Sunspots 711

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and Sports) Relevant on whether God cares about who wins a football game.

He Lives assesses Christian's reactions to the Command to "remember the Sabbath."

Education: NPR reports that school bullying has increased in areas in Virginia that voted for President Trump.

Politics: Yes, it's early, but that didn't stop FiveThirtyEight from analyzing the chances of the top ten or so potential Democratic candidates for President, to actually be the Democratic nominee.

From The Daily Beast: Shepard Smith, of Fox News fact-checked President Trump's speech from the Oval Office. There were "facts" that weren't facts.

Michael Gerson on a crisis that isn't really one, about a wall that really isn't a wall, paid for by Mexican pesos that are really US tax dollars, and he goes on.

Catherine Rampell on trading with China -- we need to be careful!

Earther reports that President Trump is still blaming the wrong people and practices for the increase in forest fires in California and elsewhere.

The Interior Department isn't picking up trash, but it is holding meetings for the purpose of granting oil leases in Alaska.

Trudy Rubin argues that border security is not one of our main security problems. President Trump's inflated opinion of himself is.

Science: NPR reports that religious fundamentalism has led to some really strange claims, at the annual Indian Science Congress.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. 

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 378

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Science:  Wired reports that scientists attached a small camera to a cormorant, and recorded video from a 150-foot dive.

Wired also reports that the melting of the Greenland ice sheet may not be as big a disaster as we thought.

Computing: Gizmo's freeware has a detailed article on how to tell if your Windows computer is infected. It also has another on how to clean an infected computer. (It's easier to prevent than cure!)

Christianity: (or Hinduism) A blog post about ministering to women who have been involved in the Hindu practice of devadasi, temple prostitution, in India. I don't know how widespread this practice is. Here's the Wikipedia article on the practice.

Image source (public domain)

Are Christians required to be vegetarians? (With a note about Hindus)

From time to time, I read materials that advocate vegetarianism, or, even more strongly, claim that Christians are required to be vegetarians. I sympathize, to some degree, and would not quarrel with anyone who, by conscience, believed that she should be a vegetarian. There may be health benefits to vegetarianism, or health dangers from eating meat, and there are issues of cruelty to animals in some kinds of farming. However, to require or expect that all Christians be vegetarians is a different matter. The Bible doesn't support such a stand.

See the following scriptures:

Genesis 9:2-3 Noah and his descendants were given animals to eat after the flood.

Exodus 12:3-10, Luke 22:7-13 The Passover, in both Old and New Testaments, included the consumption of meat. (It does not describe consuming it in Luke, but does mention that the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed, and, presumably, Jesus and his disciples ate the lamb.)

Leviticus 11 forbids eating many animals, but it allows eating quite a few.

John 6 Jesus fed the multitude with bread and fish.

John 21:13 Jesus gave his disciples fish to eat after His resurrection.

According to Luke 24:36-43, Jesus ate some fish after He was resurrected:
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. (ESV)

Acts 10:13-15 uses a vision of animals that Peter is to eat. He is repulsed, not by the fact that they are animals, but by the fact that some of them are forbidden, for example in Leviticus 11.

Acts 15:20 The church conference allowed meat to be eaten under some circumstances.

I Cor. 8 It is not intrinsically wrong to eat meat offered to idols.

I Tim. 3:3-5 No food is intrinsically wrong to eat.

I don’t see how you can argue that Christians, in general, should not eat meat without ignoring quite a bit of scripture.

Loma Linda University, a Seventh Day Adventist institution, has a vegetarian resources page. (Seventh Day Adventists, as I understand them, believe in vegetarianism for religious reasons.)

A book by D. N. Jha, The Myth of the Holy Cow, published in 2002, indicates that vegetarianism among Hindus is relatively new, and that, in former times, beef was frequently consumed by Hindus. An article in The Hindu gives information about the book. This is a controversial subject, and apparently some Hindus have gotten violent over Jha's ideas. To find reasons why most Hindus are vegetarian, search for the words Hindu vegetarian.

An article in Seattle Weekly explains how vegans have influenced companies like McDonald's to require better care, and more humane killing, of animals.

Here's the Wikipedia article on vegetarianism.

Thanks for reading. Eat healthily.