To join the Vegan Christian Discipleship School, email craig.wescoe@gmail.com. Below are links to the previous class meetings. They each include a recording of the Zoom meeting and the downloadable study guide. You can also subscribe to our Discipleship School YouTube playlist.
#19 Why in the Torah does God say to eat as much meat as you desire?
Israel was not satisfied with God’s provisions because they craved animal flesh. So God handed them over to their evil desires. Upon eating the flesh, many were struck with a plague and died in the ‘grave of craving.’ God thereafter gave them a choice between death and life, encouraging them to choose life. Instead of serving the desires of the flesh, God wants His children to rule over these desires and to be content with the diet He says is best for us to eat, a vegan diet of fruit and vegetation.
#18 Was God pleased by the aroma of burnt offerings?
The aroma of burnt offerings made to God was pleasing to the human senses, not to God, in the same way the forbidden fruit was pleasing to Eve’s senses but not to God. Interpreting the aroma as being pleasing to the recipient of the offering, rather than to the offeror, leads to a contradiction when considering the verse in Ezekiel where pleasing aroma was offered to inert idols that have noses but cannot smell. It also contradicts what the prophets say about God not being pleased by sacrifices and burnt offerings. Living by love and showing mercy (to all creatures) is the aroma pleasing to God.
#17 Did God Create Animals to be Eaten as Food?
God did not create animals to be eaten as food. God created fruit and vegetation to be eaten as food. God created animals to be fruitful and multiply, to peacefully inhabit the earth as our neighbors, to be known by name, and to praise God alongside us. We should therefore not treat animals as food to be eaten.
#16 Can God Be Good If Suffering Exists?
Yes! Without the possibility of evil existing, good would not be able to exist in the world. Although evil must have the potential to exist, it only actually exists as long we continue to perpetuate it. And since God is a free being, we would not truly be created in God’s image if we weren’t likewise free, having the ability to choose good or evil. Although evil is allowed to temporarily exist, God is patiently waiting for us to stop perpetuating it and instead to return to His very good way of love. He is doing His part by saving us by grace. Are we doing ours?
#15 Why aren’t more Christians Concerned with Creation Care?
The most common reasons are: ignorance, tradition, deception, temptation, and vanity. For many church leaders, two additional reasons are: profit and fear.
#14 Will God ever bring back the temple practice of animal sacrifice?
No, God will never bring back sacrifices. Jesus, our high priest forever, ended the practice of animal sacrifice once and for all by disrupting the temple and offering His own life on the cross. We as the body of Christ are the living temple of God, offering spiritual sacrifices of praise and generosity, the sacrifices that are truly pleasing to God, of which the temple practice of animal sacrifice was a mere shadow and not what God ever really desired or required.
#13 Did Jesus Declare all Foods Clean when He said What goes into a Person does not Defile Them?
No, Jesus was talking about eating with unwashed hands. His point was that following God’s instructions, including those pertaining to diet, are more important than following man-made traditions. What comes out of our heart is what defiles us, not eating with unwashed hands. When it comes to eating animals, the words coming out of a person’s mouth in defense of violence and disobedience are what defiles them.
#12 What does it Mean for a Land to be Flowing with Milk and Honey?
To be flowing with milk and honey means a land is conducive to abundant life. The phrase refers specifically to the Israelite promised land, which symbolically represented the heavenly kingdom. The phrase is not an endorsement for consuming animal products.
#11 What does the Bible say about Hunting?
God created humans to be gardeners, not hunters. The two hunters mentioned by name in the Bible (Nimrod and Esau) are described as enemies of God. God placed restrictions on hunting that carry steep penalties if not strictly adhered to. The only way to fully adhere to such restrictions is to abstain from hunting entirely. Needlessly killing a defenseless animal also goes against God’s character of mercy and compassion.
In the early church, it was taught that eating animals was sin. In the Bible there are many instances in which eating animals is explicitly stated as sin. Additionally, there are other biblically-derived reasons to believe it is sin to eat animals. In our walk with God, we should therefore avoid eating animals, just as we should avoid other forms of sin.
Many people do not realize this but yes, animals do have a soul, just as humans have a soul. Scripture is clear on this point. The Bible also suggests that animal souls have the same fate as human souls and that the righteous regard and preserve the souls of animals.
#8 Should we wait until Jesus returns or should we prepare for the kingdom now?
Jesus taught to make ourselves ready for His kingdom now, so that when He returns He will find us being the good stewards He instructed and designed us to be from the beginning. We are to embody His character and live according to His kingdom ideals in everything we do, including in the way we steward His created world and all the creatures living therein.
#7 Is it more Christlike to defend animals or to defend people’s freedom to hurt animals?
The character of Christ is one of humility, love, and mercy. He cares for the vulnerable, speaks up for the voiceless, and liberates the captives. He also prioritizes the preaching of the gospel above His own individual freedoms. It is therefore more Christlike to defend animals than it is to defend people’s freedom to hurt animals.
God created fruit and vegetation, not animal flesh, to be eaten with thanks. If forbidding certain foods proves demonic influence, then that would mean God is following a demon, since God gave numerous food prohibitions throughout the Bible. Calling the Spirit of God a demon is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The passage is not doing this but is instead talking about hypocritical liars who abandon the faith and forbid what God declares good.
#5 Were the Apostles and the Early Church Vegan?
There is a considerable amount of evidence from our earliest sources that the apostles and family members of Jesus were individually and collectively vegan. According to these sources, they all abstained from flesh-eating and opposed the killing of animals.
#4 Did God ever desire or require animal sacrifice?
No, the prophets are in agreement that God did not ever desire or require animal sacrifice. There are two perspectives when it comes to why there are passages in the Bible suggesting He did. One is that God put up with it for a time, in order to draw humanity back to His perfect will. The other is that these passages were added by the lying pen of priestly scribes for the purpose of promoting their own desire for animal sacrifice that was contrary to the will of God.
#3 Did God change His mind about animals after the flood?
God originally gave humanity fruit and vegetation as our diet. After the flood, God declared that humanity was following their own evil ways and that animals were given into their evil hand, and He warned to abstain from consuming flesh and blood. Some misconstrue this as God changing His mind and granting permission to kill and eat animals, but at best it is a concession to the evil hardheartedness of man, with corresponding consequences. It is not God changing His mind about animals.
#2 How did nature get the way it is if predation wasn’t God’s design?
It was never God’s intention for any of His creatures to kill each other. The world fell from its state of peace when we stopped following God’s instructions to properly steward His created world and instead began corrupting the animals and their habitats, under the influence of evil spiritual powers. The world will be restored again to what it was meant to be when we turn away from evil and go back to leading all creation in God’s way of love and peace.
#1 What does it mean for humanity to have dominion in God’s image and likeness?
Having dominion in God’s image and likeness means ruling over all creation and leading in God’s way of peace through loving service. It is granted to humanity in Genesis 1:28, and the very next verse suggests that this dominion entails eating a diet that consists entirely of fruit and vegetation.
Swords to Plowshares 
love these classes 🌱💚👌
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