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Philippians and Philemon: Prison Epistles, Part 2

  1. Lesson One
    Overview of Philippians (Philippians 1–4)
    22 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    Philippians: Suffering and Community (Philippians Review)
    22 Activities
  3. Lesson Three
    Overview of Philemon
    22 Activities
  4. Lesson Four
    Paul and Slavery (Philemon, Romans 6 Review)
    17 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  5. Lesson Five
    Social Impact
    9 Activities
    |
    4 Assessments
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

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For the first eight chapters of the Bible, humans are vegetarian. It is only following the flood that Noah and his family are given the authority to eat meat:

The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 
Genesis 9:2-3 NIV

Because of this passage some believers see vegetarianism as a moral issue. They tend to see this arrangement, where humans did not eat animals, as an ideal model for the way we should relate respectfully to our environment. This has been a minority position throughout Christian history, but it’s an important one that is growing today. It is, in part, a reaction against the view that God’s blessing in Genesis 1:28 is permission to abuse the environment: 

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 
Genesis 1:28 NIV

Many have misread this command to “subdue” the earth as permission to dominate and abuse it. Adam and Eve are made stewards of creation. Along with rule over the earth they are given the responsibility to respect and protect it as God’s creation. As Bible believers, we have a responsibility to care for the health of the environment and to invest in issues like pollution and sustainability. 

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