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MARGINALIZED 
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During the earliest years of my life, vegetarianism was almost unknown in much of American culture. It was almost impossible to go to a restaurant and order food without meat unless one was content with a salad (and even that had to be eaten in an environment tainted with cigarette smoke). Some eateries would provide “vegetable plates” if requested, but in general, people were surprised and puzzled if they heard one say she was vegetarian.
Over the past three decades, however, vegetarianism has grown in popularity. It is no longer only the property of a fringe of people espousing unusual religions, but it has become a lifestyle for many who are seeking better health, longer life, harmony with nature, and political clout for special interests such as the prevention of cruelty to animals. Today most restaurants offer vegetarian menu items, and vegetarianism is considered chic and desirable thanks to the many celebrities who have adopted the practice.
Interestingly, vegetarianism has grown in favor at the same time American culture has gradually adopted Eastern practices including meditation for stress relief and enhanced spiritual experience. Concurrently, Western evangelical Christianity has gradually become more and more inclusive, seeking to capitalize on the similarities rather than on the differences between not only denominations but also different religions.
The real issue behind these social evolutions is not the eating of vegetables only. What one eats is immaterial, Paul says, as long as one eats “for the Lord” (Rom. 14:6). The real problem is the decline in biblical knowledge among those who call themselves Christians.
If the Bible is the one rule of faith and practice for Christians, then one must take seriously the new covenant commands that no one is to call any food “unclean” (Mk. 7:19; Acts 10: 9-16; 1 Tim. 4:1-5). Spiritual growth and maturity have nothing to do with what we eat. God specifically instructed Peter that he was not to call any man or any food unclean so that he would know he was to go to Cornelius’ house and stay in that gentile environment and eat his gentile food.
The new covenant reveals that Jesus has broken the barriers established by the law that separated Jews from gentiles. It is now a gospel mandate that born-again children of God are to eat whatever is set before them “without raising any question on the ground of conscience” (1 Cor. 10:27).
Our standing with God and our reception of the Holy Spirit’s promptings has nothing to do with our diet. Rather it has to do with our trust in the Lord Jesus as the Sacrifice for our sin. Our relationship with God is entirely dependent upon our being born again of the Spirit (Jn. 3:3-6). —Colleen Tinker
Copyright 2015 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Camp Verde, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised May 20, 2015. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com
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VOLUME 16, ISSUE 1