ABSTRACT
I. Introduction ...................................................................................... 508 II. The Responsibility For and Care Taking of Nature...................... 510
A. Zoroaster (c. 628-551 BCE) ............................................... 510 B. Ahimsa ................................................................................. 511 C. Christian and Jewish Ecological Responsibility................ 511 1. Loving One’s Neighbor ...................................................... 511 2. Dominion Over Nature ...................................................... 512 3. The Enhancement of Mental and Physical Faculties ....... 514 4. Daniel (c. 623-537 BCE).................................................... 514 5. Vegetarian Christians and Health ...................................... 516
III. The Sacredness of Life .................................................................... 516 A. Mahavira (c. 599-527 BCE) ...................................................... 517 B. Buddhist Thought...................................................................... 518 C. Hindu Philosophy ..................................................................... 518 D. Christian Thought...................................................................... 518 E. Jewish Thinking......................................................................... 519
IV. The Food of the Gods and the Diet of Paradise ......................... 521 A. Pythagoras (c. 582-507 BCE) ................................................... 521
V. The Denial of the Flesh .................................................................. 524 A. Buddha (c. 563-483 BCE) ........................................................ 524 B. Jewish Asceticism ...................................................................... 525
C. Christian Asceticism................................................................... 526 1. Modern Christian Vegetarianism........................................ 527
VI. Summary ........................................................................................... 529 References .................................................................................................. 529
Since the dawn of civilization, there has been an inexorable intertwining of food and religion. The earliest of recorded history is rife with the interconnections. The plethora of cultures with their divergent practices and behaviors still share this one commonality, for humans seem incapable of separating nourishment of the body from sustenance for the soul.
