Let’s start with the biblical data related to this question. On the one hand, it appears that God initially gave humans (as well as the entire animal kingdom) plants to eat (Genesis 1:29-31), and in the vision of the future Kingdom revealed to Isaiah, it appears that humans, as well as all animals, will return to eating only plants (Isaiah 11:6-9; Isaiah 65:25). There are also numerous places where God expresses profound love and concern for his entire creation, including animals, and God desires that humans show the same care for it (Genesis 1:30; Genesis 2:15; Genesis 8:1; Genesis 9:16-17; Deuteronomy 25:4; Exodus 23:12; Jonah 4:11; Proverbs 12:10; Hosea 2:18; Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6; Matthew 6:26; Revelation 11:18; Jeremiah 12:4). Indeed, caring for the earth and the animal kingdom was God’s first mandate to humans (Genesis 1:26-28).
On the other hand, after the Flood, we are told that God permitted humans to eat meat (Genesis 9:3). God later included eating meat as a part of the Passover celebration. The Old Testament says that any meat that has been drained of blood (viz. is made ‘kosher’) may be eaten, except for animals that have been strangled or that are considered “unclean” (a detailed list of what was considered “clean” and “unclean” for eating is found in Leviticus 7 and 11).
In the New Testament, we find that Jesus himself ate meat/fish both before and after his Resurrection (e.g., Luke 22:41-42). At the Jerusalem council, when the early Jewish and Gentile Christians were having a dispute about food issues, the Apostles concluded that any meat may be eaten, except for the above mentioned exceptions (Acts 15:29). The Apostle Paul instructed Christians that it is permissible to eat anything sold in the meat market (1 Corinthians 10:25-26). In Romans 14, Paul gives one of his most important teachings on this question when he states that whether or not one eats meat is a matter of conscience and personal discernment, and that we are to avoid either judging or offending each other by what we say or do regarding the issue of meat-eating as well as other disputable issues.
Within the Woodland Hills Church community, differing perspectives are held on this question. Some have a deep conviction that eating meat is not God’s ideal will for us. For others, their conscience has led them to the conviction that eating meat is permissible.
While eating meat is permissible if one’s conscience allows it, violence and oppression are not. Modern day industrial farming practices, which didn’t exist in biblical times, raise new concerns about the treatment of animals before they arrive at our tables. These large-scale factories typically force animals to live their entire lives in tiny enclosed quarters, prohibiting them from engaging in any natural activities. Because the first mandate that God gave to humans includes extending God’s loving care to animals (Genesis 1:26-28), we believe followers of Jesus today must take responsibility for how their food choices may cause unnecessary animal suffering. They should therefore seriously consider the appropriateness of eating meat from these farms, thereby supporting the factory farm industry. We encourage all who choose to eat meat, to the best of their ability, to seek out meat providers who treat animals more humanely and allow them to live a more natural existence.
We also recognize that current levels of meat consumption raise serious questions about our stewardship of global resources. For example, simply feeding all of the animals necessary to satisfy the meat demands of our country requires a staggering amount of resources and that does a staggering amount of damage to the environment. And as is all-too-often the case, the negative impact of the meat industry is felt most keenly of peoples in less advantaged countries. Therefore, while eating meat is permissible, we recognize and support those who strategize and/or restrict their meat consumption in an effort to combat an inefficient system that may be contributing to the oppression of others.
As 1 Corinthians 10:23 states, everything is lawful, but not everything is beneficial. There are concerns about the welfare of animals, environmental concerns, and even health reasons that could persuade a person to eat mostly (or only) plant foods. Still, Scripture never condemns meat-eating, and so we believe that, on this matter, every person must seek out God’s will for their own lives, while refusing to judge those who disagree with their convictions (Matthew 7:1-3). As Paul says, it is permissible to eat anything so long as it doesn’t violate your conscience and so long as we, with grateful hearts, ask God’s blessing upon it. For it is God’s blessing that makes it pure, so that we may eat it gladly (1 Timothy 4:1-5).
