1. CVA Activism
2. Book Review and Quiz
3. Christianity and Violence: Parable of the Lost Sheep
1. CVA Activism
Georgia writes: We found a Raw Food Store in Lansdale, PA called
Arnolds Way www.arnoldsway.com and wanted to check it out since we noticed that one
of
the Meetup newsletters that we get mentioned that they have Meetup
meetings.
We had a wonderful lunch there and met the owner and told him of CVA and
gave him some booklets which he gladly set out on his front counter. He
was so nice and I just wanted to let you know of his willingness to give
out
the CVA booklets. Thanks again CVA for giving me this opportunity to
feel I
can be of help in this way.
Upcoming Leafleting Opportunities
3/1 TX Tyler Jeremy Camp Christian Concert
3/1 WA Vancouver Jars of Clay Christian Rock Concert
3/2 WA College Place Jars of Clay Christian Rock Concert
3/2 VA Norfolk Newsboys Go Tour Christian Concert
3/4 IA Dubuque TABLE 26th Annual Rural Ministry Conference
3/4 CO Colorado Springs Jeremy Camp Christian Concert
To find out about all upcoming leafleting and tabling opportunities
in your
area, join the CVA Calendar Group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group.christian_vegetarian/. Read the home page,
and then join. You will then be able to log in anytime to identify
upcoming
events in your region. Contact Paris at
christian_vegetarian@yahoo.com
if
you might be able to help.
2. Book Review and Quiz
The Bloodless Revolution
A Cultural History of Vegetarianism From 1600 to Modern Times
By Tristram Stuart
NORTON; 628 Pages; $29.95
Reviewed by Michael O'Donnell
In "Animal Liberation," the bible of the modern animal rights
movement,
philosopher Peter Singer bluntly claims that "[t]he attitudes toward
animals
of previous generations are no longer convincing because they draw on
presuppositions -- religious, moral, metaphysical -- that are now
obsolete."
Singer was referring to earlier rationales for eating meat, but the
claim
also implicitly dismisses the history of vegetarianism, which is
fascinating
and telling. Did you know, for instance, that many 17th century Britons
abstained from meat in order to feel closer to Eden, where fruits and
vegetables provided sustenance, and Adam and Eve interacted peacefully
with
animals?
Tristram Stuart, a precocious young British writer, has no doubt read
"Animal Liberation." In fact, judging from his 65-page bibliography, he
appears to have read just about every word ever written about
vegetarianism.
His book, "The Bloodless Revolution" (a pun from an alternative name for
the
Glorious Revolution of 1688) is an intellectual history of vegetarianism
in
17th and 18th century Europe, with nods to the years since. It is a
beautifully written work of impressive scholarship, perhaps the most
erudite
yet to appear on the subject of vegetarian history. Previous authors
have
sketched major vegetarian thinkers, but Stuart goes further, interacting
extensively with primary-source materials, thoughtfully challenging the
conclusions of other scholars and bolstering his own credibility by
outing a
few closet meat eaters, such as Alexander Pope.
The rejection of meat has frequently been accompanied by political and
social radicalism. Reformers such as Roger Crab in the 17th century and
John
Oswald in the 18th saw meat as a symbol of unjust luxury and renounced
it in
solidarity with the poor. Foes of the Catholic Church courted heresy by
abjuring food from animals and extending their moral concern beyond the
one
anointed species. In the years after the French Revolution, students
(many
of them vegetarians) made their way across the English Channel in search
of
other barricades to storm; in response, the Crown resisted animal
welfare
laws as a form of "patriotic opposition to the onion-eating French and
their
radical allies in Britain."
Vegetarian thought certainly has had its share of characters, and in
less
able hands this history might come off as a series of maladjusted kooks
whose radical ideas needn't be taken seriously. But the picture that
emerges
from "The Bloodless Revolution" is a group of individuals troubled
enough to
take action against a practice -- the killing and eating of animals --
that
unquestionably has profound moral implications. In an age in which a
staggering 50 billion farm animals each year are reared in appalling
conditions, slaughtered for our food and thoughtlessly consumed, any
book
that sets out an alternative is welcome. An excellent book that does so
is
indispensable.
Michael O'Donnell is a writer and lawyer in Chicago.
