Credible sources point to the conclusion that Jesus and those closest to him were almost totally vegan, and yet when I have tried to share that information with some people, I have become the target of some strange gaslighting.
“Gaslighting” is a subtle form of emotional or mental manipulation, where the abuser makes the recipient doubt themselves and question their perception of reality.
I could not understand that gaslighting until I read The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA by Norm Phelps. That book is essential reading for vegan activists who want to better understand the defensiveness and gaslighting of some non-vegans. Phelps constructs an awesome framework for understanding the massive brainwashing and indoctrination since Paul, who adopted the Aristotelian view that animals are here for human use.
Paul lived after Jesus, so he was not among Jesus’ closest disciples who were vegans, including Simon Peter, Matthew, Thomas, and Jesus’ brother, James. (James would not even wear wool.) Phelps writes that there is only one gospel (Luke) that says Jesus ate fish, and it was only once. Following their example, the early Jewish Christians were vegetarians. Religious scholar Keith Akers agrees with Phelps that Paul was not ethically concerned with animals, but interestingly, Akers concludes that Paul himself was likely a vegetarian. (See his well-researched article: “Was Jesus a Vegan?”)
To believe that the animals exist on Earth for human use is to believe that it is morally acceptable to abuse and slaughter them. Jesus did *not* believe that. In fact, he was so outraged about the animal sacrifices, that he drove the animals out of the temple.
Vegans today do not believe that either. Science has proven that the non-human animals are sentient beings, capable of feeling pain and pleasure. Thus, it is morally wrong to kill them and eat their flesh. And it is wrong to steal their fluids (milk and eggs), which causes as much suffering as the killings.
In the introductory section of my book Vegan Ramayana, I wrote: “When people use the term “Vegan Nazis” that is the ultimate irony — that is total projection and gaslighting. The vegans are the ones who want to stop the insane massive killing of other beings, so they are definitely not the people to be called Nazis! In reality, the Nazis are the people who participate in killing animals, either directly or indirectly.”
If you are not yet vegan, please contemplate the feelings of the animals, and please go vegan today!
Turkey: Daina Krumins on Pixabay.
