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Christian Vegetarianism
and Non-Violence

Comments by Sven Johansson
25 Oct 2001

A few days ago I wrote a comment on a letter by Patricia Zimmer.  I am afraid that it could have been somewhat misunderstood by some members.  (I am Swedish so maybe my English is sometimes not so excellent.)  In Patricia's letter earlier this year she wrote about her thoughts concerning animal afterlife and about her contacts with different Christian congregations.  She wrote about her discussions with them about theology and animal matters.  One of her views was that there is an animal afterlife, which maybe the majority of Christians do not believe.  I wrote in my comment that I at least hoped Patricia was right, but I did not claim that as an indisputable truth, simply because I do not know what the truth is in these matters.  Therefore I came to the conclusion that to improve conditions for animals it was more important to focus on how animals are treated here and now in this world, and I know Patricia cares for that too.  In addition to that there is another matter I want to bring up. That is about the multi-religious campaign that has lately been discussed:

I think that you, in the USA, are doing are a wonderful work, and maybe we will here more of Christian vegetarians in Sweden too.  However, I have some pretty strong fears concerning a multi-religious campaign for the sake of animals or vegetarianism. The problem as I see it is maybe that working too closely in spiritual matters together with people of other religions, no matter how fine people they may be as individuals, could be misinterpreted by them and by others so that they think that we look on vegetarianism as being more important than knowing Christ.  I think that according to a Christian point of view it is better to be a Christian meat-eater than to be a non Christian vegetarian, and not to know Christ.  A Hindu for instance can be a wonderful person and I share his/her vegetarian diet but Christian and Hindu spirituality are worlds apart.   In religious matters I can not work or pray together with a Hindu.  Not because I have prejudices and think that they would be worth less than I, but because we do not at all have enough in common when it comes to the spiritual.

Sven Johansson

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