PBS "To the Contrary" host, staunch feminist, and Pope-basher Bonnie Erbe has now taken to preaching vegetarianism on the Thomas Jefferson Street blog at US News & World Report. Fortunately for everyone, Erbe wouldn't dream of joining vegan supermodels in skin-bearing protest. All the same, she threw out this ridiculous claim to Christian readers in a March 27 post:
Even if you believe in the Christian god, there is ample evidence that Jesus Christ was a vegetarian.
Of course, the Bible records that the resurrected Jesus not only ate but on one occasion personally prepared a tasty breakfast of broiled fish for his disciples. Perhaps that's why Erbe hedged her bets by adding:
Story Continues Below Ad ↓There's also evidence in the Bible that he was not, but it can at least be said that early Christians entertained a lively debate about vegetarianism.
Of course, the source Erbe linked to is the Web page of Keith Akers, a liberal vegan who wrote a book arguing that Jesus really didn't set out to "create a new religion" but rather promote "simple living and nonviolence." Indeed, Akers self-righteously gloats about his adherence to same, sounding more like an doomsaying prophet of secularist environmentalism than orthodox Christianity:
My wife and I are both vegans and have chosen not to have children. I have always minimized my use of cars (I did not own a car until I was 38 years old); I have made it a practice to take public transportation or bicycle to work over 95% of the time.
[...]
For me, though I can’t shed my attraction to Jesus, most of the Christian churches have became largely useless. The central moral issues of our time — consumerism, human violence, massive violence towards animals, destruction of the planet and the environment — go almost completely untouched by the world of religion. I’ve met many others over the years who feel similarly disillusioned with Christianity.
No wonder the areligious Erbe is a fan.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
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What is with people? And
March 31, 2009 - 13:53 ET by moderncommentaries83What is with people?
And when I say "people", I mean people like Erbe and Akers - both of whom can best be described as "areligious" or "irreligious" but have no problem telling the rest of us how to practice our faith when the do not understand it.
By the way, feeding the poor, defending life, providing medical services, social services, financial services, and education (things many Christian churches did and still do) are not "useless" to the people who benefit. Mostly people on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
Of course, no doubt an environmentalist such as Akers would probably prefer that the poor and marginalized served by Christian churches were eliminated to help save the planet.
And funny how he says only Christian churches are "useless" - last I checked, Islamic mosques that encourage chemical/biological warfare, terrorism, and violence aren't exactly eco-friendly.
Aut viam inveniam aut faciam
it's everywhere
March 31, 2009 - 14:38 ET by jazzact13It seems like I can't turn around without finding people doing two things...
1) Saying those conservative and fundamental Christians have simply made a Jesus that happens to agree with them.
2) Themselves making a Jesus who happens to agree with them and what they want to do.
Usually these 're-creations' of Jesus involve things like--finding ways to dismiss a large portion of the Bible (Jesus Seminar styles of 'voting'), claims to take the Bible 'seriously' but not literally, a saying Jesus was some kind of ancient wise-guy who said a bunch of stuff we longer know because the apostles made him into a diety in their writings.
Oh, and most of those types are extreme left.
I think it was one of the New Testament writers who said it best by describing such people as those who "exchange the truth of God for a lie".
"Thoroughly worldly people never understand even the world; they rely altogether on a few cynical maxims which are not true."
Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Where does it say that Jesus did not eat lamb or fish?
March 31, 2009 - 14:02 ET by ekslib?
"massive violence towards
March 31, 2009 - 14:14 ET by lotr"massive violence towards animals"
Being wrought by all those amoral right-wing carnivores out there (e.g., sharks, tigers, lions, cheetahs, domestic cats, coyotees, wolves, black bears, eagles, praying mantises, arachnids, etc.) no doubt. Oh, the humanity!
how about those nutty animal lovers
March 31, 2009 - 14:25 ET by Paul Atreideswho keep hundreds of cats/dogs in a house full of mounds of feces until the animals have to be destroyed.
Oh, those braaaaaave liberals!
March 31, 2009 - 14:23 ET by Paul AtreidesI’ve met many others over the years who feel similarly disillusioned with Christianity.
I bet they find everything wonderful and enlightening about Islam. They aren't so much anti-religion as they are anti-Christian. I'd love to hear Bonnie's rebuttal of some Muslim cleric who would tell her to her face to shut up and put on a burkha and let the men do the talking.
Seven
March 31, 2009 - 14:26 ET by sevenSo PETA is a massive killer of critters and does next to nothing to adopt pets. Jesus did not belong to PETA. Remember Jesus was a JEW and they did blood sacrifice of animals. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.
Yep.
March 31, 2009 - 14:50 ET by moderncommentaries83Exactly!
Wasn't there a fairly recent news report that PETA - those much holier-than-you-carnivorous-right-wing-Bible-thumpers - killed as many as 95% of the adoptable pets in their care?
