Why Do We Not Live As Long As Methuselah?

Genesis 5 describes the oldest man to ever live:

“Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.” (v27)

Though Methuselah did not have a starring role in the Old Testament, his life, and its length in particular, has been a subject of much interest for creationists and theologians. Nowadays, the name Methuselah has come to be associated with anything that is old.

Though Methuselah is only mentioned briefly in the Hebrew Bible, he came from a prominent line of Old Testament characters (Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech and the grandfather of Noah) and his final mention in Genesis 5 is of great significance, begging the question:

Why do we not live as long as Methuselah?

Some creationists argue that certain environmental and theological factors have affected our ability to age to this degree, including the introduction of sin into the original design, the elimination of the water vapor canopy over the earth. DNA and changes in lifestyle factors.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at each of these factors.

The Original Design

Anybody who has read the book of Genesis and taken notice of the genealogies it contains will have noticed a sharp shift that occurred after the flood, particularly in relation to lifespans. Creationists have long agonised over how to explain the discrepancies in lifespans in the pre- and post-flood ages but have failed to come up with any single argument to explain the difference.

Theologians, however, often argue that the solution lies back at the beginning, in the Garden of Eden.

According to Genesis, God created the first man and woman, perfect and without sin. The Garden of Eden where he placed them was abundant with everything they would need to live forever in their perfected state. Adam and Eve were commanded not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil:

“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (v16)

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve eat from the forbidden tree and humanity is changed forever. Access to the tree which was once able to sustain their lives permanently was forbidden:

^“Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

From this point onward, the perfect creation had been radically altered. Sin and death had entered the world and changed the original design. Humanity was no longer able to live forever.

Genesis 5 tells us that Adam eventually went onto die, as God predicted:

“Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.” (v5)

The Great Deluge

In the time between Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden and the great flood, lifespans continued to be long, though not eternal as they had been originally intended. However, after the flood, there is a progressive decline in the lifespans of the Old Testament characters, which raises questions about how the flood and the conditions of the earth after it took place, affected humanity’s claim to long life.

The decline is depicted as rather rapid, describing Noah as one who lived to be 950 years old, with Abraham living only to 175. By the time of Moses, the expected lifespan is only 70-80 years old (similar to what we would expect today):

“Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures” (Psalm 90:10)

Interestingly, extra-biblical evidence also supports the decline of long life spans after the flood in Genesis. The Sumerian King List is an ancient surviving manuscript which describes a flood similar to what is depicted in the Hebrew Bible, as well as a list of kings who reigned before the flood took place. What is most interesting is that the Sumerian King List also portrays a significant decrease in lifespan following the flood.

The rapid decline in life years which appears to take place after the flood indicates that something about the world radically changed at the flood. We can assume that such a cataclysmic event would have changed the environment and living conditions substantially and possibly changed larger systems such as weather patterns. Crop fields and pastures were wiped out, as were trees and all animal life. Where, before the flood, the world had been a perfect creation which was fractured, now it was completely destroyed.

Diet

In addition to the environmental changes that took place at the flood, something else about humanity changed radically – Noah and his family were granted permission to eat meat. At the creation of Adam and Eve, the pair are given abundant access to all plant life for food, but after the flood, in a world now filled with nothing but scarcity, humanity is now able to start incorporating meat into their diet.
In his Commentaries on Genesis, Martin Luther attributed the long, pre-flood lifespans to the diet that was adhered to in the opening chapters of Genesis, stating that:

“…the general vigor and strength of limb which men had in paradise before the advent of sin, had passed away…. With reference to food, who cannot easily believe that one apple, in that primeval age, was more excellent and afforded a greater degree of nourishment than a thousand in our time? The roots, also, on which they fed, contained infinitely more fragrance, virtue and savor, than they possess now. All these conditions, but notably holiness and righteousness, the exercise of moderation, then the excellence of the fruit and the salubrity of the atmosphere – all these tended to produce longevity till the time came for the establishment of a new order by God which resulted in a decided reduction of the length of man’s life.”

