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WERE
ADAM AND EVE VEGETARIANS?
Answered by Heath Rogers
Question:
Heath,
after your interesting lesson on dinosaurs I have done some further
studying. I have come across a statement that I have a question
about. Many creationists believe that when God created man and
animals they were vegetarians and it wasn’t until after man
was banished from the garden (and the world became evil) that
we began to eat meat. They base this belief on Gen. 1:30. Is that
a correct interpretation?
Answer:
Like
you, I had never heard of this idea until I studied about dinosaurs.
It is an interesting question. Let’s take a look at this
text, and then consider some points.
"And
God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed
which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit
yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast
of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that
creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every
green herb for food’; and it was so" (Gen. 1:29-30).
God
has made His creation, now His creation must be sustained. This
passage is the record of His provision for both man and the animal
kingdom. They are told to eat vegetation. Is this the extent of
their diet or could they also eat meat? Scholars disagree. Albert
Barnes goes so far as to state that we cannot positively affirm
that animals were not eaten. One has suggested that since vegetation
is ultimately the basis for the sustenance for all animal life
(including carnivores), that vegetation stands in place of the
whole. Others hold that the passage is restrictive and allowed
man and animal to only eat vegetation. I believe the latter interpretation
is correct and is supported by other Scriptures.
As
we know, sin changed everything. Death became a reality when sin
entered the world (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12), which allowed for the
consumption of animals. Keil and Delitzsch state that the consumption
of animals through death "became a necessity of nature through
the curse of sin."
However,
the above question asks when man began to eat meat. I don’t
think it was immediately after he was banished from the garden.
Notice that when Adam is expelled from the garden he is not given
freedom to eat flesh. His diet is still vegetation. "Then
to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your
wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying,
"You shall not eat of it": Cursed is the ground for
your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you
shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you
shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you
were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return’"
(Gen. 3:17-19). Man is not given authority to eat flesh until
after the flood. "Every moving thing that lives shall be
food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood"
(Gen. 9:3-4). This change in dietary law came with only one prohibition
- man couldn’t eat blood.
We
know that the Israelites were given strict dietary laws. The Law
of Moses classified some animals as "unclean" and the
Israelites were banned from eating those animals (Lev. 11). These
laws served a twofold purpose. One, they kept the Israelites separate
from the Gentiles and, two, they kept them healthy. Most of these
unclean animals are scavengers who, by nature of their diet, carry
bacteria. We know today that the consumption of these kinds of
animals, if undercooked, could cause sickness or even death.
How
about Christians? The New Testament lets us know that this ban
on unclean animals has been lifted. Acts ten records a vision
that the apostle Peter saw. A great sheet full of animals was
lowered to the earth. "And a voice came to him, ‘Rise,
Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘Not so, Lord!
For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.’ And a
voice spoke to him again the second time, ‘What God has cleansed
you must not call common’" (Acts 10:13-15). Of course,
the message of this vision had to do primarily with the reception
of the Gentiles, but it showed that the ban on unclean animals
had been lifted. Paul would later write, "So let no one judge
you in food or in drink…" (Col. 2:16). These Christians
were not under the Law of Moses and were free to eat whatever
they wanted.
Further
on in Acts we find that the only dietary restriction placed upon
Christians is similar to the one given to Noah - we are not to
eat blood or anything strangled. "But that we write to them
to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality,
from things strangled, and from blood" (Acts 15:20, see also
v. 29; 21:25). This doesn’t pose a problem for many Christians
in the United States. But, believe it or not, the eating of blood
is a serious issue for Christians in different parts of the world
where blood is consumed. I have had a couple of exchanges with
Christians from the Philippines wanting to discuss this issue.
- Heath
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