Speakers of today’s (August 19) PAN & AIA: Interfaith Vegan Panel, moderated by Emma Goldblatt, include Dr. Will Tuttle (Buddhist), Bishop John Arnold (Catholic), Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, and Dr. Christina Nellist (Orthodox Christian), etc. Dr. Will Tuttle's ahimsa-related remarks are, as usual, full of insights and compassion. What’s most controversial about the panel discussion is Bishop Arnold’s alleging that Jesus ate animals and Dr. Nellist’s insisting that meatism is a dispensation granted by God.
Full Text Link: https://www.hkbnews.net/post/interfaith-vegan-panel-19-aug-2024-a-few-reflections-by-dr-chapman-chen
Panel Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJIgw9i1LMI
Bishop Arnold maintained that Jesus ate animal flesh, though he said that he’s concerned with animals and he is moving in the direction of veganism. In reply, I said that Jesus is a Vegan Christ. For Jesus explicitly says, “I desire compassion not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13 NASB). Jesus ate neither lamb nor fish. Jesus did not eat lamb at Passover for he deliberately held the Last Supper before Passover (John 13:1-2). The Greek word for fish (ἰχθύας), as in Mark 6:41, Matthew 14:19, and Luke 9:16, is an acronym for " Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" (Akers 2000), a secret code commonly used by the early Christians to avoid persecution; and "fish (opsarion)", as in John 6:9, may also be a mistranslation of the Greek word for "fishweed (opson)" (Hicks 2019; Giron 2013), a popular vegan relish among Palestinian peasants both 2000 years ago and now.
Even more importantly, Jesus is a pioneering martyr for animal liberation. In emptying the Temple of animals about to be slaughtered for sacrifice, and in calling the Temple-turned-butcher-shop "a den of thieves"(Mark 11:16, Luke 20:46, Matthew 21:12-13 KJV), He debunked the business fraud of animal sacrifice and disrupted the chief priests' and scribes' lucrative revenue stream (Akers 2020: 117-119; Chen 2024), who immediately afterwards conspired to destroy Him (Mark 11:15-18).
Dr. Nellist (Orthodox Christian) argues that the vegan/vegetarian diet (Genesis 1:29) is the ideal; the dispensation to eat animal flesh, is a relaxation of the ideal and given to aid mankind back to salvation. I would, however, contend that if you are not vegan, your are breaking ALL Ten Commandments (https://www.hkbnews.net/post/if-you-are-not-vegan-you-are-breaking-all-ten-commandments-by-dr-chapman-chen).
Dr. Will Tuttle correctly pointed out that Buddhism is more animal friendly and pro vegan than other established religious institutions. He insightfully stated that to promote veganism, we need both educational programmes and practical tactics, such as vegan recipes.
Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz suggested that vegan should be the new kosher. He stressed that he is not saying it’s time for Jews to throw away their most cherished food rituals, just that the way to take them to the next level is to use kosher practices as a method of bringing the world toward peace and justice.
All the discussions were carried out in a friendly and mutually respectful atmosphere. We thankfully learned from each other on the pathway of vegan spiritually.
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