Vegetarianism
1 Corinthians 8
This is a very flexible passage. It is cited
to prove that a Christian should never drink; it is cited to
prove it’s OK for a Christian to drink. It’s cited for a lot of
things. So perhaps we had best read it for ourselves.
(1 Cor 8 NIV) Now about food sacrificed to
idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs
up, but love builds up. {2} The man who thinks he knows
something does not yet know as he ought to know. {3} But the man
who loves God is known by God. {4} So then, about eating food
sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in
the world and that there is no God but one. {5} For even if
there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as
indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), {6} yet for us
there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and
for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things came and through whom we live. {7} But
not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to
idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having
been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak,
it is defiled. {8} But food does not bring us near to God; we
are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. {9} Be
careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not
become a stumbling block to the weak. {10} For if anyone with a
weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an
idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been
sacrificed to idols? {11} So this weak brother, for whom Christ
died, is destroyed by your knowledge. {12} When you sin against
your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you
sin against Christ. {13} Therefore, if what I eat causes my
brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I
will not cause him to fall.
The nature and nurture of knowledge
Paul deserves a little credit here. It’s
fairly obvious what’s been going on; there is some sort of
dispute in the church over a common practice of the time. Here’s
the situation:
Remember, please, two facts: First, the
Corinthians live in a society in which animals are sacrificed to
idols. Second, there are no refrigerators at this time. Combine
those two and you will find that the best place to buy a good
steak is right next to the temple of some idol. So it wouldn’t
be uncommon for a Christian to sit down to enjoy a good meal at
the restaurant next door – which might even be connected with
that temple. Two factions grew up:
·
The first faction knew that
this was outrageously immoral. It gives the appearance
of a Christian somehow approving of idol worship, and
therefore (when in doubt, don’t) is to be banned.
·
The second faction just
can’t see the point. They are, after all, intellectually
mature Christians; they know there’s nothing to this
idol worship stuff. What’s wrong with a good steak –
bless it in God’s name and pass the barbeque sauce.
You know, Satan laughs to hear such things.
Two groups of pious believers with but a single thought: the
other guy is dead wrong. They’re both right.
A complaint about a good thing
We must begin with the fact that Paul is
dealing with a complaint about a good thing. It is good for the
Christian to have knowledge; it’s good for him to know that the
idol is just so much lifeless stone and wood. How much worse it
would be if the Christian still thought that idol had power over
him! But you can see that even this good thing can be twisted by
Satan. Watch the steps:
1. “Anywhere with Jesus I can safely
go.” It doesn’t matter; as long as I am of pure
conscience, I can go anywhere, eat anything. All belongs
to the Lord.
2. This is so because I have more
perfect knowledge than those bluenose types over there,
who are so worried about this.
3. But see – this produces an
attitude problem; just because I know more than you, I
must be (somehow) better than you.
The problem comes down to pride, but of a
very slinky form. In fact, if I know more of Christ than you, I
am in some sense better than you – and, as we will see, that
carries a certain responsibility. It should not also carry an
attitude.
The unbalanced Christian
We don’t see too much of idol worship in
America today; it’s very much out of date. But we do see a
similar problem to what shows up here:
·
These people were Greeks.
They loved philosophy. Philosophical debates were
a popular entertainment. But this led to an unbalanced
form of Christianity; all mind, no heart.
·
We’re American Christians;
we have the opposite problem. We can’t tolerate “pointy
headed liberals from Berkeley” telling us what to do! We
know that the Gospel is an affair of the heart! (Does
this sound familiar?) We tend to be all heart, no mind.
For that distinct minority in America, the
intellectual Christian, this is a very trying circumstance. It
explains the enduring popularity of C. S. Lewis’ works; no
American Christian author would contemplate intellectual
Christianity. We have to get our intellectual works from an
Englishman.
Our Lord had a different view: “Love the Lord
your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” Perhaps
we ought to try it his way.
