Richard Alan Young - Is God a Vegetarian?: Christianity, Vegetarianism, and Animal Rights

Advance Praise for Is God a Vegetarian?

A gentle spirit suffuses Is God a Vegetarian?, appropriately matching its explicitly Christian vegetarian witness. Guided by a theological vision of the peaceable kingdom initiated by Christ, Richard Alan Young refuses to shame us with moralisms about animal rights; instead, he invites us to consider the whole of the Christian message of repentance, justice, and concern for all of Gods creatures as it might lead us to vegetarianism.

The biblical case Young makes is strengthened by his ready admission that Jesus and his first disciples likely ate meat, for it marks Youngs present witness to vegetarianism as part of the ongoing story of the church as it responds to Gods call in various ages. The clear and simple language of the book masks its theological sophistication. Young is aware of and deftly uses important current theological and philosophical trends such as narrative theology, virtue ethics, and a revitalized ecclesiology. Like those by Andrew Linzey, Youngs book shows us how vegetarianism can be defended without sacrificing theological integrity or othodoxy. The thoughtful Christian cannot leave Is God a Vegetarian? without feeling deeply challenged in her daily habits of life and mind.

CHARLES PINCHES, Professor of Theology, University of Scranton Co-author of Good News for Animals?

Richard Alan Young has combined a bold thesisthat a morally responsible Christianity demands serious consideration of vegetarianism as a way of honoring creation in all its richnesswith a nuanced reading of the Bible and the tradition that respects the complexity of the issues involved. Plus he offers recipes! He may not change your way of eating, but he will certainly change your way of thinking about what you are eating.

LUKE TIMOTHY JOHNSON, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

Hurray for Richard Alan Young! He has written the first popular defense of vegetarianism for those of us Christians who take the Bible seriously as a guide to faith and morals. I plan to wrap up several copies and put them under the Christmas tree for my mom, dad, brothers, and sister.

GARY L. COMSTOCK, Co-ordinator, Bio-ethics Program, Iowa State University

Richard Alan Young has composed a well-balanced survey of the Biblical evidence for Gods attitude to vegetarians and vegetarianism, concluding that a God who hates nothing that He has made, and who promises, through His prophets, a time when nothing will be hurt or destroyed, is bound to prefer us to try to abide by the practices of that Peaceable Kingdom. Perhaps we may be permitted to make use of animals for our necessary food, so long as we respect the life that is in them, but that permission does not alter the underlying assumption. God desires mercy and not sacrifice.

Young makes no extravagant claims about the practices of the Israelites or of the early Church, preferring instead to point to the general tenor of the Bible. What we are free to do may not be what it would be best for us to do, and we are not free, on any sensible reading, to disregard the lives and interest of our fellow-creatures, even if we are allowed to use them.

Young says, The choice is between a meat-eating diet that celebrates a fallen world, or a vegetarian diet that celebrates new life through the risen Christ. Not everyone will be convinced, even by the recipes Young helpfully appends to every chapter, to adopt a fully vegan diet or way of life. It will at least be more difficult to claimas some have donethat our God and Father takes no account of animals, or what we do and have done to them.

STEPHEN CLARK, Professor of Philosophy, University of Liverpool Author of Animals and Their Moral Standing

Today, increasing numbers of Christians choose not to eat animals. They see vegetarianism as an extension of Christs non-violent ministry. As they follow this path, they hope for support from the Bible and the Christian tradition. But they also want to be honest about those strands of the tradition that are hostile to animal well-being. Young has given them their sourcebook. He is faithful to animals, to the Bible with its many voices, and to the God of non-violent love. This book has been needed for some time. Now we have it.

JAY MCDANIEL, Hendrix College

Is God a Vegetarian? is a clearly written exploration of the relationship between Christianity and vegetarianism/animal rights. The reader should not be fooled, however, by the provocative title and chapter headings: there is much sober, fair-minded scholarship here that deserves careful attention.

DANIEL A. DOMBROWSKI, Professor of Philosophy, Seattle University

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Cover painting reproduced by permission of the Art Institute of Chicago: Andr Derain, French, 18801854. The Last Supper, oil on canvas, 1911, 226.7 288.3 cm. Gift of Mrs. Frank R. Lillie, 1946.339, photograph 1996 The Art Institute of Chicago. All Rights Reserved.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

This book has been reproduced in a print-on-demand format from the 1999 Open Court printing. Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing Company.

Copyright 1999 by Carus Publishing Company

First printing 1999

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing Company, 315 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 300, Peru, Illinois 61354-0300.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Young, Richard A., 1944

Is God a vegetarian? : Christianity, vegetarianism, and animal rights / Richard Alan Young : with a foreword by Carol J. Adams.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.

ISBN 978-0-81269-820-6

1. VegetarianismReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Animal rightsReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. VegetarianismBiblical teaching. 4. Animal welfareBiblical teaching 5. Vegetarian cookery. I. Title.

BT749.Y68 1999