I need Support!!

[beckyb]

Ok, long story but here goes: Just got off the phone with my 68 year
old "healthy" (by her standards) MOTHER.. Since today is Sunday, she
starts telling me that I need to go to Church, yadayadayada. I am 50
years old!!

We had a long talke about "religion" and how I dont want to be involved
in the stress of that type of organization with their money problems, etc.
Don't want to get into that here but you get my gist...

So, we finally get off of that subject when she starts going on about how
she wants me to come live with her and "cook" for her. I told her I dont
cook my food, remember?? (How easy they forget). and I really cant
cook any dead animals and feel good about it. Of course she goes, Well
what do you eat?

I said.. "Im on the Genesis Diet"/// (Since she is so religious I thought she
might could relate). I am simply eating the way GOD intended us to eat.

Well thats not what GOD said, she says.. "He said anything he "made" is
ok for us to eat".. Then I go, "Mother, he also said Thall shalt not kill"
So why should i eat DEAD animials?? Where she goes " Well if you eat
a plant , it dies too.' and I go " Mother, no it doesn't, its alive in my
body because it is full of live enzymes"..

Then she goes, "Well I have to go, my CAKE in the oven in about done and
I am late for my BIBLE Study"


I am 50 years old and still argue with my MOTHER... over what? Religion
and food!!

I guess I don't understand how you can go to church and REALLY study
the Word Of God, and not realize that eating dead animals is wrong.

I am not a religious person but I do believe in the CREATOR and everything
that he made is good for us.....

Is this too deep for this forum? Am I being out of line to discuss this here?

If so, I stand corrected, but surely I am not the only one that has to deal
with their mother on this issue !!

How do I have peace about it?

Thanks!!

[Nurse in the Raw]

Here you go.

Gen 1:29 And God said, 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.

Genesis 9.4: But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat.

Leviticus 3.17: It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.

Leviticus 17.10: And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

Leviticus 17.12: Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

Leviticus 17.14: For as to the life of all flesh, its blood is with its life: therefore I said to the children of Israel, "You shall not eat the blood of any kind of flesh; for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off."

Isaiah 1.5: Saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of the goats. When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear, for your hands are full of blood.

Isaiah 66.3: He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man.

1 Samuel 14.32-33: And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood. Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day.

Acts 15.20: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

Acts 15.29: That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

[beckyb]

I appreciated all the verses.. I have read them and completely agree.

Can you answer this? What about "New Testament Thinking"? Did God
say it was OK to eat meat in the New Testament?

I am out of town (working) and don't have my bible with me or I would be
reading it like crazy!!

What are your thoughts on this?

Thank you so much for your reply... it means alot...

[yougottaloveme]

Becky,

It sounds as if this is something that is really bothering you, and you are looking for a solution. Well, I don't think I can give it to you. I feel that there is a common ground that you have to establish with your mother. But that is for you and your mother to work out. But I would like for you to try to look at things in a different perspective.

You said, that you were 50 and still arguing with your mother. I don't think you understand how blessed you are to have a mother at the age of 50. I am 25 years old and I lost my mother in 2005 to ALS. There is no one in this world like your mother. And when she is gone, she is truly gone. You won't even be able to pick up the phone and call her just to say Hi.

Our mother's only want to see us at our best. Your mother has been living her life for many years and has gottten comfortable in doing things her way. One thing that I have learned about older people is that when they are set in their ways, it is hard to change them.

Your mother may not every understand your way of thinking and that is ok. Everyone you meet is not going to accept your lifestyle. Hey, you don't accept theirs why should they accept yours. It is ok to disagree. But don't stress it. There is more to life that what you should eat or drink. You have to remember that you can't change people. You can show them the way, but you have to step back and let them take the first step.

I think that you should channel your energy into just enjoying your mother. All the good and bad conversations. If I could just hear my mother's voice I would be happy. And you have the chance to spend quality time with your mother and cook her meals. I look at your situation and I see nothing but goodness in the fact that God has blessed you with a mother who is still living and a mother who cares about you and your soul.