At creation, humanity was appointed a vegetarian diet which would sustain them, but after the flood, meat was allowed to become a part of the human diet. Modern medicine is quite clear about the effects of meat eating on human health, so it stands to reason that in allowing meat eating, God may have intended on shortening the human lifespan, as Luther suggests.

Since we now cannot live beyond the age of around 120, the effects of moderate meat eating are probably negligible, but in an age where humans lived for several hundred years, the introduction of meat eating may have changed everything.

DNA

Since we know that Noah continued to live for another 350 years after the flood, some suggest that it’s unlikely that the post-flood environment was so hostile that it alone was the cause of lifespan decrease. Rather, they argue, it is more likely that other internal factors, such as DNA were responsible.
Modern science has found that DNA in our systems is constantly mutating and evolving. If Adam and Eve were created with perfect DNA, then it’s likely that the DNA become less and less perfect as it was passed down through each generation. We develop genetic mutations of our own, as well as inheriting some of the mutations from our parents, which we then pass down to our children. This creates a kind of snowballing effect for substandard DNA.

Since we know that the first humans were created perfect, we must assume that genetics associated with aging and lifespan were radically affected at the fall – in fact, we know that they were, since death did not exist before the fall.

Water Vapor Canopy

Though a lot of creationists no longer subscribe to the vapor canopy idea, some still insist that this theory is the cause for the dramatic change in lifespan.

Genesis 2 tells us that before the flood, it did not even rain:

“Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.” (5-6).

However, we know from earlier in Genesis, that God placed large amounts of water above the sky:

“And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.”(v 6-7)

Since we know that it did not rain, we can conclude that this body of water was not simply a collection of rain clouds. This body of water was what creationists call the ‘water vapor canopy’ – a large body of water suspended above the sky.

When we come to the great flood in Genesis 7, we see God using this canopy of water to cause the deluge.

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” (11)

These ‘fountains of the great deep’ most likely refer to the water vapor canopy which is unleashed over the surface of the world for ‘forty days and forty nights’ (12). The fact that there is no mention of rain in the Bible until after the food reinforces this idea.

The argument put forward by creationists is that this body of water, while suspended in the air, would have been functioning as a filtration system for much of the harmful radiation that the earth is exposed to from space. Once this water had been released, our earth would have undergone many changes, including a decrease in the amount of oxygen we inhale, and an increase in the UVA and UVB rays that we are exposed to – two significant factors which scientists agree have an impact on health and lifespan.

So, Can We Live for 900 Years?

Put simply, no. The Bible is very clear that the sin of humanity, both through Adam and Eve and through the pre-flood generations caused an unrepairable fracture in God’s creation. We will never be able to attain the long lifespans granted to those early generations because they were a result of God’s perfection which was ruptured in Eden. We also know that the earth underwent significant changes during the great flood, and we cannot repair it back to its original pre-flood state.

We also know that regardless of how long we get to live, death is always going to be the end result. Even if it were possible for us to live until we are 900 years old, we would never be able to eliminate death. It also pays to remember these words by the Psalmist, which point out that our lifespan has already been predetermined by God before we are even born, whether it be set for 100 days or 100 years.

“…all the days ordained for me were written in your book, before one of them came to be.” (139: 16)

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Locating the Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel is a story told in Genesis, which depicts the scattering of languages among humanity, by God. The story is meant to explain the origin of language variation present in the world today, and serves as yet another example of competition between humans and God (other stories include the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3).

For centuries, the story of the Tower of Babel has been paid much attention, particularly the location of the transcendent Tower which caused God to scatter humanity and confound the human language. But where is the Tower now?