The Book's publisher encouraged the CVA to offer a free book to the
person
who does the best on a quiz based on the book's content. Please send
your
answers to cva@christianveg.com. Answers will be posted in next week's
e-newsletter.
1. True or False: Peter Singer is the leading animal rights
philosopher.
2. True or False: Tom Regan has held that a "subject-of-a-life" has a
right
not to be used in a harmful manner.
3. True or False: Andrew Linzey has held that animal rights are
grounded in
"theos-rights", in which we have duties to animals because they belong
to
God.
4. True or False: Huntington Life Sciences is responsible for more
than 75%
of animal test on household products.
5. True or False: Descartes held that the liver was the seat of the
soul.
6. True of False: The monster in Mary Wollstoneshaft Shelley's
Frankenstein:
or the modern Prometheus was a vegetarian
7. True or False: Malthus argued that populations grow
arithmetically, while
food supplies grow exponentially, resulting in stable populations as
long as
there is no outside interference.
8. True or False: Leo Tolstoy was a lifelong vegetarian.
3.
Christianity and Violence: Parable of the Lost Sheep
[This series reflects my views and not "official" CVA positions. It
is
being archived at
http://www.christianveg.org/violence_view.htm.]
A Girardian reading offers some interesting insights into the
well-known parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7). In
the story, the shepherd leaves 99 sheep "in the wilderness" until he
finds the one who was lost.
The "good shepherd" leaves an entire herd unattended in order to
rescue one lost sheep. A Girardian reading suggests that this parable
teaches that we should not scapegoat one individual in order to protect
the rest of the community. If we renounced scapegoating, we would risk
losing the unifying effects of scapegoating. Without scapegoating to
restore peace and order during times of crisis, accusations, rivalries,
and hostilities could escalate and envelope entire communities in
violence. In other words, like the shepherd who risks the flock to save
one sheep, Jesus encouraged us to risk communal destruction in order to
avoid killing a single innocent scapegoat.(1) However,
there can never be justice or reconciliation of God's Creation as long
as there are innocent victims of human violence.
It is also remarkable that, in Luke's Gospel, the parable of the lost
coin immediately follows the parable of the lost sheep and immediately
precedes the parable of the prodigal son. All of these stories relate
the importance of abandoning cultural norms and folk wisdom in favor of
concern for the one in need. In all these stories, people extravagantly
celebrate after finding and saving what was once lost. The woman who
finds the lost coin celebrates with a party that may have exceeded the
coin's worth. The father of the prodigal son disregards the traditional
manner of fathers as proud, dignified, and erect, and he joyously runs
to his son. In contrast, primal communities use rituals to celebrate the
expulsion and/or killing of the one who has "gone astray," e.g.,
possessed by evil spirits.
In Luke's Gospel, Jesus explained the parable of the lost sheep:
"Even so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner
who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no
repentance" (15:7). The Apostle Paul provided teachings that can help us
understand this saying. After noting that sin invites God's grace, Paul
asked, "Are we to continue to sin that grace may abound?" (Romans 6:1).
Paul answered his question, "By no means! How can we who died to sin
still live in it?" (Romans 6:2). Just as the 99 obedient sheep were
unlikely to wander away themselves when the shepherd sought the missing
sheep, those who have truly been reborn in Christ are unlikely to stray
from the path of love, compassion, mercy, and righteousness after
renouncing the community-unifying benefits of scapegoating. Rather than
rejecting the "lost sheep" as deserving abandonment, Jesus' disciples
would seek to reunite the "lost sheep" with the herd.
1. I am struck by parallels between the parable of
the lost sheep and Genesis 18:24-33, in which Abraham asked God whether
God would spare Sodom if there were 50 righteous people there. God
answered that he would spare the city for the sake of the righteous
ones, and Abraham repeatedly asked the question, each time reducing the
number of righteous people until he asked a final time, "I will speak
again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." God said that he
would save the city if there were only 10 righteous people. Then God
departed, and, to my reading, the text indicates that Abraham did not
dare to ask whether God would save an entire city of sinful people on
behalf of a single righteous person. The reason, I think, is that the
ancient Hebrews were unprepared to consider that God would totally
reject the logic of sacrifice, which calls for sacrificing a few
innocent individuals in order to eradicate the sinfulness of the larger
community. Jesus rejected the notion that sacrificing even one
individual for the rest of the community accords with God's desires.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.