The Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - July 15, 2022
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
1. Partisanship Is the Enemy of Truth
Humans have always been inclined to tribalism, in large part due to the scapegoating process. Both universalism and protection of individual rights generally requires resistance to tribalism. This resistance invariably includes critical thinking about those assumptions and beliefs that underly the loyalty to one’s tribe as well as the capacity to take the point of view of individuals outside one’s tribe. Loyalty to one’s tribe requires accepting falsehoods as truth, because one’s tribe is not always on the side of truth and righteousness. Religious beliefs, by virtue of being resistant to contradictory evidence, can facilitate believing falsehoods.
Those who seek truth often find the project daunting, because there has
been an explosion of information. We lack the capacity to understand and
integrate all the relevant human knowledge that pertains to a wide range of
important issues. We must rely on authorities to help make sense of the
world. The problem is that it is hard to find trustworthy authorities.
In our current, highly partisan world, anyone who deviates from the
narrative of one party is rejected by members of the other party. Adding
fresh data or insights has little bearing on public views on a given issue.
Further, there is little space for moderate, nuanced positions, where the
truth often lies. When the truth has little currency and when the personal
and profession cost for attempting to speak truth is high, democracy cannot
flourish. This is particularly the case in the United States, where our
cohesion as a nation is not grounded in ethnicity. Rather, we are unified by
a commitment to certain ideals. If our loyalty is to a partisan party rather
than ideals, then truth will be the first victim of the partisan wars. And,
it is much more lucrative, and often safer, for our institutions – the
media, the universities, the government, and others – to take sides and
ascribe to the narrative of one party or the other party than to pursue
truth.
A post-truth world desperately needs prophets. Those who speak with a prophetic voice are committed to justice, which is grounded in truth. When it comes to animal issues, there has been a longstanding need for prophetic voices, given humanity’s ongoing, massive mistreatment of nonhumans. It is possible that the collapse of human civilization, which is currently a very real risk, will ultimately substantially reduce the scale of animal abuse. I would hope that such a reprieve for nonhumans would not come at such a terrible loss to the people and the culture that I cherish.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
2. From All-Creatures.Org Ministry
There are a lot of great events happening in the month of July! Please be
sure to check out the events area in each week's newsletter.
Again, this week’s edition is packed full of information covering
up-to-the-moment 2022 topics including GOOD news for animals,
thought-provoking AR articles, religious and spiritual vegan information,
art & stories, and so much more!
All-Creatures.org Newsletter, July
14, 2022
In the Love of the Lord,
Frank L Hoffman
All-Creatures.org
and
Kindness,
Tams Nicholson
Executive Directress
All-Creatures.org
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