Many have searched for the mystical tower mentioned in Genesis 11, and some have even found ancient sites which offer compelling evidence for the tower’s location. The accounts found in Genesis do not make any mention of the tower’s destruction, which encourages Biblical archaeologists to believe that the tower is either still in existence, or at least continued to survive for a while after the event took place. While the Biblical accounts do not give us specific information about the location of the tower, they do leave a few solid clues on which to start the investigation.

Shinar

The story of the Tower of Babel opens with an explicit clue as to where the tower once stood. Genesis 11 states;

“And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.” (v2)

Since this is the only clue that we have to the location of the tower, we must begin our search here…in Shinar. It was here, in Shinar, that the people began to rebel against God, and set out to construct a tower which would reach the heavens.

The location of Shinar is ambiguous. Wikipedia calls it the geographical location “of uncertain boundaries in Mesopotamia.” However, the name Shinar occurs eight times elsewhere in the Old Testament, and always appears to refer to the wider area of Babylonia. Some have even suggested that the location of Shinar in Babylonia is reinforced by the name of the tower ‘Babel’, which is a play on words for ‘Babylon’. Though the Biblical description of Shinar does not contain much detail, it seems likely that Shinar was within the territorial area of greater Babylonia.

Ziggurats

It is commonly believed, among Biblical scholars and archaeologists, that the Tower of Babel was a ziggurat.

A ziggurat is a well-known structure of the ancient world which was often built and dedicated to a God. The most notable of these is ‘Etemenanki’, which was constructed and consecrated by Nabopolssar, King of Babylonia, in the name of the Mesopotamian God ‘Marduk’. Etemenanki was over 300 feet high and was demolished under the reign of Alexander the Great. Historians agree that the descriptions given of the Tower of Babel closely match those to an early ziggurat. A few ziggurats are still in existence today, with the largest surviving one located in Western Iran, in what was once the ancient land of Elam.

Ziggurats usually had a square base with receding level. Because the Tower of Babel was designed to reach up to heaven, we must assume that the base would have been extremely large in order to sustain such a height. It is also interesting to note that the builders of Babel were not only looking to build the tower, but were constructing an entire city – a fact which is mentioned three times in the first verse of the story. Ziggurats in other parts of the world were never built in isolation – they were also accompanied by temples, shrines and other prominent religious and civic buildings. This means that when we are trying to locate the tower, we need to be looking for an entire city, or the remains of one, rather than a lone tower, which is often how the Tower of Babel has traditionally been depicted.

Some sources even indicate that the Tower of Babel was adjacent to the mystical Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Building Materials

Another clue to the location of the tower is the building materials, which the text refers to in detail.

The first half of Genesis 11:3 describes the Tower as being made out of burnt bricks, while the second half outlines that they had “brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.” Modern historians have confirmed that this description of the building materials is in keeping with what we know about ancient architecture in this area, particularly since bitumen was the usual mortar used in conjunction with kiln-fired bricks in the Mesopotamian area.

The choice to use kiln-baked bricks, and to explicitly describe the expensive building materials used is interesting. Firstly, the choice to use kiln-baked bricks indicates that the Tower was intended to last, since this material was known for its durability. Secondly, the explicit description of the expensive building materials lends further support to the theory that the tower was a ziggurat. The use of baked bricks was not underway until the mid-4^th century B.C. and even then, was only employed for luxurious buildings such as temples and ziggurats.

Where Is It?

So where do we find this ancient kiln-baked brick ziggurat in Shinar? Because the Tower would probably now be nothing more than rubble, it is difficult to concisely pinpoint its location. However, given the durable material that Genesis 11 describes as having been used for the construction of the tower, and since the accounts in Genesis do not describe the tower coming under any type of destruction, there is a possibility that remnants of the Tower of Babel may well have survived until now.

Modern archaeologists claim that the remains of the Tower of Babel may still exist, in an area which was once occupied by ancient Babylon. The foundations of the tower still stand and the remaining embankments have been estimated to date back to the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar II who lived from 605-562 BC. Jewish historian Josephus claimed that Nebuchadnezzar was also responsible for the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Wherever the Tower lies, it is fair to assume that since God was so displeased with humanity’s efforts to construct it, he probably does not want humanity to find it, lest we once again pursue our efforts to ‘make a name for ourselves’.