Yes, they did:
So I'm not supposed to eat meat, or own an animal, or take my kids to the zoo but they can kill - without making a legitimate effort to adopt - thousands of animals and still be beacons of morality.
Har.
Aut viam inveniam aut faciam
I've heard this Jesus was a
March 31, 2009 - 14:37 ET by misterbee241I've heard this Jesus was a vegan heresy for a number of years. In the first place there is no, I repeat, no evidence Jesus was a vegetarian of any kind. Jesus, a Jew is the Perfect Man and as such He was able to keep the Mosaic Law and become the propitiation for our sins. Therefore, He would have offered animal sacrifices at the temple (to a vegan this would be unthinkable), He would have at least once a year consumed the Passover Lamb. He fed at least two crowds on a few fish - a vegan would not have done this. He asked His disiples on John 21:5 if they had any meat. He ate fish and honey after His resurrection, and as Ken Shepherd said, prepared a breakfast of broiled fish for himself and His disciples. This talk from PETA is foolishness because they do not know the Nature of God, nor why Jesus even came in the first place.
It could be argued that Jesus did not come to start a new religion. However, we know Jesus came to fulfill the Mosaic Law and the prophets. He came preaching forgiveness of sin and the Kingdom of God. He came to the Jew first and sent Paul to the Gentiles, both proclaiming the replacement of the condemnation of the Law for the mercy of Grace. And salvation is thus opened to all people.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
Nice post my friend, I would
March 31, 2009 - 14:44 ET byNice post my friend, I would only correct you on a couple of points. "It could be argued that Jesus did not come to start a new religion. "
No, this cannot reasonably be argued. Jesus didn't intend for the Jews to remain Jews. He came to save them so that they would become part of the church that he intended to build before the foundation of the world. He did not come to establish a religion to exist side by side with Judaism He came to REPLACE Judaism with Christianity. If this were not so, he would have mandated that His apostles, all of which were Jewish originally, still keep the sabbath, sacrifice animals for sin, etc. And if he didn't intend to start a new religion he NEVER would have said this about a church that was not yet formed!
Matthew 16:17-19 (King James Version)
17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The church had not and would not be established until Jesus sent back His Spirit which the apostles received here (Acts 2:1-4) read the first chptr of Acts to see him talk about the coming of the Holy Ghost. Read Mark 16:15-20 to see what happens when you get it.
Correction
April 1, 2009 - 10:54 ET by misterbee241I have to back off on the statement of Jesus offering animals for sacrifice. The sacrifice was for atonment of sin, Jesus being sinless did not, in my estimation, need to offer a sacrifice. Scripture does not address this either way, neither does it say if His disciples made sacrifices. So I wont make an assumption and say he did. Where scripture is silent, I too shall remain silent.
My apologies for any confusion.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
The woman is a LIAR and the
March 31, 2009 - 14:36 ET byThe woman is a LIAR and the only people listening to her are IDIOTS.
Luke 7:35-37 (King James Version)
35But wisdom is justified of all her children.
36And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
37And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
Not fish. MEAT. This woman doesn't know her bible as doubtless many of you do not. So once again into the breech, eh? So stupid is this woman and the other idiot you linked to that they have become MINISTERS OF SATAN. Why do I say that? Because whenever those without the Holy Ghost indwelling with the evidence of speaking in tongues ATTEMPT to read the bible, the result is predictable. False doctrine. From the "pope" alleging that "unity in Christ will bring peace to all nations" despite Jesus' protestations to the CONTRARY ( MATT 10:34-36), to the disgraced "bishop" Carlton Pearson who no longer believes there is a devil and thus "mooting" the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, all who try without the Spirit will end up shipwrecked!
See the bible actually states THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what the woman is alleging! That's why I called her a minister of satan! They always end up preaching the OPPOSITE of what the bible actually says, not off to the side a little, the exact OPPOSITE. When Eve was in the garden satan asked her "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" She replied in the affirmative, the devil then said, "Ye shall not surely die:" then he went on to promise her that she would be as God if she ate of the tree. Yeah, that worked out just fine! But get it? The OPPOSITE. That's how false doctrine that comes from satan works.
While discussing what to do with those who are WEAK IN THE FAITH OF CHRIST, Paul listed several signs by which you might know that they are a weak sister, if you will. Guess which practice was listed among those that MAKE YOU WEAK IN THE FAITH? You guessed it! Vegetarianism!
Romans 14
1Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Now, Paul goes on to say that the weak brother should not be "despised" for his weakness and vice versa, but there can be no doubt that the practice of eating only veggies, was condemned as a SIGN that you are WEAK IN THE FAITH.
