As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for
disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the
weak man eats only vegetables.
Paul wrote to the Romans
that “the weak man eats only vegetables” (14:2). At that time, Jews
were banned from Rome, and a kosher butcher would have been
arrested. Unable to obtain kosher meat, many Jews abstained from
meat altogether, for fear of eating meat that had been offered to a
pagan god. Paul maintained that eating meat, even if offered to
idols, was not a spiritual concern, because the pagan gods didn’t
exist. Only the “weak in faith” failed to appreciate that sacrifices
to fictitious gods were meaningless. Paul said that meat-eaters
should not condemn those who abstain, and vice versa (14:3). It
appears that Paul wrote this to the Romans because Paul was
concerned about differences on diet dividing the church. Paul was
not justifying meat-eating per se, and this passage certainly does
not endorse factory farming.
Your question and comments are welcome