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Before Creation: What Do We Know?

What was God doing before creation? Our limited human minds have great difficulty making sense of God’s existence before the world was created, but the Bible does give us some hints about what took place before creation week.

Trinity

The Biblical account provides limited information about what took place before the creation of the world, but what it does make clear is that while God was alone before he created the earth, he was still the Triune God that we have come to know through the New Testament. John tells us that:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (1:1-3)

From this we know that Jesus existed with God from before the creation of the earth. In John, Jesus’ own words reveal the relationship that existed between the Father and the Son, before creation:

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (17:5)

Colossians confirms this when it writes that Jesus was present at the creation of the world:

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him”

Titus also states that eternal life through Christ was “promised before the beginning of time.” (1:2)

Scripture also indicates that the Holy Spirit was present with God before creation. Genesis opens by telling us that:

“…the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Before the creation of the world, God existed in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God did not dwell alone before the beginning of time, but existed within his Trinitarian nature, completely satisfied by the perfection of himself. We know from passages such as Ephesians 1:4-5 that even before creation, the trinity had a redemptive plan for the human race:

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will“

John also discloses the loving relationship of the trinity before creation, when Jesus appeals to his father,

“…you loved me before the creation of the world.”

The trinity dwelt in perfect community before creation, existing in perfect love and unity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Angels

While we know very little about what happened before the first day of creation, the Bible does tell us something about a major event which took place in heaven, before the creation of the earth – God created the angels.

Because scripture largely focuses on the history of the earth and humanity, we do not know exactly what day the angels were created but we know from Job that the angels were witnesses to the creation of the earth:

“…when I laid the foundation of the earth…the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy” (38:4-7)

This passage indicates that the creation of the angels must have preceded creation week. We also know that the amount created was large in number, making their creation a significant event. Passages such as Nehemiah 9:6 indicate that God created a multitude of angels before the creation of the earth and Hebrew states that the number of angels totals “thousands upon thousands” (12:22).

Time

God does not exist within time in the same way that we do. Because God is the creator of time, there was no space or time before creation. Time was not a reality, and had no meaning for the trinity. For this reason, there is no way to understand ‘what happened’ or ‘what God was doing’ before creation, as both the universe and time had not yet come into being. God has always existed, “from everlasting to everlasting,” (Psalm 90:2) so questions such as these are meaningless.

When we think of ‘before creation’, we do so in a way that resonates with us: with our understanding of time. However, time is a created entity, created on the first day of creation week. This means that time was meaningless before this, so we cannot ask questions of God’s existence in relation to time. God’s experience of time is very different to ours, so even if we could go back and see the existence of the triune God, or the existence of the angels prior to creation week, it would make little sense to us. Our experience of time is linear, so we see the time before creation as a set number of years. We try to picture ‘ before creation and imagine God sitting idly for a number of years. This is not an appropriate way to understand God’s activity before creation – God was not bound to time because it had not been brought about yet. God exists within timelessness, not within time.

God’s existence is also outside of the history of the universe, which is what we see in the Bible. History, for us, began at Genesis 1:1. Our finite minds cannot understand anything outside of our own history, but that’s exactly what God is – an existing person, outside the framework of history. Before this history began, there was simply eternity. There was no moment prior to the creation of the universe – time began at creation.

(To read more about God’s experience of time, read “Does God Exist Within Time?)

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Is The Bible True? 8 Compelling Pieces of Evidence

The Bible

In order to understand the Bible and whether or not we can regard it as reliable, we must first understand something about the nature of the Bible. The Bible is not a book, so much as a collection of many books. The collection was authored by a number of different writers and editors over a period of over 1000 years before it was compiled into the single book that we now know as ‘the Bible’.