Becky, one of these old days your mother will be gone. And then, you will not have to worry about aruging with her. You won't have anyone to argue with. Count your blessings, and find other things to talk about. No one is promised tomorrow, so enjoy today and let tomorrow take care of itself.

I hope this helps you. It may not have been what you wanted to hear. But I hope that you can find that common ground between you and your mother. Time is precious, and it waits for no man. The raw lifestyle is not about complications it's about simplicity in every aspect of our lives.

[justinesmith]

Hi Becky~ O.k. this is my fourth attempt to write because I can't find the right words. I also struggle with a parent who is very religious but also seems very hypocritical. I would view her as an extremist and it is actually a bit frightening to me. A glimpse into our lives: when I had my first daughter 4 years ago, she threatened to call social services because I was still breastfeeding my daughter at 3 months old. To her it was sexual and inappropriate. I also changed her diaper too many times in her opinion, again it was sexual and inappropriate. She believes it is her duty to teach my children about God and her religion because I am unfit to do so. Needless to say, she does not spend much time alone with my girls.
To her my way of eating is extreme.... animals don't have souls and were put on the earth for our use/abuse. This is what her religion teaches her and I will never change that. I take everything with a grain of salt and realize that this is her journey here on earth and mine is COMPLETELY different.
I choose to honor God in a way that is foreign to her and she is frightened by that. There will never be anything I can do to change her view, just as there will never be anything she could do/say for me to share her beliefs.
My peace comes knowing that I am doing what is right for me and my family and she is doing the best she can for her and my dad. How you answer to your mother has to come from your heart (minus the frustration ~ believe me I know how hard that is) and pretty soon she'll leave you alone. If not, do the best you can to maintain your relationship with her without compromising yourself. Take care Becky and thanks for bringing this up.... its a doozy.

[EZ rider]

Everyone is changing as time moves forward. People do not stay the same, aging and events cause people to change subtly or sometimes even radically. If someone you know is changing in a way that is unacceptable to you then in my opinion you have the right as your own person to move on through life with no contact or with less contact with that person. I guess thats what divorce, or any broken relationship, is all about. Its a decision each person has to make for themselves.

[beckyb]

I know what you mean when you say your mother is also very religious and
very hypocritical too.

She is very anti-Methodist, anti-non-denominational. Its the Baptist way
to heaven or you don't get to go.

I don't want to get off on a religious dos or don'ts here. I realize this isn't
the place... I do love my MOther and we do have alot of quality time together. I cherish our moments and do NOT take her for granted. We
also realize we are very different. She raised me on Hamburger Helper
and Donuts for breakfast. I know she didn't and still doesn't know any
better. Heck, I raised my own children to eat meat and potatos because,
at the time, that's all I knew to do. I can't take back those years or have
that time to do it right.

Eating raw can create division... or do I create it ? This is the question!!

[Nurse in the Raw]

I appreciated all the verses.. I have read them and completely agree.

Can you answer this? What about "New Testament Thinking"? Did God
say it was OK to eat meat in the New Testament?

I am out of town (working) and don't have my bible with me or I would be
reading it like crazy!!

What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you so much for your reply... it means alot...

God does not forbid us to eat meat, we know this because Jesus multiplied the loaves of bread and fish and gave it to the multitudes. He wouldn't have done this if it were not permissible. But the question is not whether it is permissible but is it profitable for our bodies?

Here is a good example of what I am talking about.

Matthew 19:7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

Matthew 19:8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.


Just like in the beginning, we didn't eat meat. Adam and Eve were given only plants, veges, fruits and herbs to eat. Meat was not in the plan. It was not until man sinned and the earth was populated with rebellion that we began eating meat. Later on Moses had to give the Israelites dietary laws because they were so stiff necked and refused to do the right thing.

Also remember Peter's vision in Acts 10 when the sheet came down from heaven and it had a host of animals and creeping things on it and a voice from heaven said, "rise Peter, kill and eat: and Peter protested and said, I have never and will never eat anything that is common or unclean. Well a lot of people use this scripture to justify eating just about anything, when clearly a few verses down God tells Peter the reason for the vision.

