19 January 2011 Issue - Christian Vegetarian Association Update Newsletters


	Update Newsletters

Update Newsletters
19 January 2011 Issue

1. Youtube.com Video Featuring Humane Educator Zoe Weil

2. Upcoming Activist Opportunities

3. Essay: Can There Be Accountability Without Accusation?

4. This Week’s Sermon by Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

1. Youtube.com Video Featuring Humane Educator Zoe Weil

The World Becomes What You Teach http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5HEV96dIuY

2. Upcoming Activist Opportunities

1/24 IN Newburgh Abandon Christian Rock Concert

1/26 IN Newburgh Abandon Christian Rock Concert

1/28 KY Louisville Abandon Winter Blitz Youth Event

1/28 PA University Park Winte Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

1/28 MO Cape Girardeau Thousand Foot Krutch Christian Rock Concert

1/28-29 GA Duluth Revolve Tour Dream Conference

1/28-29 VA Richmond Acquire the Fire Youth Conference

1/29 OH Columbus Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

1/29 MA Biloxi Thousand Foot Krutch Christian Rock Concert

1/30 AL Huntsville Thousand Foot Krutch Christian Rock Concert

1/30 TN Nashville Mikeschair Christian Rock Concert

1/30 OH Cleveland Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

2/3 MS Tupelo Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

2/3 IA Sioux City Thousand Foot Krutch Christian Rock Concert

2/4 WI Green Bay Thousand Foot Krutch Christian Rock Concert

2/4-5 MN Minneapolis Acquire the Fire Youth Conference

2/4-5 MO Kansas City Revolve Tour Dream On Christian Youth

2/5 IA Des Moines Thousand Foot Krutch Christian Rock

2/5 NC Greensboro Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

2/10 GA Augusta Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

2/11 SC Greenville Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

2/11-12 MO Kansas City Acquire the Fire Youth Conference

2/12 AL Birmingham Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

2/14 KY Louisville Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular

2/18-19 CO Denver Revolve Tour Dream Conference

2/25-26 AZ Phoenix Revolve Tour Dream Conference

3/4-5 OR Portland Revolve Tour Dream Conference

3/11-12 MD Baltimore Revolve Tour Dream Conference

3/18-19 FL Lakeland Revolve Tour Dream Conference

3/25-26 OH Columbus Revolve Tour Dream Conference

4/1-2 CT Hartford Revolve Tour Dream Conference

4/8-9 PA Reading Revolve Tour Dream Conference

4/11 FL Tampa TABLE Talking Animals Festival

4/15-16 CA Ontario Revolve Tour Dream Conference

7/5-8 OH Cincinnati TABLE Church Turning the World Upside

Contact Paris at christian_vegetarian@yahoo.com if you can help. 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/

3. Essay: Can There Be Accountability Without Accusation?

Last week, I posed a dilemma. It is crucial to hold people accountable when they cause harm; otherwise, there will be little impediment to violence. Yet, accusation lies at the root of scapegoating. If we abstain from accusation, how can we hold people accountable for their actions? I offer some thoughts.

First, I suggest that we focus on how actions harm other individuals. Often, people feel entitled to punish those who show “disrespect” for institutions, such as religious institutions, cultural norms, or the government. This attitude entrenches traditions that might or might not be desirable. I think we should encourage respect for institutions, but we should not enforce that respect with ostracism or punishment. We should recognize that, throughout history, people have had “blind spots” where injustices have gone unseen and unnoticed, and we have been indebted to those who bravely spoke truth to power. Among contemporary examples of unseen injustices is the way animals are treated – so obviously wrong to those who are willing to look but largely invisible to society-at-large. Therefore, we should aim to stop those who would harm real individuals, and we should accept and sometimes even encourage those who challenge institutions that countenance or promote harming individuals.

Second, we should avoid the common mistake of presuming others’ intentions. People readily attribute bad intentions to those who do things with which they disagree, and people generally attribute good intentions to their own actions, however contemptible the actual intentions might be. The difficulty of assessing intentions is complicated by the fact that humans are complicated creatures, and we often have multiple motivations for our actions. Therefore, we are often mistaken in our attribution of intentions. Finally, if we are trying to win hearts and minds, then suggesting bad intentions will often be received as offensive, regardless of how accurate the analysis might be. Therefore, calling people who harm animals greedy or selfish might actually be inaccurate and would almost always be received as insulting. Instead, I suggest prefacing criticism of animal agriculture with, “Many people don’t know that…” and I point out that the lies of institutions that harm animals are self-serving rather than point fingers at individuals.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

4. This Week’s Sermon by Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

Peace and Persistence in Proclaiming Truth and Justice
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s14jan90.html .

Your question and comments are welcome

This site is hosted and maintained by
The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation.

Since