Though God did not physically write the Bible, Christians believe that the Bible is God’s word – inspired by God, written through everyday people to record the events of the Old and New Testament and to reveal himself to humanity.

The Bible is controversial today for several reasons. Firstly, it is filled with miraculous events which modern people find hard to accept as true events. Events such as the parting of the Red Sea, the splitting of the rock and Jesus walking on water are difficult for people to swallow, particularly in an age where anything that appears to supersede the natural world is dismissed or rejected. Secondly, the Bible makes very bold, existential claims about the world. It claims that God exists, that he reveals himself through his creation and through his son Jesus who is the saviour of the world and all of humanity. These things have often led people to doubt the authenticity, and relevance of the Bible in the 21^st century.

One of the issues that sceptics have is that Christians often quote the Bible, in trying to build their case for the Bible’s validity. This can be problematic because those who question the Bible do not view it as reliable, and thus, an appropriate source. A better approach is to present sceptics with mixed evidence, both from within, and outside of the Bible. This will exhibit the Bible for what it is – a reliable, accurate record which has been transmitted down through history and shaped into a canon that reveals God to the world.

The following is a list of eight compelling cases for the accuracy and reliability of the Bible.

Manuscript Evidence

“There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.”

– F. F. Bruce

Compared to other manuscripts and pieces of ancient literature, the amount of Biblical manuscripts in existence is phenomenal. The number of ancient Biblical manuscripts in existence far exceeds that of classics such as Plato, Socrates or Aristotle, and the accuracy of the transmission between manuscripts serves to prove just how extraordinary this piece of literature is.

The most famous Old Testament example of manuscript evidence is that of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found in the caves of Qumran, Palestine in the 1940s. At the time of their discovery, there had been 2,000 years since the last penned pieces of the Old Testament and the finding of the manuscripts, yet, the match between the Hebrew Bible that we use today and the ones found in the caves is uncanny.

When it comes to the New Testament, more than 20,000 manuscripts are in existence, making the New Testament the most reliable document in antiquity. The second most available text from antiquity is Homer’s Illiad, of which just over 600 copies exist.

Sceptics will often claim that the Bible has been changed throughout history, and lacks the original, intended message of the authors but the physical evidence against this notion, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, is quite compelling. While the manuscripts do contain minor variants, they do not impact on the substance or the significance of key Old or New Testament beliefs and claims. It is also clear from the sheer number of manuscript copies that closely match the Bible in its current form, that the Bible has been preserved without any additions or major alterations.

The manuscript evidence reinforces the fact that the Bible has indeed, stood the test of time.

Archaeological Evidence

Time after time, modern archaeological discoveries have confirmed the historical and cultural accuracy of the Bible and its records.

Over 25,000 Biblically relevant archaeological sites have now been excavated, all of which have served as an amazing testimony to the legitimacy of the Biblical record. The historical reality of civilisation such as the Hittites, the Edomites and the Horites have all been confirmed through archaeological findings, as have many kings and kingdoms mentioned within the Old Testament. The Hittites, referenced throughout the Old Testament as a group of people living within the Canaanites, were thought to be nothing more than a Biblical legend, until their royal archives were unearthed in Turkey in 1906. Sceptics also believed that Solomon’s tremendous wealth, as described in 1 Kings was thought to be exaggerated, and embellished for literary reasons, but recovered records show that wealth in antiquity peaked around the time of Solomon.

No other piece of ancient literature has been as confirmed by archaeological studies as much as the Bible, and discoveries of this nature continue to demonstrate the credibility of the Bible.

Eyewitness Accounts

What makes the Bible unique from other ancient texts is also the nature of its authors – many of whom were eyewitnesses to the events described. We know from the New Testament and other historical writings that Christians were strongly victimised and oppressed for their beliefs, particularly by the Roman government. Some of the Biblical eyewitnesses went on to be persecuted and even executed for their commitment to the Christian message, begging the question….would a person die to protect texts that were not true? John Calvin wrote that:

“It is no moderate approbation of Scripture that it has been sealed by the blood of so many witnesses, especially when we reflect that they died to render testimony to the faith …with a firm and constant, yet sober, zeal toward God.”

