Christian Orthodoxy celebrates Christ’s Resurrection today, 23
April 2006. This past week was Holy Week, and church services were
held Friday and late Saturday to commemorate the death and
Resurrection (Άνάστασις) of Jesus.
If you’ve been reading my Blogs, you know that I admire traditions
that are comforting and uplifting, such as the beautiful services and
ceremonies of the Orthodox Christians.
What I don’t like are traditions involving the slaughter and
exploitation of God’s creatures. These cruel practices have nothing to
do with honoring the Lord and are, instead, the opposite of what Jesus
stands for. I can’t help but think that such practices, now accepted by
most religions, come from satanic influences. Surely, God does not
inspire them!
Here is a discouraging example of religion going downhill: In the 21
April 2006 edition of The Vision (a United Methodist publication), there
is an article describing a Seder given in a Methodist church by a Jewish
Christian to demonstrate the similarities between the Passover liturgy
and the Last Supper of Jesus. So far; so good. This account, that I’ve
summarized here, is accurate.
The article goes on to say how “…this Upper Room meal” was combined
“…with a potluck supper.” It goes on to say how everything was done to
ensure that everything was Kosher. “Even non-dairy creamer was used for
the coffee…”
However, this last sentence spoiled my impression: “In this way,
Christians were reminded of how difficult it is to keep the laws of the
Torah.” After reading this, I thought of how Jesus said that He came to
fulfill the Law, not to abolish it. If you live on a plant-based diet,
you are automatically fulfilling the Law. And it is easier than
eating animal products. It is easier in every way: on your
health, on your conscience, on the animals, on the environment, and most
important of all – it honors God.
Instead of helping and encouraging people to rise to a higher level,
this church discourages them. The preaching of “cheap grace” is very
popular in the churches today. It goes something like this: “Jesus took
all your sins with Him to the cross, so you can be free to indulge
yourself. All your sins, including future sins, are forgiven.” Where is
there responsibility in all of this? Since God did not make robots, we
still have to make choices. And choices involve responsibility. In
Philippians 2:12 the Apostle Paul says, “…work out your salvation with
fear and trembling…”
These churches advertise that they welcome all sorts of people. What
they don’t tell you is that many (if not most) of them are so
hard-hearted toward those who are sensitive to the suffering of God’s
other animals, that they end up leaving.
