Obviously, by the time Jesus was born, people had been eating meat and fish for centuries, and the Old Testament gave people information on which animals should and should not be used for food. I am not disputing this at all, and do not think that it is wrong to eat animal food, according to the BIble. What I am asking here, is whether Christians think that we will be eating any kind of meat in Heaven, assuming that people still eat food in Heaven. My question is this, when I imagine what heaven might be like, I just cannot see it being a place where we kill other humans or other animals, if we are all supposed to be living in peace and harmony. So, I am asking other Christians what they think we might eat in heaven, not what we should or should not eat here . I think that when we were first created and lived in the Garden of Eden, no animals were killed for any reason, until after there was sin, and then the Bible says that God killed an animal and made skin clothing for Adam and Eve, and thus started any kind of killing on this earth. My hope is that , once we are in heaven, there will be no more killing there.
As a Christian, one of my greatest hopes, is for Jesus to return and then we would start the thousand years of peace here on earth. It seems like there is just more and more hatred and killing , and especially people hating Christians, and what Christians believe in, and it gets worse every year. Obviously, as things become more commercialized, and there are more people to feed, the meat-producing industry has grown tremendously, and most people do not even relate an animal to the food that they are having for dinner. I hate cruelty to animals as much as I do cruelty to humans, and I have come to the conclusion that there is a good possibility that once we have peace on earth, we are also all going to become plant-based in what we eat for food. I would call that a vegan, but not all vegans just eat health plant-based foods. You could live on Coca-Cola and Twinkies, and still be considered a vegan; but not having a plant-based diet that is mostly fruits and vegetables. I am not totally plant-based, but I am a lot closer than I used to be, and most of the time, meat of any kind looks totally unappealing to me, and I am enjoying not eating that kind of diet anymore, because I just feel that it is not the right thing to do. How do other Christians think about this, as far as what would be food in Heaven, assuming that we would still need or want food by then ?
Acts 10:9-15 is story about Peter being told to eat. He didn't want to eat unclean. Voice told him anything God declares clean can be eaten. I'm going to rely on that. I like meat.
EDIT: I moved these posts from the other religious thread about what foods we were created to eat, because this is actually a whole other thread topic, with lots of possibilities to discuss. I understand that part, and I think that we were told that meat is okay to eat , at least at this point. From what I can see, originally, animals were not killed/sacrificed and people were given plant foods to eat. Later, people were given meat as well. What I am thinking about, is what will we be eating once Jesus comes back and we start the new Millennium of peace and no sorrow on earth. If even the predators are not eating lambs, then why would humans still be butchering little creatures for food ? Even though I have always enjoyed meat, killing the animal is not something that I liked doing , when I had to kill the animal, and then I didn’t want to eat it after that. Now, I am at the point where I do not even want to go fishing, kill, clean, and eat the fish, let alone kill an animal. Just because I can go to the store and buy the animal already dead, does not mean that it didn’t suffer while being killed. It just means that I didn’t watch it suffering. Is there really a difference ?
A more important question, as I see it: Will there be unlimited toilet paper in heaven, or will people be prone to hoarding it there, as well? Along those lines: Who will work the waste management gigs, up there? Folks from "down there?"
In actuality, I don't expect we'll have bodies such as those we have now so there may be no need for any of this.
Well, there is a lot in Leviticus, but whether its applicable or not today is in question. For example Lev 19:27 "You must not cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard". If that still applies, then I'm in big trouble. But some things I obey, such as eating only sea creatures that have only fins and scales. But as far as acceptable food. I think some of these are still applicable, mainly for the sake of preservative technology's sake that we have now, but wasn't then, and, for example refrigeration processes. The Old Testament has a lot to say about foods: "Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat.4 Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.5 And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.6 And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you." "Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.10 But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you." "these are detestable: the eagle,[b] the bearded vulture, the black vulture,14 the kite, the falcon of any kind,15 every raven of any kind,16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind,17 the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl,18 the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture,19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoo poe, and the bat. "(emphasis mine) "these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind,30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon." shall not be eaten.42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable.43 You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them,
Since my knowledge of the Bible is miniscule, I still have trouble wrapping my mind around as to whether we should be meat eaters or herb eaters. As for me it is purely a choice and also what may or not be available.
Actually, @Ken Anderson , what I am trying (hard) to discuss is more about the 1,000 years of The Millennium , where Jesus comes back (after the new Elijah prepares the earth for His coming, as promised in Malachi) and then Jesus reigns on the earth for the 1,000 years of peace. It appears to me that this will involve this same earth, and real (human) people, just like we are now. The Bible seems to imply that we will still die, but that (probably due to the medical cures being available) people will live much longer lives than we do right now, and it will be a time of healing , both for people and for the earth as a whole. The Bible also says that during this time period, even the predators will not be eating lambs, and it seems reasonable to me that if the wolves (which are carnivores) are not eating meat, that humans will not be eating meat , either. I totally understand that right now, predators kill and eat little prey animals, humans raise and butcher livestock and chickens (etc) , and that this was authorized in both the Old and New Testament. Non-believers have no opinion about what God is asking people to do, since they do not think that God exists. If they are still here in the millennium, they will then know that God exists, since Jesus will be ruling the earth with his body of Believers. (Quoted from Active Christianity website)