All of the New Testament writers lived in the same generation of Jesus, and three of the writers were likely His apostles – Matthew, John and Peter. A strong case can also be made that these writers wrote the books that make up the New Testament prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. One portion of The Gospel of Matthew is dated to around 50 AD – 17 years after Christ’s crucifixion. This small interval between the actual events and the written accounts of them make the content within them more likely to be reliable than if there was a large interval between the two. The first account of the Buddha’s life did not get penned till 700 years after his death! The fact that these manuscripts, read by those living only 17 years after Jesus ministry do not differ from the Biblical material that we have today – 2,000 years later, reinforces the reliability of the Biblical texts.

It is also, certainly worth noting that the New Testament circulated during the lifetime of thousands of people who were alive at the time of Jesus’ ministry. If a book began circulating today that claimed that a man was the Son of God, and went onto describe a serious of miraculous events that took place – when in fact they didn’t – people would soon refute the book and correct the story. Interestingly, nobody in the generation in which the New Testament was circulating ever claimed the texts to be anything other than truth, indicating that they probably were.

Extra-Biblical Evidence

Sources outside of the Bible also confirm the events which are described in the Bible. Prominent Jewish historian Josephus confirmed the life of Jesus as well as the events surrounding his crucifixion under the Roman government and Roman historian P. Cornelius Tacitus, also referred to Jesus in his writings. The fact that the Bible finds support among secular historians such as Cornelius lends further backing to the idea that the Bible is an authentic, valid piece of literature and thus, should be treated as such.

Consistency

Though the Bible is made up of 66 books written over a long span of time, it consists of just one Metanarrative: one overarching story of God’s plan for redemption and salvation. While some modern books are compiled by multiple authors and editors, they do not achieve one single, unifying theme like the Bible does – this can only be accomplished when the book is underwritten by a single divine author.

The internal consistency and coherence that exists with the Bible is unique in that it represents a single theology, revealed and described through the framework of human history.

Jesus

One of the most compelling arguments for the truth and validity of the Bible, is that of Jesus Christ himself. Jesus is evidence for the Bible’s validity, for two distinct reasons:

Firstly, the four Gospels in the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – all present an accurate, coherent record of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and in all four of the gospels, Jesus can be seen as regarding the Old Testament as holy and authoritative. For this reason, Jesus himself forms the sixth piece of compelling evidence that the Bible is true. Jesus said that “Scripture cannot be broken” and used it as a source of authority in his teachings. Jesus also confirmed historical characters from the Old Testament, including Jonah, Noah and Adam and Eve.

All of this amounts to one point: If we take the New Testament to be proof of Jesus and accept that He was God’s son, that he lived, was crucified and rose again on the third day, then we must accept the Old Testament – because Jesus did.

Secondly, Jesus very existence proclaims the reliability of the Bible. Of all the prophecies which are contained in the Old Testament, over 300 point to the ‘anointed one’. In light of what we know about Jesus birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection, we can include the reality of Jesus as evidence for the Old Testament. These 300 + prophecies were written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, yet, in being born, he fulfilled them all.

Scientific Consistence

Much of the Biblical material is consistent with modern scientific discoveries, despite being written long before our modern understanding of the world.

Here are some examples:

The Bible refers to the immeasurable number of stars in the heavens (Genesis 22:17, Jeremiah 33:22). We know that scientists today do not know the amount of stars in the sky, as only around 3,000 are visible to the naked eye.
Job described the earth’s suspension in space (26:7)
Psalms describes the hydrologic cycle of the earth and evaporation (135:7), as does Jeremiah (10:13) and Job (36:27-29)
Hebrews 11:3 describes invisible atoms, stating that “things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
Modern medicine now knows that blood clotting in newborn babies reaches a climax on the eight day after they are born, before tapering off again. The Bible consistently instructs parents to circumcise their babies on the eight day after birth.

