Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - March 11, 2024
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)


  1. Amazing activist Rick Hershey
  2. Toward Building the “Beloved Community”: An Independent Judiciary
  3. All-Creatures.Org Ministry

1. Amazing activist Rick Hershey writes:

I handed out 2400 CVA booklets at the Winter Jam concert at Legacy Arena in Birmingham today. It was cold and very windy. Most of the booklets went to kids. I had no problems with staff, and many people thanked me for being there. Many others said bless you to me.

Your CVA Chair/Steve Kaufman at Winter Jam:

I handed out about 600 booklets to a receptive and appreciative crowd in Cleveland. While not the numbers typically reported by Rick, it was a very gratifying experience.


2. Toward Building the “Beloved Community”: An Independent Judiciary

I have been discussing what policies are important in promoting Christian principles, and last time I argued that foremost among them is freedom of speech. Today, I will discuss dedication to the truth.

It is tempting to see the world in ways that promote one’s own interests or the interests of one’s community or tribe. Yielding to this temptation leads to conflicts which can easily become hurtful or even violent. At the least, it undermines efforts to establish the “beloved community.”

The Internet, and particularly social media, encourages people to envelop themselves in “information bubbles.” With different people having fundamentally different views about what is real in the world, it becomes increasingly difficult to have intelligent conversations, respectful exchanges, and amicable resolution to conflicts. Indeed, the tribalism promoted by social media fuels the scapegoating process by identifying people outside one’s group as evil and a threat that must be neutralized by whatever means are necessary.

The advent of AI and of “deep fakes” videos, which can provide false depictions of people and events, has made it increasingly difficult to discern truth. We need trustworthy people to help us sort through the mountains of information out there, because “do your own research” is not practical for most people. There are people I trust who are both left-leaning and right-leaning, but finding such people can be challenging. And, thanks to AI and other technologies, people are becoming increasingly sophisticated in building trust, which can then be exploited at opportune times.

I offer a few guidelines to help discern truth:

  • Be highly skeptical of people’s claims about their opponents say or do.
  • Never trust peoples’ claims regarding the motives of their opponents.
  • People who admit their mistakes tend to be more trustworthy.
  • People who do not have a conflict of interest tend to be more trustworthy.
  • Those who have resisted corrupt authorities, often at great risk to themselves, tend to be trustworthy.
  • Those who advocate on behalf of others tend to be more trustworthy.
  • Those whose lives reflect their stated values tend to be more trustworthy.

3. From All-Creatures.Org Ministry


All-Creatures.org Newsletter, March 6, 2024:

Check out the March 6 newsletter, with lots of interesting and inspiring articles and commentaries:

Clans, culture, dialects are NOT unique to Humans — Chickens outnumber Humans 3.5 to 1 — Caroline Earle White founded first animal shelter and AAVS — Veganism in Education — ‘Don’t close the doors’ — causes for Iowa’s ‘cancer crisis’ — Cat #SP05 — some flea and tick collars are killikng pets — meat and dairy and air quality — the atrocity is not that people eat animals; the atrocity is that it’s not necessary — is Horse riding vegan? — and more…

Do you have things that you would like to see included in future newsletters? Then send it to us at veda@all-creatures.org

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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