Welcome to the Purely Prabhupada channel. This video series is called “Reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all.” My name is Kamra devi dasi, and I am a disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
This is number twenty-three of the series. It is called “Questions for Christians.”
We know that Jesus instructed, “Thou shall not kill,” but still, most people who claim to be followers of Jesus eat meat in spite of that directive and the verse Isaiah 66.3, “He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man.” Also in Isaiah 1.15, we read “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; Yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.” The main argument I hear in support of meat eating in the Christian faith seems to be that it is OK to kill animals in that they do not have a soul. So my question is, what is the Christian definition of “soul?” What is the definition of “spirit?” Everything I have tried to research on this subject within the realm of the Bible is purely speculative.
In the same way that the composition of a dead human body and a living one have all the same constituents except life force, it is the same for animals. All the elements are there, but no life. An animal is driven for pleasure and survival same as the human. It knows when to eat, to drink, to rest, maybe even better than a human. So if soul or spirit means life force, there is no difference between the animal and the human, so how can it be said that the animal has no soul?
If soul means that the animal has no ability to understand God or spiritual subjects, that is another thing. And it is correct. It is the unfortunate condition of being an animal. Only the human has the capacity to learn to know and serve God and understand ourselves in relation to Him. But does that then mean that humans have stewardship over the animals, not dominion, in that these unfortunate creatures must be protected as they are lower in consciousness and helpless in our hands?
What did the Bible originally say? What might have been changed over the centuries that is no longer available to modern Bible followers? When was it proclaimed to be acceptable and even encouraged by the church leaders to eat the animals on the plea that they had no souls? We know that Jesus did not kill or eat animals, so what was the source of this misrepresentation?
Another question is- When it is quoted, “Hallowed be Thy Name,” from the Lord’s Prayer, to what name does it refer? I have never seen a reference to either the name of the Lord or how to glorify or worship it.
Also, In John 16.12, Jesus says that there is more he could tell but the people at that time would not be able to hear it. Does anyone inquire what the rest of the story might be and how to discover it?
I came to understand the teachings of Jesus much more clearly through the literary works of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. We have many of those available at PurelyPrabhupada.com. I invite you to study them. But you will have a much better chance of understanding the subject matter if you give up the eating of flesh foods and obey “Thou shall not kill,” accepting that the word “kill” applies to both humans and animals, who are most certainly not lacking life force, no matter what word we use for it. As the Bible speaks that the Lord dies not accept the prayers and offerings of one whose “hands are full of blood,” our Srila Prabhupada told us that the meat-eater is actually denied hearing about Krishna. Please obey “Thou shall not kill,” and chant the Holy Names of the Lord, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