Endurance and Influence

Lastly, the most compelling piece of evidence that the Bible is true is the longevity of the book, and the impact that it has had on the world since its inception. For thousands of years, scholars, clergy and laymen have come to the Bible of their own accord – freely and without coercion. The Bible has influenced the legal system, ethics, art, music, literature, the calendar, money and marriage.

No other book in has ever had the impact on world history that the Bible has prompted.

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Was Jesus Vegetarian?

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

– Albert Einstein

These words from the patriarch of modern science himself, remind us that life was not ideally built for meat eating.

The Original Design

While a vegetarian diet is not a popular practice in the Western world and in modern Christian thought, the case for a vegetarian diet finds support in scripture. The first biblical writings are quite clear that meat was never part of the original design, with Genesis 1 depicting God’s creation of Adam and Eve, and then God providing them with plant life to sustain their diet:

^“Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.”

The newly created order offered ample resources for man and woman to freely consume plant life as part of the original design. Though some argue that this does not prove that humanity was only allowed to eat meat, the text certainly implies it. This, together with the introduction of death in Genesis 3 suggests that a meat based diet would not have been possible when God laid down the vegetarian mandate, as death did not exist for either humans, or animals up until the time of the fall.

In Genesis 3, sin entered the world, as did death, as a result. Because God’s original design was so intrinsically ruptured, the death and carnivory that was absent from the paradisal existence of Eden was suddenly introduced into the world. Consequentially, animals began to eat each other, and in Genesis 9 God allows meat eating among humans, to take place:

^“Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”

(To read more about the original design for a vegetarian life, check out Were Adam and Eve Vegetarians? The Biblical Basis for a Vegetarian Life.)

PETA

The Prominent animal activist group ‘PETA’ (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has recently made claims that the only acceptable diet is vegetarianism. Of course, this is not new, but what is new, is that they claim that the biblical depiction of Jesus demands vegetarianism, because Jesus was a vegetarian. The PETA website states the following:

“Many biblical scholars believe that Jesus was a vegetarian. Jesus’ message is one of love and compassion, and there is nothing loving or compassionate about factory farms and slaughterhouses, where billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths. Jesus mandates kindness, mercy, compassion, and love for all God’s creation. He would be appalled by the suffering that we inflict on animals just to indulge our acquired taste for their flesh.

We all have a choice. When we sit down to eat, we can add to the level of violence, misery, and death in the world, or we can respect God’s creation with a vegetarian diet.”

PETA’s argument is that if we are to live out of the gospel of such a compassionate Christ, then we must question the morality of the animal slaughter markets that we are buying into, and sustaining by giving them our business.

Christianity

Throughout history, other religious traditions such as Hinduism have already adopted a meatless diet, yet Christianity has varied in its commitment throughout history, to compassion for God’s creation.

Prior to the Middle Ages, Christian vegetarianism was quite common, and was practised among several prominent monastic orders. Early church writings seem to indicate that meat eating was not a common practice up until around the 4^th century when the Emperor Constantine came into power and meat eating became the official mandate for the Roman Empire. Early church fathers such as St. Basil, Tertullian, Origen and Clement of Alexandria were all committed vegetarians who wrote about their convictions in great detail.

In modern times, major Christian leaders such as John Wesley also adopted a vegetarian diet and many Christian scholars of our time have come to conclude that a vegetarian diet appears to be more consistent with the content of creation scripture and of Christ’s teachings.

However, over time, Christianity has moved away from the vegetarian diet in favor of accepting a more Western way of living and eating in a way that conforms to popular culture. Recently however, there has been a shift amongst modern Christians, and a revival of sorts has begun to take place as more and more Christians perceive a vegetarian diet to be in keeping with the gospel message, and as relieving modern world problems such as hunger, obesity and poor health.

