The Orthodox Heretic was taking a break to bring a new future heretic into the world - Brock Evan, born on May 29th.
Vegetarianism comes in many forms. There are those who eat eggs and those who don’t, those who eat fish and those who don’t, and those who view abstaining from dairy products entirely as a logical extension of their vegetarian beliefs. I do no wish to make distinctions between these versions here, but rather to focus on the general Evangelical suspicion of vegetarianism.
There are those who are vegetarians for health reasons, and this practice is generally accepted as valid within even the conservative community. I personally believe that this lifestyle has numerous health benefits, although I do not intend to debate the potential health benefits of not eating meat.
Instead, I want to focus in the coming weeks on two distinct moral arguments for vegetarianism, one involving environmental stewardship and one involving animal ethics. Both of these arguments, unlike the argument from health, are quite controversial. For many Evangelicals, these arguments deserve no consideration after God gave humans “dominion” over the earth and its animals in the Creation story. For them, the case is closed – no more need for critical thinking about the matter. God gave humans dominion, and now we can (and even should) do what seems right to us. After Genesis, there can be no moral restrictions on our interactions with the earth or its non-human inhabitants. It is this idea which I wish to refute.
