Is your diet choice done for biblical reasons?
Are you a vegan on Biblical principles? Yes or No? No one can make a legitimate biblical case for eating a plant-based diet. The Mosaic Law outlawed shellfish and meat from unclean animals. But under the New Covenant God’s people are free to eat or drink anything God created, or food scientists concocted.
Jesus made this clear, and Mark added an explanatory note that expels any doubt of interpretation:
Mark 7:15-19 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. … Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
This lesson was reiterated in a vision God gave Peter in which Peter was instructed to kill and eat unclean animals, as a sign that unclean Gentiles (and their yucky dietary habits) were now acceptable to God in Christ.
Paul spells out that no one should be judged by their dietary choices, and says that vegetarianism for spiritual reasons is a sign of immaturity.
Paul calls teachings that aver abstinence from any particular food or drink as a spiritual requirement for pleasing God, “doctrines of demons” and warns against preachers “who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,” (1 Tim 4:3-4).
So, no, nobody should claim a direct Scriptural mandate for vegetarianism, veganism (nor teetotalism for that matter).
However…
That being said, just as with teetotalism, one has the freedom to draw principles from Scripture to apply to one’s own life, for the sake of stewardship of the body. Abstaining from alcohol in our cultural milieu is wise in many ways. Similarly, in this modern world, where our meat and dairy is infused with antibiotics and hormones, if an individual abstains from (or limits intake of) foodstuffs they deem counterproductive to their health goals, that can be wise. This may include limiting intake of genetically modified plants, and refined plants (especially sugar, for example). So, stewardship of our bodies is a legitimate reason for dietary choices. But consistency remains a challenge.
If the reasons for the decision is correct, e.g. eating a diet that facilitates optimal weight, energy levels, and mental focus, as well as prevents diabetes, heart disease (notable atherosclerosis), and many other health benefits. But, if that choice leads to a sense of spiritual superiority, that is again a violation of the principles mentioned above. Cripplegate
