it's easier. I avoid animal-based products all the time -- just like we were supposed to do all along.

Gen 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.