Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - July 16, 2025
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)

  1. Anne Frank, Continued: Will Peace Prevail?
  2. A Sermon from Rev. Frank Hoffman at All-Creatures.Org
  3. Update on the Red Heifer Sacrifice

1. Anne Frank, Continued: Will Peace Prevail?

In this ongoing series regarding a passage from Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl, I turn to her comment, "I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again." Was she right?

History gives us a partial answer. World War II did end, and subsequently there was a period during which the percentage of people dying as a consequence of warfare was very low compared to most recorded human history. Democracies flourished, and this helped expand the rule of law that was crucial in protecting weaker individuals from the predations of more powerful people and institutions. Francis Fukayama's famous essay "The End of History and the Last Man," published in 1989 with the fall of the Soviet Union, asserted that the triumph of liberal democracies was the final, permanent stage of human political evolution. However, recent developments throughout the world have indicated that democracies are yielding to theocracies, autocracies, or a combination of the two.

My view of history is neither sanguine nor fatalistic. I think there are competing desires in the human soul/psyche. There is a desire for peace and communal connection, grounded in part by genuine empathy for others. And, there is a desire for domination and control that relies on violence or threat of violence. Many psychological, cultural, and historical factors influence which desire prevails at a given time.

The tension between these desires can be seen in how people receive Jesus. On the one hand, Jesus as the Prince of Peace chose a nonviolent path and encouraged nonviolence among his followers, even when being victimized himself. On the other hand, many Christians have regarded violence against the "enemies of God" as a moral obligation for faithful Christians.

For those of us who are pessimistic about the future of democratic institutions, what does Christian faith encourage us to do? I will start to explore that next.

2. A Sermon from Rev. Frank Hoffman at All-Creatures.Org

Seeing God's Presence

3. Update on the Red Heifer Sacrifice

Though there has been no sacrifice that meets biblical criteria for the "red heifer sacrifice," this has not stopped people from killing cows for "practice." As one person astutely noticed, you make self-sacrifices, but you can't "sacrifice" another. If killing an innocent individual is not murder, then murder has no meaning. Below are links to recent developments.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/411316

https://forward.com/culture/560201/red-heifer-third-temple-jerusalem/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWPbgvAqhpk - Third Temple Preparation Red Heifer Sacrifice Burned as Practice Today

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