Update Newsletters 6 April 2011 Issue
1. Activist Feedback
2. Essay: Christianity and Animal Rights, part 3
3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary
Hoffman
4. The April Issue of The Peaceable Table in
Online
5. Book review: Daniel and the Big Test
1. Activist Feedback
Regarding leafleting at the recent Newsboys concert in Champaign, IL
on Jon writes:
Leafleting at the Newsboys show went very well. Darina and I
leafleted both before and after the show. We arrived while people were
waiting in line for the doors to open up, and we brought 300 Sun flour
vegan cookies to distribute with pamphlets. We quickly ran out of those,
and gave out just over 600 booklets before the concert even began. We
killed some time watching a movie on my laptop while the show took
place, and then went back for the mass exit after the concert. We
finished distributing all 1,200 booklets just as the crowd thinned at
the exits. We handed out a number of Vegetarian Starter Kits to
interested parties as well. We often heard some supportive feedback, and
I am continually impressed by the quality of this crowd - a very
worthwhile group of people to leaflet.
Thanks!
Jon
Upcoming Activist Opportunities
4/10 NY Binghamton Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience.
4/11 PA Williamsport Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience.
4/11 FL Tampa TABLE Talking Animals Festival
4/12-14 IL Chicago Gospel Coalition's 2011 national
conference
4/13-14 KY Stanford Rush Of Fools Christian Concert
4/15 MO Trenton Rush of Fools Christian Concert
4/15 FL Orlando Monster Ball Tour Starring Lady
4/15 KY Bowling Green Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience.
4/15-16 CA Ontario Revolve Tour Dream On Christian
Youth Conference
4/15-16 FL TAMPA Acquire the Fire Christian Youth
Conference
4/15-17 OK Oklahoma City Women of Joy Conference
4/16 OR Portland Acquire The Fire Christian Conference
4/16 KY Paducah Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience.
4/17 CA San Diego TABLE EarthFair 2011
4/17 KS Topeka Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience.
4/18 KS Dodge City Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience.
4/21 MO Poplar Bluff Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience.
4/22 GA Atlanta Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience.
4/22 TX Arlington David Crowder Band
4/22 DC Washington Canton Jones Christian Concert
4/23 KY Pikeville Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience
4/26 AL Birmingham Canton Jones Christian Concert
4/28 TX Cypress Disciple Rock Born Again Experience
4/29 TX Wichita Falls Disciple Rock Born Again
Experience
4/29-30 IL Greenville AgapeFest Christian Rock
Festival
4/29-30 OH Columbus Women of Faith Conference
4/29-30 NV Las Vegas Women of Faith Conference
4/29-30 MI Lansing Acquire the Fire Christian Youth
Conference
4/29-5/1 MO Branson Women of Joy Conference
5/1 TX Corpus Christi Disciple Rock The Born Again
Experience
5/3 TX Lubbock Disciple Rock The Born Again Experience
5/13 IA Des Moines Women of Faith Conference
5/15 NY New York TABLE Post Veggie Pride Parade or
leafleting
9/17-18 MO Kirkwood TABLE 2011 Kirkwood Greentree
Festival
5/21 CA Buena Park Knottsberry Farm Gospel Festival
6/19 VA Richmond TABLE Richmond Vegetarian Festival
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/ .
2. Essay: Christianity and Animal Rights, part 3
The last two essays have argued that human hopes, desires, and fears
profoundly influence our interpretation of the Bible. It is easy to
recognize and scoff at the mistakes of the past, but it is harder to
recognize contemporary errors. For example, the Bible was once used as a
powerful tool to defend human slavery in America. Abraham and other
honored characters in the Bible owned slaves, evidently with God’s
approval. Paul told slaves to obey their masters (Colossians 3:12).
Actually, I think the biblical case for human slavery is much stronger
than the biblical case for unnecessary harm to nonhuman beings.
Fortunately, just about everyone finds human slavery morally repugnant
today, perhaps more due to secular values than biblical mandates.
Multiple factors led to the rejection of human slavery. Among them
was the rise of secular humanism, an outgrowth of the Enlightenment,
which held that all humans have inherent value and deserve basic human
rights. Another was the cruelty associated with slavery. Defenders of
slavery maintained that people of African descent were inferior
creatures who were “naturally” enslaved, did not have the same depth of
feeling as Caucasians, and were treated well by slave owners, even
though obvious facts contradicted these claims.
Today, nonhuman beings are enslaved by humans. People justify
contemporary enslavement of animals much as they justified human slavery
150 years ago. And, just as was the case 150 years ago, the arguments
are hollow. As once happened with human slavery, many people pick and
choose Biblical passages and stories that, they think, justify animal
abuse. However, as with human slavery, their self-serving
interpretations are not ironclad, and there are many passages and
stories that describe God’s concern for nonhuman beings and God’s
condemnation of their mistreatment.
Next week, I will explore how secular knowledge has informed ethics
related to animal issues. Like the slave owners of the past, defenders
of harmful animal exploitation claim that nonhuman beings are inferior,
lack human-like feelings, and are generally treated very well. However,
readily available evidence undermines and sometimes baldly contradicts
these claims.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary
Hoffman
What Does a Christian Look Like?
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s13mar88.html
4. The April Issue of The Peaceable Table in
Online
Contents include:
The editorial, "The Hidden Paradise, the Hidden Hells" builds on the
editorial for the June-July 2008 issue. Paradise, an ever-present but
largely invisible reality which includes a power drawing us into unity
with all beings, is available to us mostly in glimpses and intuitions;
but it can inspire and support us. The hells, such as factory farms and
slaughterhouses, are hidden by ignorance, by cultural blindfolds, and by
deceit; they must be uncovered if they are ultimately to be dismantled.
In one of the Unset Gems, Thomas Kelly reminds us that we are not
responsible to right every wrong: "We cannot die on every cross . . . ."
A NewsNote cites studies apparently showing that chickens feel
empathy with one another.
Benjamin Urrutia reviews Quiet in the Garden, a children's book whose
principal figure, a small boy, learns that in stillness he may find an
extraordinary harmony with wild things.
You will want to try the unusual and tasty Carrot Ginger Dressing in
one of Angela Suarez' Recipes for this month.
To read this issue, go to http://www.vegetarianfriends.net/issue75.html
Toward the Peaceable Kingdom,
Gracia Fay Ellwood, Editor
5. Book review
Daniel and the Big Test by Lois E. Anderson, illustrated by Janice
Hope Stenz, color illustrations, 32 pp, $9.95 plus S/H, available from
Curt Stenz Graphics 715-359-0244
This attractively illustrated book, written by two Health Ministers
of Hallelujah Acres, relates the story of Daniel and his three friends
Shadrach, Mashach, and Abednego, whose Jewish dietary laws compelled
them to declined Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s meat. After 10 days,
Daniel and his friends looked healthier and were stronger and wiser than
those who ate flesh. The book aims to inspire children to choose raw
fruits and vegetables rather than animal-derived foods.
I think much of the book is laudable, but I’m skeptical about some of
the specific claims at the book’s end regarding the superiority of raw
foods over cooked foods. My review of the science behind raw food diets
has led me to stories of people who have claimed to have experienced
superior health with this diet, and perhaps for some currently unknown
reason(s) a raw food diet does confer better health for them. I wonder
whether their feeling more energetic or finding that their medical
conditions have improved or resolved was due to a transition to a
plant-based diet away from a diet laden with animal-derived products,
and not raw foods per se.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D..
Your question and comments are welcome
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