Why is fish not considered a meat?

[exoflare]

Pious:

Fruitarian. A type of vegan diet where very few processed or cooked foods are eaten. Consists mainly of raw fruit, grains and nuts. Fruitarians believe only plant foods that can be harvested without killing the plant should be eaten.

Macrobiotic. A diet followed for spiritual and philosophical reasons. Aims to maintain a balance between foods seen as ying (positive) or yang (negative). The diet progresses through ten levels, becoming increasingly restrictive. Not all levels are vegetarian, though each level gradually eliminates animal products. The highest levels eliminate fruit and vegetables, eventually reaching the level of a brown rice diet.

I stand corrected… I didn’t think you could get any crazier than just “vegan”!

 

[Larry1700]

What a stupid question! Fish is definitely NOT a meat! Fish is tasteless unless you add seasonings, batter, etc. Meat, on the other hand, tastes great without the extra stuff. (Now I must admit that I am a little biased. The only seafood I like is a cow that swims.)

More seriously though, I have occasionally wrestled with the idea of going vegetarian (yuck) because of Daniel’s proposal to the soldier to allow him and his two companions to eat only fruits and vegetables, while the others were required to eat meat, etc. Daniel and his two companions were more healthy than the meat-eaters. HOWEVER, (thankfully) the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter in a dream that all creatures are acceptable as food. (Pardon my memory, if there are some errors here. It’s been a while since I read the passages, and I don’t have time to look them up.)

While I wish I had the fortitude (and taste buds) to go vegetarian or pescatarian, for now I’m sticking to meat (steak, burgers, hot dogs), and getting my veggies via a glass of V8 juice. I have a theory that the more grease in the hambuger, the better it lubricates the cholesterol, so it won’t stick to your veins!

 

[seashell]

I read an article that talked about how Jesus, Mary and Joseph were members of a sect of Judaism called the Essenes. They were vegetarians and refrained from Sex and did some other things, it’s been a while since I read it. It was pretty interesting though. I don’t think there’s proof, but it sounds like it might be plausiable.

 

[Catilieth]

If one looks to how God made things, and just a little logic, one would clearly see that humans are intended by their anatomy and physiology to be omniverous, tending more towards carniverous. Our digestive tract is most definitely, absolutely, without a doubt not herbiverous.
All herbivors have some sort of “fermentation vat” somewhere in their gut. Some are foregut fermentors, such as ruminants. Others like horses and rabbits are hindgut fermentors. The reason for this is that mammals have no way to digest cellulose, the main component of most plants. Needless to say, humans are neither foregut nor hindgut fermentors.

Another clue is that in general, herbivors do not have a protein requirement, because they derive all their amino acid (protein building blocks) from the bacteria that digest the cellulose. Humans have a definite requirement for very specific amino acids. Also, humans can manufacture** all** of their carbohydrate requirements from protein (gluconeogenesis). Some societies such as Eskimo live very healthy lives without eating** any** plant material for years at a time. Our dentition is not herbiverous. I could to on… Suffice it to say that we did not survive the ice age on tofu.

My point is that there is no physical/health reason to be a vegetarian/vegan.
Those that are vegans are because they have an agenda. They should remember that only plants can survive without killing something. Vegans make the moral (for lack of a better term) judgement that it is better to kill one sort of living thing than another. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that eating animals is wrong. Many of the people we see in the bible (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.) were herdsmen…sheep, goats, cattle and camels. What do you think they did with those animals??? They ate them. God commanded that they MUST eat lamb at Passover…those that did not lost their firstborn at the first Passover (or died if they were eldest).

 

[trentag88]

I’d say we can safely exclude driving a car BUT he is recorded riding on a donkey. It’s probably presumed that all people smile and laugh at times. The bible does record that “Jesus wept”. It may not mention combing hair, bathing, brushing teeth, etc but Jesus was a follower of the law as he grew up (since Mary and Joseph were Jews) so it would be presumed that he observed ritual cleanliness. It was later that he taught how the Pharisees were so encumbered by the law that they forgot how to be charitable. It IS recorded that Mary Magdalene washed and annointed Jesus’ feet. It may not mention doing homework but Jesus was found in the temple discussing religion at age 12 so it’s safe to say he had done his homework.
Maybe the lesson is that we DO know a lot about Jesus if we read the scriptures.

The scriptures… But not His own. (?) I believe it is the Catholic Church that represses Jesus’ own writings. It IS a shame to do so. He was such a great man, and to dishonor him in such a way is blasphemy (?)

