Early Vegetarian/Vegan History

[VeganRachel]

Greetings to all. I am not at all religious but believe in the "God" of light as a higher power. I also believe Yeshua (aka Je sus), was an Essene/an Ebionite, and was sent to us to help us spiritually evolve in multiple ways, and to combat the forces of evil that were on the planet at that time including those that supported animal sacrifices and eating "meat". From everything I have read and listened to, I believe that Yeshua, called the "Prince of peace" and the "Lamb of God", did not consume ANY flesh or fish, but likely did consumed raw milk. He was part of a Vegetarian family and was raised as a vegetarian in an Essene community.
Here are some excellent articles on the subject of early vegetarians and history around the time of Yeshua. The first one may be long but is incredibly enlightening
and is backed up with book and other references by the author(s), and, one video revealing that Yeshua lived and studied in India (Missing from the bible).
Peace be in you, namaste', rachel goodkind

Uncovering A Vegetarian Jesus at the Beginning of Christianity

Also see, Early Christian Vegetarian Communities: https://hippocratesinst.org/early-christian-vegetarian-comunities And, also see, The Ebionites (Essenes who, early on, populated the Jesus Movement)…

medium.com

Evidence That Jesus and The Original Aramaic Christians Were Vegetarians

Evidence That Jesus and The Original Aramaic Christians Were Vegetarians, By James Bean (Exploring the World Religions Column)

medium.com

Yeshua The Jew and His Essene Beliefs

Today we tend to think of Yeshua (Jesus) as an independent “loner” with a group of 12 disciples and a lot of “followers” eager for his teachings. However, recent Dead Sea Sc…

seekingspiritualitysite.com

History of Vegetarianism - Was Christ a Vegetarian?

Early Christian Vegetarian Comunities

hippocrateswellness.org

Video by Edward Martin, Yeshua in India:

quite fascinating information

 

[Brian W]

Vegetarian Essenes? - Archaeology Magazine Archive

Although Josephus noted that the dietary restrictions of the Essenes were stringent, the nearby village appears not to have been bound by vegetarianism. "We've found 4,000 animal bones in the village of Ein Gedi," he notes. Judaism has historically advocated vegetarianism only occasionally for ascetic reasons or during periods of mourning. Excavations will continue in the winter of 2000.

Was Jesus a Vegetarian?

No mainstream theologian buys the vegetarians’ argument because the Gospels are fairly straightforward about the Messiah’s tastes in food. “Jesus said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish. … And he took it, and did eat before them” (Luke 24:41-43). The story of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes, not to mention that Passover lamb, argues against vegetarianism, too.

So if John was an Essene—which is by no means certain—the vegetarian theologians maintain that he made Jesus one too by baptizing him. That’s quite a stretch. So is the vegetarian theologians’ second argument. The Gospels identify the two other major Jewish sects of the day, the Sadducees and Pharisees, as opponents of Jesus. But the Gospels don’t mention the Essenes, therefore Jesus must have been an Essene. This is what is known as an “argument from silence.” (William Phipps used a similar tactic for different ends in his controversial 1970 book, Was Jesus Married?) “It’s a lot of baloney, as far as I’m concerned,” says Father Joseph Fitzmeyer, a professor of biblical studies at Georgetown University and an expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Assuming that you accept the “Jesus was an Essene” argument, you still have to resolve the fundamental differences in their teachings. “Wherever there’s an overlap in subject matter, there is significant disagreement,” Borg says. Jesus socialized with lepers. The Essenes rejected even healthy Jews. Jesus spoke of loving one’s enemy. The Essenes believed an apocalyptic war would wipe out theirs. Jesus taught that we’re all God’s children. The Essenes believed they were “children of light” while others were “children of darkness”—a lot like a certain group of proselytizing vegetarians.

The last part about Jesus was wrong. Jesus never taught that we are all God's children, only believers in the Gospel can become God's children.

 

[VeganRachel]

Thank you for you thoughts. You have every right to your opinion and beliefs.
I am no expert on the Bible, but I do know that many words and parts of it were mistranslated, misinterpreted, and many left out. Most humans quoting the bible do not focus on this fact and the mutiple contradictions where the bible says something is okay, thensomewhere else says it is not..
Yes, many humans who believe every word in the modern "bible" say that the "Prince of Peace' and the "lamb of God', who spoke multiple times about loving and caring about animals and not hurting them, willingly participated in the death of animals and consumed them.
However, realistically, the modern "bible" was written 200 years after Yeshua was alive. And most humans are unaware that the Dead sea Scrolls predate the modern "bible" and contain many more chapters, hundreds, than the 'bible' whittled down to just 66 chapters. The Book of Enoch also contains much more information of spirituality and Yeshua than the modern "bible', and it also predates it. Most humans are also unaware that the modern "bible" was altered by pagan roman rulers such as Emporer Constantine (4th C.). He hated free-thinkers and vegetarians, and actually had all put to death as heretics for rejecting gods gift of "meat".
It also makes sense that in his ego, he would have had his multiple scribes eliminate from the bible, any mentions of vegetariansism and a vegetarian Yeshua and his close friends and family., and, include passages that implied that Yeshua approved of and consumed the dead.
"Fish" had several meanings in yeshua's time. First of all it referred to actual fish that swim. It was also a literal term, such as "fishers of men". Second, it also referred to sea vegetables known as seaweed which contain very healthy minerals and iodine we all need, and seaweed and bread are still eaten together today in many parts of the world. Thirdly, bread was often baked in sacred molds that were shaped like fish. When the term "broiled fish" is used, it actually refers to baked toasted BREAD (from loaves shaped like fish).
If you think about it, fish does not last or go well with bread. Especially fish from the human-waste polluted waters of Galilee. What does? honey.
Another example of "mistranslation" is that John the Baptist was stated and believed to as eat locust "insects". What he actually ate was LOCUST BEAN pods called carob, ( a chocolate substitute without theobromine) still eaten and available today which is delicious.
I also believe, from everything I have read and watched, that Yeshua fed the multitudes with bread and GRAPES, not with dead fish. Fish rot and smell and do not last long.
Here are some more articles and books that shed some light on the subject. Peace.

Amazon.com

A Vegetarian Jesus?

Do you believe Jesus was a vegetarian? There are a variety of books advancing the argument that Jesus was a vegetarian, as will be explained in a moment. H...

www.tsemrinpoche.com

History of Vegetarianism - Was Christ a Vegetarian?

Amazon.com