Thursday, March 5, 2015

Non-practicing Christian? Lutheran?

"There is no such thing as a nonpracticing vegetarian.”  I encountered the quote several times and I don't have a clue to its origins but it is a real gem.  We have slowly given up on the idea that faith and its practice are fully intertwined.  It has allowed us the strange and unchecked conclusion that what you believe and how you practice -- or even if you practice -- that faith are unrelated.  Lets just explore for a moment how that works out. . .  Okay, indulge me in this one!

I am a vegetarian.  But I love a grilled Nebraska rib eye when it is perfectly seasoned and done to a perfect pinkish red cool center.  Well, for that matter I also love bacon (who doesn't) and pork chops and veal and chicken and hamburger and kielbasa and bratwurst and hot dogs and bologna and. . .  but that does not mean I am not a good vegetarian!!  I believe vegetables are the best food for you and it would all be better if everyone of us was a vegetarian like I am.  I eat meat, well, nearly as much as I eat vegetables, but that does not detract from the faith of my heart that vegetables are king.  I love broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, and cabbage.  I love carrots cooked and raw and onion and celery and rutabaga and turnip and parsnip and snow peas.  I don't eat them all that often because my plate is full of roast beef, ham, pork loin, lamb, and such but that in no way diminishes my love for, my appreciation of, and my devotion to veggies.

You may not think that I am not a good vegetarian but who are you to judge?  You vegans are all narrow minded, judgmental, hypocritical, and holier than thou types.  Just because you actually eat your vegetables and do not eat meat, you think you are better than me.  Well, you are not.  I am just as good a vegetarian as you are -- in my heart.  By the way, it is people like you that give vegetarians a bad name.  We suffer because of the likes of you vegan zealots and your organized vegetarianism.  Nothing good comes from organized veganism.  It matters more what you believe in your heart than what you put in your mouth.  I resent all you holy priests of veganism who condemn me because I am not like you.  Well, I am glad I am not like you and my spiritual vegetarianism is pure and sincere.

So don't you go telling me that I have to actually eat vegetables in order to be a vegetarian.  It is part of the great hypocrisy of you vegans that you are more interested in organizing vegetarians than believing in the heart and sincerely the truth that vegetables are king.  Okay, so occasionally I actually go to the meetings and mumble the vegan credo -- I do that for nostalgia sake and not because I think this is what the great artichoke wants me to do.  And I hate it when on Veggieday you wear your carrots on your foreheads.  Just because I have no outward sign of my inward faith does not mean I am not as holy or good as you.  I am.  Even better, actually.  So keep your holy tofu and edamame.  I am munching down on some sausages right now and that does not make me any less of a vegetarian than you.

Just sayin. . . 

4 comments:

John Joseph Flanagan said...

We are always looking for perfection, aren't we! No, you will not find it, especially in church, and you will find no pure Lutheran either. Martin Luther had some issues too...and he started the discussion, and we claim the name of Luther as our badge of honor. I love the way the Bible makes the case for God's grace, which we all need, by showing us the imperfect lives, poor choices, hypocritical and sinful actions of people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Paul, Peter, etc....and in looking at their lives..,,it should bring us to our own knees in humility before God, and cling we must to Jesus at the foot of the cross,

Anonymous said...

Pastor Peters,
Me thinks you didn't understand the quote you posted. It is from Anjem Choudary, an Islamic Cleric referring to his religion. A religion much like your own, just a few hundred years younger.
Anonymous, due to christian retaliation if spoken out loud.

Carl Vehse said...

Here's the context of the quote from Anjem Choudary, a British islamoterrorist. When interviewed on ABC's This Week by fifth-columnist media skank and islamoapologist, Christianne Amanpour, Choudary stated:

"Islam has a solution for all the problems mankind faces…. This idea that you have moderate Muslims and radical Muslims is complete nonsense. A Muslim is one who submits to the commands of the Creator. If he submits, he’s a practicing Muslim. If he does not, then he should be practicing… you can’t be a non-practicing vegetarian. Therefore, similarly if you’re a Muslim, you submit to the Sharia…. We do believe as Muslims that the East and the West will one day be governed by Sharia. Indeed, we believe that the flag of Islam will one day fly over the White House."

Pastor Peters said...

Even the devil can be correct. In this case, the quote is correct even if it is applied to a non-Christian religion which offends God and rejects His supreme revelation through His Son.