Blogger's Note: The Orthodox Heretic is going anonymous for a while as I begin the job-hunting process. As a result, I have removed my pic and profile info.
I blogged last year about how vegetarianism sustained the environment that we humans depend on for life, and is therefore the best diet. I still consider this a sufficient reason to be a vegetarian, but I also want to evaluate this issue from a moral perspective. It will take me several weeks to fully articulate my own position, but the short answer is that no, I do not think that killing an animal is wrong in the same way that killing a person is wrong, yet I also not think that animal consumption is free from ethical concerns.
I am apparently by myself on this one, as I have only ever met one other Christian who shared my belief that eating animals is morally problematic. I think that the best way to start arguing for my position is to turn the tables around and instead ask, what are the arguments for eating animals? There are two I hear more than any others, namely the mono-theistic argument (animals are God’s provision for human consumption) and the evolutionary argument (eating meat is ground into our nature). I think that both of these arguments fail in important ways, which will perhaps give my readers a reason to allow me to articulate my beliefs.
In my experience, that is the most difficult part of beginning this dialogue. People don’t want to engage me on this issue because they are sure that it will not be an interesting conversation and probably a little embarrassing for me. But perhaps if I am able to destabilize the two most common rationales for a carnivorous diet, I will gain a more sympathetic audience.
