Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - December 12, 2021
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)

  1. CVA Activism
  2. Education, continued: History
  3. All-Creatures.Org Ministry

1. CVA Activism

Help spread the word by displaying CVA merchandise available HERE. And please help our ministry with a donation that can be made on that page or by check to:

CVA
PO Box 201791
Cleveland, OH 44120

We’re gearing up to resume leafleting at Christian events, particularly Winter Jam.

Speaking of leafleting, it is an effective, enjoyable ways to show our brothers and sisters in Christ that a plant-based diet is good for God’s Creation. When you volunteer for the CVA, the CVA donates $16/hr. for tabling and $25/hr. for up to 3 hours for leafleting to the veg. or animal protection group of your choice. Contact Lorena at lorenavalenziveg@gmail.com if you can help.

2. Education, continued: History

Virtually all research and all educational programs aim to improve the quality of life of individuals we care about. Sometimes, the endeavors have indirect effects, such as particle physics, which might unlock new energy sources or other benefits; or astronomy, which can give us a sense of our place in the universe and protect us from threats in space such as asteroids. While students often find the subject of history quite irrelevant to present-day concerns, I think that history, if properly taught, is crucial.

Often, grade schools teach history as a rather boring and seemingly irrelevant list of important dates and people. When the study of history involves more why things happened rather than simply what happened, we can learn many things. They include the universality of human motivations and desires; the conditions that bring out the best in persons and those that bring out the worst; and the capacity of humans to manifest hatred and love, loyalty and betrayal, and kindness and cruelty. Among the many lessons we can learn is that people often regret putting absolute trust and faith in individuals.

Another important lesson from history is that those who were remarkably more dedicated to truth and justice than their contemporaries still had ethical blind spots, such as the slave-owning Thomas Jefferson. Every generation is tempted to believe that they have discerned the highest ethics, but history teaches humility and encourages self-reflection and self-criticism. Indeed, we see many people today who dedicate much of their lives to social justice who think nothing of consuming the products of horrifically cruel factory farms.

The German philosopher Georg Hegel said, “The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” This is true if we’re only memorizing historical facts. The study of history should shift from memorizing facts that are actually accessible with a few keystrokes to studies that engender wisdom. Discerning the human, natural, and other forces that shape history is invaluable if we want to understand and effectively address contemporary challenges.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D. 

3. From All-Creatures.Org Ministry

Here is our recent All-Creatures Newsletter that we hope you like and share with others to help stop the exploitation and killing of animals.

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