Maybe some of you who had no idea that this was even addressed in scripture will go back over some of the posts I've written concerning proper baptism ( Acts 2:38) and proper reception of Christ's Spirit ( acts 2:4) and realize that I am not some nutbag who hates you and thinks that he is the only one "saved". I don't. I simply know that there is a way that brings the sought after result of salvation and there is another way, started long before you were born by the church of which , satan is the head. It is HIS ministers ( 2 Corinthians 11:13-15) that you have most often been in contact with, whether you know it or not. And since the bible declares that the devil DOES have ministers, the only thing that can help you determine who is or is not telling you the truth is WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY! Read the book of Acts! Which chronicles the foundation of the church in which you claim to believe! IF there's anyone in there baptized like you, say "yay!" IF there is NOT anyone in there baptized like you, in the titles , "Father, Son and Holy Ghost," then you have a problem! If there is ONLY baptism in Jesus' NAME and if Ephesians 4:5 says that there is only ONE BAPTISM, then you have a problem. The Lord through His apostles gave you have a road map, complete with directions on how to be saved, ( John 3:1-8, Acts 1:4-8, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-6,), it is up to you to follow it! Don't follow "tradition" don't follow the way your momma "believed" FOLLOW WHAT THE SCRIPTURE SAY!
God bless you all. Again, vegetarian = WEAK IN FAITH. Period.
Liberals just don't get it....
March 31, 2009 - 15:32 ET by Dad GummitThey can talk about who he WAS. Christians prefer to talk about who Jesus IS.
By the way, Judas WAS the liberal in the bunch. Remember when he saw Mary Magdeline washing Jesus' feet and pouring on her own expensive perfume that she bought and paid for? Judas threw a fit & said they could have sold that & raised money for the poor! (No doubt, pocketing some of it himself)
Today's verse: "a wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left" (Ecclesiastes 10:2)
"entertained a lively
March 31, 2009 - 15:39 ET by Eugenia"entertained a lively debate about vegetarianism."?
Is this dork serious? She's imposing dopey liberal navel-gazing ideology on those who didn't have time to think of the silly in life.
Being a vegan is a
March 31, 2009 - 16:22 ET by MidAmericaBeing a vegan is a religion for many people. It's how they define themselves and it gives them a feeling of moral superiority. And down the road if we have these leftists in power for too long meat eating will come under attack and 'meaters' will be villified just like smokers are now.
Veganism causes dementia
March 31, 2009 - 16:29 ET by sam12663This guy Akers is a total loon. Since when did "consumerism" become a moral issue? Massive violence towards animals? The last I looked, 'Thou shalt not purchase goods', or 'Thou shall eat only veggies' were not on the list of Commandments. Is it no wonder that a liberal led government will bring this country to its knees?
President Obama is nothing more than a empty suit; a Hollywood
style special effects smoke and mirrors show that has shown itself to
be a total fraud.
WAKE UP AMERICA! SAVE OUR CONSTITUTION!
We should all thank the
March 31, 2009 - 16:42 ET by SickofLibsWe should all thank the Christ-like Akers for his decision to not reproduce.
The last sentence in his article: "Jesus risked and gave his life to disrupt the wicked and bloody animal sacrifices in the temple."
So Jesus did not come to save US, he came to save the goats and pigs. Now I get it.
Sorry - I posted before reading your similar take ;-)
March 31, 2009 - 18:11 ET by Cape ConservativeIt is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue. ~ Sam Adams
Erbe is a nutcase that
March 31, 2009 - 16:53 ET by bigtimerErbe is a nutcase that nobody had ever heard about or cared about all that much...well, until NBs has put her here so much lately.
Just love those tax-paying dollars going to twits like this rabid looney leftist.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
I was a vegetarian
March 31, 2009 - 17:09 ET by Kat Outta the BagI was a vegetarian for many years but now include some turkey and chicken in my diet -- I never was a big seafood lover; I don't push my choices on anyone, I just do it for myself. Quite frankly, I'm less concerned with what Jesus ate than what He did on that cross for us.
Best line of the story!!! My comment: Thank God!
March 31, 2009 - 18:09 ET by Cape Conservative"My wife and I are both vegans and have chosen not to have children. "
It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue. ~ Sam Adams
CC... Excellent
March 31, 2009 - 18:17 ET by bigtimerCC...
Excellent point!
You've got me laughing now.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
NB cracks me up with your "Erbe Gallery" ;-)
March 31, 2009 - 18:10 ET by Cape ConservativeIt is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue. ~ Sam Adams
Jesus, a vegan??
April 1, 2009 - 06:17 ET by action...and all these year I thought He (along with all practicing Jews) ate lamb at Passover (the Last Supper). Little did I know that He had stir fry!!
Another liberal telling
April 1, 2009 - 17:07 ET by rbosqueAnother liberal telling people what to eat and how to believe in God.
Talk about a "god-complex"!