Jesus

The issue of whether or not Jesus was a vegetarian is ambiguous, but what is clear is that Jesus was at least ‘some sort’ of meat eater.

Luke records Jesus as eating fish,

“They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.” (24:42-43)

Jesus was also seen feeding the hungry crowds fish in Matthew (14) and is described twice, as having helped his disciples to catch such a large amount of fish that their nets almost broke.

Jesus can also be seen in the Gospel of Luke, eating a Passover meal which may have included lamb;

“Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” (22:8)

Since Jesus was born into a culture of Jewish law, he not only participated in the Passover meal, but specifically instructed his disciples to prepare one for them to share. We also know from Luke 2:41 that Jesus had engaged in a Passover meal each year as a child. Scripture is not clear on whether this meal included lamb but in light of the historical and religious context of Passover it is certainly likely, though it is curious that there is no mention of his partaking in any red meat.

It is, however, undeniable that Jesus ate fish. Arguing for the ovo-lacto vegetarianism of Jesus, from a scriptural point of view, is futile. However, this is not to say that Jesus did not practice pescatarianism (a vegetarian diet that includes fish), and the textual evidence for such an argument is quite convincing. Though there are multiple references to Jesus eating, catching and using fish to feed others, references to Jesus eating or condoning the eating of red meat are completely absent. If Jesus ate meat, the New Testament is completely silent about it.

Whether or not Jesus himself was a vegetarian, 4^th century theologian Hieronymous certainly understood Jesus as being a more than adequate basis for adopting a vegetarian diet:

“The consumption of animal flesh was unknown up until the great flood. But since the great flood, we have had animal flesh stuffed into our mouths. Jesus, the Christ, who appeared when the time was fulfilled, again joined the end to the beginning, so that we are now no longer allowed to eat animal flesh.”

Eating a vegetarian diet might not be something we should do in order to mimic Jesus’ actions, but it is certainly a lifestyle that is in keeping with the wider message that Jesus brought, and with the atonement work that He set down .

In order for Christians to live out of the gospel, and out of Jesus’ message of compassion, Christians must treat animals with kindness, and must remain committed to the Biblical stewardship that was mandated in Genesis. While we know that humans were permitted to eat animals after the flood, to cause suffering to an animal or to kill when there is no legitimate need is contrary to Jesus’ message of love and benevolence, and goes against God’s original design.

Meat-eating is not a sin, but it is reasonable to conclude that it should only be done so within the wider framework of Jesus and the gospel message. Meat eating needs to be undertaken with empathy and confronted with grace, and should not be undertaken as an act of violence, or out of greed or extravagance. Despite the general acceptance within the Western world toward a meat heavy diet, Christians must address the issue of animal welfare within the wider context of the Christian message.

People can eat meat without doing so irresponsibly. We must transform our diets to reflect the humility and compassion of Christ, and of the gospel.

Should We Be Vegetarian?

Whether or not a Christian is a vegetarian comes down to personal choice. While there is compelling evidence that meat eating was not a part of the original design, and while the gospel is silent on the issue of Jesus eating red meat, the Bible is not black and white on the issue.

While Genesis 1 states that humanity was not originally designed to eat meat, Genesis 9 states that it is permissible. Jewish law in Leviticus then lays down further mandates regarding the eating of meat before Jesus eventually declares all foods as ‘clean’ (Mark 7).

The bible does not command meat eating so there is certainly nothing wrong with abstaining from meat. What it does command is that we should not force our dietary convictions on each other:

^“ The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.”

-Romans 14:3

Whether or not you choose to eat meat should be a well thought out, and well prayed over, decision. Ultimately, it is between you and God. And remember…

“…whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

-Corinthians 10:31

To make the first step toward caring for your God’s creation, be sure to sign our petition to establish Creation Day as an official holiday!

PETA Quotation Source: http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/was-jesus-really-a-vegetarian/