Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - November 30, 2024
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)

  1. James Baldwin – Accepting and Loving Ourselves and Each Other
  2. Christian Vegetarian Association Marketplace
  3. All-Creatures.Org Ministry

1. James Baldwin – Accepting and Loving Ourselves and Each Other

This week, I’d like to reflect on a passage from the civil rights activist and writer James Baldwin, who is one of my heroes.

White people in this country will have quite enough to do in learning how to accept and love themselves and each other, and when they have achieved this—which will not be tomorrow and may very well be never—the Negro problem will no longer exist, for it will no longer be needed.
~  from “Letter from a Region in My Mind”

Baldwin recognized that disregard of the other is grounded in disregard for oneself and other members of one’s own community. If we feel worthy, we don’t need to feel better than anyone else. If we have compassion and respect for the other members of our community, we don’t need to blame other individuals for the hard feelings in our community.

To be sure, one reason humans harmfully exploit nonhumans is simple material gain – nonhumans are vulnerable and humans have carnal desires such as food and clothing preferences. Two other important elements of animal abuse align with Baldwin’s insights. Humans need to feel worthy, and one way to achieve a sense of personal value is to feel superior to nonhumans. Also, humans tend to disregard nonhumans because the human attributes that cause discord in communities are shared by nonhumans, particularly lust. Having contempt for nonhumans on account of their natural desires is one way to avoid acknowledging that we have similar desires.

Baldwin recognized that we need to love ourselves and each other: One way that can happen is through having faith that we are loved by our creator. Though “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), we can by faith live according to a conviction that God (however understood by different people) cares about us and that, consequently, our lives matter. This faith makes it unnecessary for us to feel superior to others, it gives us compassion toward members of our community who offend us, and it undermines the temptation to blame others for our personal and communal struggles.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

2. Christian Vegetarian Association Marketplace

Visit www.christianveg.org to buy T-shirts, books, bumper stickers, and more.

3. Sister Ministry - All-Creatures.Org

Visit All-Creatures.org for a wide range of news items, commentaries, recipes, and much more!
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All-Creatures.org Newsletter, November 27, 2024

Turkeys [articles, poems, stories] — 80 years of The Vegan magazine — dog meat restaurant owner quits — monkey crush video distributors jailed — holistic veteranian [book] — insect exploitation — Australia’s upcoming live animal export ban — reporting direct action — rat poisons pushing animals toward extinction — the Emperor Penguin and bird flu — 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 

2024 Newsletters Archive