The Narrow Path Ministries

It`s a common objection to Christian belief, and I`m sure you`ve heard it voiced before. So I thought this article might help:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29007758

God only tolerated us eating animals it seems to me. He would have preferred us to be vegetarians, yes? In which case there would have been enough to go around. Is that a fair assumption?

I agree that less meat should be eaten, even in order to be healthier in wealthier countries. But the starving children live in areas where they also get insufficient edible plant products.

Why God doesn't prevent starvation, dying from thirst, or from cruelty, natural disasters, etc., is, of course, the biggest theological problem of the ages, the problem of evil. It has been debated for centuries. I don't think anyone has come up with a complete solution yet.

But i think a partial solution lies in the fact that God created man with free will (the ability to choose). For God to prevent all disasters would require that he force many people to act compassionably rather than only selfishly. But God has opted NOT to force people (He has no interest in having a world of robots), but rather He chooses not to intervene but to watch people destroy themselves ... and weep. He patiently waits for people to change and make decisions of love. He has given his only-begotten Son to die for this very purpose.

For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all people, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and to live sensible, righteous, and devout lives in the present age, expecting the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of the great God and of our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; encourage and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. (Titus 2:11-15)

Thanks for your reply Paidion.

This morning, on my way to pick up the first child on my bus round, I saw two farmyard sheep locked head-to-head in mortal combat. I thought of the irony - this issue is so important to them, and yet some time this year both will end up on someone`s dinner plate somewhere! There`s a metaphor in that, I thought.

I agree with you both. I love animals and food too.
I would tell them there is plenty of food around us, we just don't like leaves and grass.
I wonder if the blessing/curse was that food tastes good (the food was desirable, i.e. Gen3), if we did not have heightened taste buds we would be like animals and be content eating leaves, roots, rodents and all the stuff animals eat, all of which could be grown in greater numbers if taste wasn't so important to us. Is our heightened ability to enjoy the taste of food, an obstacle to having enough?

Religious Veggans think we have a greater responsibility to not eat meat, because of our bigger brains, but i tell them thats how we got the bigger brain (and avoided being eaten by other animals, what do you do with the dead attacking animal, but eat it?). The animal kingdom is very violent, i would rather not live by the tooth and claw (except for house cats, at least animals don't often torture other animals). Granted all that, we sin, and God said the penalty would be to have to work hard in order to grow plants, animals don't. (I do believe most food shortages are do to weather, but corruption, politics, and often sin are at fault)

i just worked on my garden yesterday, yes it is still cursed. Ants ate all the corn, the beans strangled the tomatoes to death, I think the sun burned up the pumpkins, the cherries never showed up, some bug attacked the peaches, should i go on?

I always love the garden, because it gives us a 'taste' of what it will be like 'someday', but the curse is not lifted yet, the earth groans, as i will have sweat on my brow soon today.

We like to post a little complaint to God online that someone somewhere has a bad time of it

I take it that`s directed at me, based on my titling of the post. If you`d read the content properly you would have noted that I was trying to stick up for God not complain about him.

Dizerner deleted his post Brenden.

I agreed with what he otherwise wrote though.

[user account removed]