Merry Christmas! (Happy Holidays!)

Here are some thoughts to help you choose your Christmas menu! Below are some recipe links.

Christmas, in terms of the religious holiday, is a celebration in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazereth. Whatever his actual birth, December 25th is the date chosen to celebrate his birth and life. Jesus spent much of his time here with the Essenes. The Essene scriptures contain many of the words that Jesus spoke with them. Many of these words will be familiar to those who have read the Bible. Some of his words may not be familiar, as they were not included in the Bible, but are included in the ancient scriptures known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These ancient texts have shed new light on the life and teachings of Christ. Jesus taught us compassion and love. In the Essene Gospel of Peace we are given insights into the extent of His compassion. He teaches us that "Thou Shalt Not Kill" actually means all living creatures, not just humans. In terms of food, He reminds us that plant life is meant for food for us.

Here are some quotes of Jesus from the Essene Gospel of Peace:

"Thou shalt not kill"

'Thou shalt not kill,' for life is given to all by God, and that which God has given, let not man take away. For-I tell you truly, from one Mother proceeds all that lives upon the earth. Therefore, he who kills, kills his brother. And from him will the Earthly Mother turn away, and will pluck from him her quickening breasts. And he will be shunned by her angels, and Satan will have his dwelling in his body. And the flesh of slain beasts in his body will become his own tomb. For I tell you truly, he who kills, kills himself, and whoso eats the flesh of slain beasts, eats of the body of death. For in his blood every drop of their blood turns to poison; in his breath their breath to stink; in his flesh their flesh to boils; in his bones their bones to chalk; in his bowels their bowels t o decay; in his eyes their eyes to scales; in his ears their ears to waxy issue. And their death will become his death.

"I have given you every herb bearing seed... to you it shall be for meat"

Kill not, neither eat the flesh of your innocent prey, lest you become the slaves of Satan. For that is the path of sufferings, and it leads unto death. But do the will of God, that his angels may serve you on the way of life. Obey, therefore, the words of God: 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is breath of life, I give every green herb for meat.

Based on His teachings of compassion to all life, as well as the above teachings, please consider that the serving of animals at your Christmas dinner (or any meal) does not honor Jesus. To honor Him, we should serve wholesome foods that have not caused any suffering of any of God's creatures. This would also include dairy, as most of today's dairy herds live their lives in confined spaces, are repeatedly artificially inseminated to ensure lactasion, have their young stolen from them within a couple days of birth, are fed and injected a variety of hormones and drugs, and are murdered as soon as they are not "efficient producers!" I suggest to you that Jesus would not approve of such conditions and practices and would not wish us to support them. We, as humans, have a great responsibility. We are meant to be the guardians of God's creatures on this planet. Our choices for the dinner table can have a great impact on these wonderful animals, which we are responsible for. As God has given us a great bounty of plant-based foods on this amazing Earth, please be grateful to God and Honor the birth and life of Jesus by offering a wonderful, wholesome, strict vegetarian meal this Holiday Season. There are amazing options in today's grocery stores, especially in whole food markets and health food stores.

Here are some links to help you this Holiday Season (and beyond!)

Some vegan holiday recipes:

From the Vegetarian Resource Group:

Cooking with Tofurky for the Holidays (and other Holiday favorites)

A Holiday Celebration

Other recipes

From Veggies Unite!:

"Vegetarian Christmas"

From the Vegan Family House"

Vegan Christmas or Yule

From Vegan In A VW:

Vegan Christmas dinner for six

From Vegetarian About.com

Vegan Holiday Cookies

Miscellaneous vegan recipes:

From Vegetarians in Paradise

Gourmet vegetarian recipe index:

Recipes from Marie Oser:

Marie's Recipes

Recipes from VeganCooking.com:

Great tasting recipes free from animal products

Celebrities for Health vegan Recipes

Jeff's Recipes

The online version of the ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE (book one) is brought to us by The Essene Nazarean Church of Mount Carmel. Other books of The Essene Gospel of Peace can be found here.

Here are some other sites on vegetarianism and Christianity:

Jesus Was a Vegetarian - This site from PETA encourages Christians to consider a vegetarian diet.

Hallelujah Acres Online: A Biblical perspective of vegetarianism and home of the Hallelujah Diet.

Christian Vegetarian Association - An international, ecumenical association of Christians promoting vegetarianism.

Was Christ a Vegetarian? (essay)

The Christian Argument for Vegetarianism (essay)

 

For links to additional sites on Religious & Spiritual Aspects of Vegetarianism, go to our links page.

back to the top

Vegetarian Protein Sources / Vegetarian Calcium Sources / Vegetarian Iron Sources
Vegetarian Fiber Sources / Vegetarian Fat Sources / Health Facts / Vegan Recipes / Vegetarian Organizations
Celebrity Vegetarian Interviews / SoyStache Project / SoyStache Home / A Letter From the Cows / Raw Food Links
Famous Vegans and Vegetarians A - Z / Natural Weight Loss Diet
Nutrition Tables / Vegetarian Events / Extensive Vegetarian & Vegan Links / Jesus - vegetarian / "Not-So-Famous" Vegetarians
Raw Food info / Vegan Books / Raw Food Books / Vegan Poems / Animal Rights Events / Raw Food Events /
Raw Food Articles / Raw Food Restaurants / Images / Email List / Contact us / Vegan Travel
Search! .