The result of imbalance
Paul tells us the result of any such
imbalance: we look down on those who don’t do as we do. We
become “puffed up.”
But see how Paul handles this problem: he
doesn’t separate people into “them” and “us.” He starts out by
saying, “we all have knowledge.” We might say today, “we all
have heart.” Taking this not as a weakness but as a strength, he
appeals as one of the strong to the strong. He admonishes those
who have knowledge, not those who don’t.
“Knowledge stands in extreme need of love.”
(Chrysostom)
Paul brings this home to us in three simple
points:
·
With knowledge comes
freedom; but with freedom comes responsibility. Has your
knowledge set you free? Then ask, what is the
responsibility that comes with it? As always, in Christ,
the obligation of the strong is to the weak.
·
If you have knowledge, you
naturally desire to make it perfect. But knowledge
cannot be perfected in Christ without love! Therefore,
to complete your knowledge, you must practice it in
love.
·
If you do, you will be
“known by God.” It is good to have knowledge; good to
have love; how much better to blend the two into
perfection – and thus be known personally to God
Almighty.
Technique
Will you bear with me for a few lines as we
go through Paul’s logic? He is speaking to the Greeks, and logic
they must have.
·
The real truth is simple:
these idols are worthless lumps of stone.
·
There is only one God. There
is only one Lord. (Note that even the titles are
designed to proclaim the “one-ness” of God).
·
This God is the creator of
all things.
·
This is the God for whom we
live; he is the reason of existence, for he is existence
itself.
·
But all this is
knowledge. Therefore, though this knowledge is great
and wonderful (and it is), we must add to it the
responsibility of love.
So then, the question resolves itself to,
“what is the responsibility of one who has knowledge?” I answer
in three steps:
1. I have knowledge; that
requires love. Therefore, I must apply love in
this knowledge.
2. I have freedom because of
this knowledge; therefore, there must be
responsibility which comes with it.
3. These two, as always,
apply towards my weaker brother.
So then, I am to apply my knowledge, if you
will, to assist in the intellectual life of my weaker brother –
and do so responsibly, and in love. How can this be done?
Conscience
If I am to understand how to do this, I must
know the purpose of the intellectual life for the Christian.
That – like all else in the Christian life – is the imitation of
Christ. The primary intellectual vehicle is the conscience, for
it is the conscience which is the chief intellectual barrier to
sin. Sin is that which separates me from God; my intellect must
oppose this – and that is conscience.
Now it clears up:
·
The damage I do isn’t in the
meat but in the conscience. That’s the damage I must
avoid.
·
I must do so by my actions,
but considering my weaker brother’s conscience.
Note something clearly: we are talking about
someone’s conscience – not someone’s irritated prejudices. If
you are absolutely convinced that no Christian should ever drink
alcohol, tell me how I weaken your conscience by doing it? Let
us be gracious in Christian liberty towards each other – but
always shouldering the responsibility of our knowledge in the
light of our brother’s weakness.
I must now fire the warning shot. Suppose you
think, “This is a lot of blather. How can I be so responsible?”
Is it not clear that when you encourage your brother to weaken
his conscience, you are tearing down his intellectual barrier to
sin? In so doing, are you not sinning against him?
More than that; you are sinning against
Christ himself.
·
Christ died for that brother
of yours; is that so trivial a thing that you can
discount it?
·
Is that brother of yours not
a member – as you are – of the body of Christ?
Paul, of all the Apostles, is best qualified
to speak to this. Do you remember the road to Damascus, and
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
A final note
The problem in Paul’s time was a surplus of
intellectual Christianity; we now have a dearth. Consider the
plight of the new Christian who comes to his faith with an
intellectual or academic point of view.
·
Do we encourage him to look
beyond the facts and “just believe, brother?”
·
If he has this gift of
intellect, do we encourage him to use it – or tell him
to forget it?
If you’ve never heard the intellectual voice
in the church, perhaps there’s a reason.