 

[trentag88]

The scriptures… But not His own. (?) I believe it is the Catholic Church that represses Jesus’ own writings. It IS a shame to do so. He was such a great man, and to dishonor him in such a way is blasphemy (?)

do you disagree?

 

[trentag88]

If one looks to how God made things, and just a little logic, one would clearly see that humans are intended by their anatomy and physiology to be omniverous, tending more towards carniverous. Our digestive tract is most definitely, absolutely, without a doubt not herbiverous.
All herbivors have some sort of “fermentation vat” somewhere in their gut. Some are foregut fermentors, such as ruminants. Others like horses and rabbits are hindgut fermentors. The reason for this is that mammals have no way to digest cellulose, the main component of most plants. Needless to say, humans are neither foregut nor hindgut fermentors.

Another clue is that in general, herbivors do not have a protein requirement, because they derive all their amino acid (protein building blocks) from the bacteria that digest the cellulose. Humans have a definite requirement for very specific amino acids. Also, humans can manufacture** all** of their carbohydrate requirements from protein (gluconeogenesis). Some societies such as Eskimo live very healthy lives without eating** any** plant material for years at a time. Our dentition is not herbiverous. I could to on… Suffice it to say that we did not survive the ice age on tofu.

My point is that there is no physical/health reason to be a vegetarian/vegan.
Those that are vegans are because they have an agenda. They should remember that only plants can survive without killing something. Vegans make the moral (for lack of a better term) judgement that it is better to kill one sort of living thing than another. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that eating animals is wrong. Many of the people we see in the bible (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.) were herdsmen…sheep, goats, cattle and camels. What do you think they did with those animals??? They ate them. God commanded that they MUST eat lamb at Passover…those that did not lost their firstborn at the first Passover (or died if they were eldest).

Just to test your faith… my father has never eaten lamb… my mother has never miscarried. 'nuff said.

 

[Warrenton]

Fish are seafood.
Isn’t it interesting that in the bible Jesus cooks (on one occasion) and eats fish with the disciples and of course he offers the bread and wine at the last supper but I cannot recall any instance where he is depicted eating meat. ??? Do you think there may be a lesson in this for us?

Of course there is a lesson. The Desert Fathers discuss the lesson at great length, as do monks in the western tradition.

Like carnal relations, gathering money, idle discourse, joking, eating meat is a luxury given to laymen to ease our burdens in life. That we have forgotten these things explains both the frivolity of many of our passtimes and the obesity epidemic.

 

[Jmd96]

Just to add to the discussion of religious vegetarianism, here’s the paragraph of the CCC upon which I base my personal vegetarianism:

2418 It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.

For me, this obviously eliminates extreme groups like PETA or others that hold animals as equal to people.

However, it also raises interesting questions for me, like “Is the suffering going on in today’s factory farms needless? If so, should I be supporting them?” and, “With today’s knowledge and access to foods, is it really necessary for animals to die for my diet?”

That’s why I am personally a vegetarian. I hope this won’t be interpreted as promoting some kind of agenda, after all it does seem like a touchy subject. But I hope it helps some people understand the reasoning between Catholic vegetarianism

God bless,

 

[Kouyate42]

This may also have its origins in kosher classifications, which early Christians DID follow.

There are three categories in kosher foods:

• Meat (fleishik)
• Dairy (milkshik)
• Neutral (pareve)
  
  Fish is considered a pareve (or parve as it’s sometimes spelt) food. This means it can be eaten with any other parve food such as vegetables, or with dairy. The most observant Jewish person will not eat any sort of meat with fish in the same meal.
  
  Generally fish isn’t considered meat as it does not give off blood when being prepared. This is why it’s parve as far as I’m aware, as per rabbinic teachings and also a Biblical argument that the prohibition against boiling meat and milk together only refers to land-dwelling animals.

 

[Bobby_Jim]

Fish is considered a pareve (or parve as it’s sometimes spelt) food. This means it can be eaten with any other parve food such as vegetables, or with dairy. The most observant Jewish person will not eat any sort of meat with fish in the same meal.

So no surf-n-turf, no bacon-wrapped trout fillets (well I guess the bacon is out anyway), no fish-n-chicken combo from the chicken shack, no fish-n-chips with chili-cheese fries (the chili-cheese combo is probably out anyway…) lots of sacrifices in being observant!