Re: Genesis 9:1-4 - A Commentary on God's Concession to Eat Flesh by Frank L. Hoffman
Dear Ray:
Thank you very much for your comments. We would very much like to believe that the Bible was corrupted to support flesh eating, but there is no way to prove that.
However, it has been mistranslated into English, for "political" reasons, which we can prove.
We cannot substitute the words blood and life if we look at the Hebrew, but we can show that the true meaning of verse 4, for example, says, "Only you shall not eat the flesh with its SOUL (Hebrew: neh-fesh), its blood." To make the verse sound better in English, we could say, "which is in its blood", as in Leviticus 17:11.
Most humans are afraid to admit that animals have souls and spirits, just as we do, and it is here that the human hardness of heart takes over and corrupts the things of God's perfect creation.
We are vegans for reasons of compassion, too, but we don't want to read something into Scripture that isn't there. We also don't want to get hung up on the concessions of God. We desire to live in the perfect creation intent and heavenly will of God where there is no death.
In the Love of the Lord,
Frank and Mary
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