Act 10:28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Colossians 2:16-17 Let no man therefore judge you in meat ("brosis" meaning food), or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Messiah.

Look at it this way, you don't violate any dietary laws in the Bible by eating raw vegan because it is the way God intended us to eat from the beginning.

[Ginger]

Anyone seen Zeitgeist or at least part one that talks about Jesus. It is of course pretty controversial but I believe it explains the reference to the fishes very well.

Part 1
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5551531171436875652

[barose]

It may sound harsh, but when my mother gets into that mode, I just dont talk to her. "I have to go now, talk to you later - bye" *Click* I dont like argument or conflict with anyone. My parents are no exception.

Its not like we were bonding anyway. :rolleyes:

[beckyb]

I know, its pretty sad when your own mother thinks you are going to hell.

I read somewhere that it is easier to change your religion than to change
your diet...

I may challenge her.. I will go to church for a week, if she will give up
meat for one week...

I do love my mother and we actually get along very well. She just goes
crazy about religion , and I know better than to call her on a Sunday
when she is "fresh" from church!!

Thank you guys for all your support!!!

:)

[Lal]

Becky,

I wish I had some wise words for you, like our pals have shared in earlier posts. But I'm trying to type this while my three year-old is getting into mischief and narrating her every step. So all I will say is this: You be strong! I've gone through periods where I didn't talk to my own mom for a year, which was just ridiculous. Thank goodness you love each other and can communicate more effectively 6 days out of the week!

Best to you, today and every day.

-Lal

p.s. My daughter is preparing a raw salad. Awwww! And by the way, we already have mother/daughter issues. Can't wait 'til she's 13 and raging with hormones. It's gonna be great.

[StarFire]

WHAT A GREAT THREAD! thanks beckyb for posting this and stacie for all the bible verses - and everyone else for their input... rawkin awesome topic! Many of us have (or have had) to deal with this issue. so - it was great to see it discussed here! I copied and pasted those bible verse stacie - saves me from having to do the research myself! (think those will come in handy a time or two!!) http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u13/liasmileys/happy115.gif

[Nurse in the Raw]

Sure thing.....anything to help my raw peeps.

[dreamrawalwz]

Thanks for the bible versus. regarding the reference to "fish" I"ve read somewhere that the translation is incorrect and "fish" doesn't truely mean fish as we see it. I am not sure where I read this though or I would put the link up.

My mom is very religious and I've wondered the same thing. "Thou shall not kill" doesn't specify to JUST humans so why wouldn't it carry over to animals? Many would say, "but *I* didn't kill it" but they still support the industry. I've brought this up to her and she gets defensive and quiet.

[D'vorah]

I agree with Stacie's observations. Well spoken.

Adding my own thoughts, G-d "allowed" the eating of meat in the Old Testament, as early as immediately following the flood. But allowing is not the same as commanding. I have heard various arguments as to why He would do that, one of which was that the earth would need time to allow the plant-life to recover from the flood damage.

My understanding of the New Testament passages is that it is not about what we shall or shall not eat, but rather, how we respond to others and how we respect them. The heart of another human matters more than our right to be right.

We can be just as "religious" and offensive about our raw-ness as the most offensive among the religious. Neither us nor them has the right to put being right above relationship, in my opinion, so, then comes the hard work of walking the fine line of keeping what we believe is best for us without stepping on their toes, even as we move our feet about to avoid having our toes stepped upon. It’s not easy.

Deborah

[D'vorah]

For a searchable online Bible:

http://www.biblegateway.com

D

[Ginger]

Adding my own thoughts, G-d "allowed" the eating of meat in the Old Testament, as early as immediately following the flood. But allowing is not the same as commanding. I have heard various arguments as to why He would do that, one of which was that the earth would need time to allow the plant-life to recover from the flood damage.


Deborah
But then what plants were these animals eating?

[tanishamarshall]

This is a great topic. Thanks for sharing all of the scriptures, I really appreciate it.