Happy Thanksgiving! “The saints are exceedingly loving and gentle to mankind, and even to brute beasts ... Surely we ought to show them [animals] great kindness and gentleness for many reasons, but, above all, because they are of the same origin as ourselves.” St. John Chrysostom I don't have a new...
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THE LEAST OF THESE Matthew 25: 41- 44, 45 Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, Sick and in prison and you did not visit me. . . . Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." May God give us ears to hear and eyes to see; and may God help us to do better. _________________________________________________________________ Photo credits: Horse: eXtensionHorses CC-BY-SA-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Puppy mill: public domain Dog in the snow: Radu Sigheti/Reuters, TheStar.com Battery caged chickens: Maqi CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Pigs in gestation crates: Farm Sanctuary Monkey in lab: public domain
ON HUMANS AND OTHER ANIMALS More on the Doctrine of Creation in David Clough’s On Animals , Vol. 1 I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. For the fate of human beings and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals . . . ~ Ecclesiastes 3:18-19 If it is true that the purpose of all of creation is to be in relationship with God as Trinity, as I discussed in All Creatures Of Our God And King , what does that mean for the place of humans in creation, and what does it mean for the place of other animals? How are humans and other animals the same; what sets them apart? What sets humans and other animals apart from the rest of cre...
FOOD IN PRAYER, PRACTICE, AND PLANNING As we plan for feasts this holiday season, here are three things to keep in mind: First, here is an article by Bruce Friedrich in Reflections, a publication of the Yale Divinity School: Toward A Divine Diet . In it, Bruce (whom I've mentioned before ), talks about faith and veganism. He addresses the many impacts of eating animals, discusses food choice as a way of prayer, and suggests, "Eating connects us to the processes that go into producing our food, and by choosing to eat plants, and not animals -- as it was in the beginning and as it will be -- we can all begin to live God's peaceful vision for all of God's creation." Second, and by way of contrast, here is Mark Bittman in the Washington Post with an article entitled " How A National Food Policy Could Save Millions Of American Lives ," addressing the sorry state of ou...
ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING The Doctrine of Creation in David Clough’s On Animals, Vol. 1 All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! ~ Hymn, based on a poem by St. Francis What is the purpose of creation? Where do humans fit into that purpose? And where do other animals fit? Are other animals – and the rest of the non-human creation – created solely for human benefit, or is something larger at work? What separates humans from other animals? What does it mean to be created in the image of God? These are some ...