Was Jesus Vegan? What diet should a Christian follow?

Jesus Fish

I was raised a pescetarian, which is a fancy way of saying I was a vegetarian who ate seafood.  I understood at a very young age the difference between vegan and vegetarian, and I never passed judgment on those with different dietary practices than mine.  As an adult, I get to choose what I want to eat, and my vegetarian upbringing has a lot to do with the foods I eat today.  At times, depending on the dish, I prefer a veggie-dog to a hot dog, and I love a Veggie Gourmet pizza from Round Table, or a vegetarian burrito from a local Mexican restaurant.  But I also happen to enjoy bacon, fried chicken, ribs, calamari, salmon, hamburger, squid, and many other prepared meats both common and obscure. The diet does not make the man, so I have no judgment or resentment for another person based on their eating habits, that would be immature, in both the social sense and the spiritual sense.  The apostle Paul has gone on record and given us his thoughts on judging others based on dietary practices in Colossians chapter 2 and verses 16 and 17:

Therefore no one is to [n]act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath [o]day— 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the [p]substance [q]belongs to Christ. [Source]

These verses apply to new covenant Christians who live without the requirements of the law regarding dietary restrictions, ceremonial washings, religious festivals and many (possibly hundreds) of other physical acts that all represent Christ and his holiness.  But they also apply, in a more general sense, to our attitudes in general about one another’s personal lifestyle preferences, especially those in which there is no apparent sinfulness. Continue reading →

This picture always makes me happy

Long ago, I was challenged by my great friend Brian to photoshop these two together.  The process took just a few minutes, but the joy that has been brought to me over the years by the merging of these two heroes seems perpetual.  In an effort to share that joy, I bring you…Sammy Davis Prime

Sammy Davis Jr.'s head on Optimus Prime's body.

Sammy Davis Jr.’s head on Optimus Prime’s body.

And later I added this rendition with some captioning.  They tickle my inner being, so I share in the hopes of tickling yours.  Come on, just look at how happy he is to be leader of the Autobots.

Sammy Davis Prime Titled

Guitar Lesson 3 – Playing Along With A Band

Our first Lesson was to get us used to playing along with a simple 4 count beat.  This week, we add a new element to it.

Four simple chords; Em, G, D, C

The song included with this lesson will start with a 4 count intro and then start the chord progression.  Play along with the drums and the bass guitar.  Feel free to play any strumming pattern you like, but play along with the other instruments and try to change chords at the same time that the bass guitar does.

Here’s the track to play along with:

Lesson 3 – playing with a band

Guitar Lesson 2 – The E Major and A Minor chord shapes

This week we introduce two new chord shapes.  They are very similar, so once you learn one, the other is very easy to learn as well.

Starting with the E Major chord, sometimes written simply as “E”, you can form this chord with your middle and ring fingers on the the second fret of the A and D strings just as you might with an E Minor chord.  But now add the first finger to the first fret of the G string.  That’s E Major.

A Minor, or Am, is the same basic shape, but your fingers are on the D, G, and B strings.

Playing from E Major to A Minor is a good way to get a feel for the chords without sounding too repetitive.  The two chords work together to give a sort of “Spanish” style sound.

If you want a beat to play along to, you can use the ones from Guitar Lesson 1.
E MajorA Minor

Guitar Lesson 1 – Playing Rhythmically over a beat or metronome

The music tracks used for this lesson:

Lesson 1 Beats with Counting

Lesson 1 Beats

In this lesson, the beat increases every 30 seconds or so, starting at 70 beats per minute (BPM) and working up faster and faster.  Play some simple chords like Em, G, D, C.  Play them in whatever order you want.  Play each chord for 1 bar and then change.  The focus here is still transitioning between chords smoothly and rhythmically.