November 2, 2011 - Christian Vegetarian Association Update Newsletters


	Update Newsletters

Update Newsletters
November 2, 2011

1. Please Share Your Prayers for Animals

2. Activist Feedback

3. Book Review: Ninety-Five: Meeting America’s Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs.

4. Essay: Are We Justified by Works?

5. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

1. Please Share Your Prayers for Animals

This e-newsletter welcomes prayers that you have written or enjoyed that lift up God’s animals in prayer.

2. Activist Feedback

Karen, who leafleted at Women of Faith in Anaheim, CA on Sept. 10, writes,

It went great. I passed out all 300 booklets in no time at all.

Thanks for making this possible. This is my second time doing it, and I find it inspiring as well as just plain enjoyable. The women are all so nice. In fact one woman gave me 3 booklets back after a few minutes when she and her friends realized that they weren't interested. She said she didn't want them to just get thrown away when I could give them to somebody else. Very thoughtful!

Upcoming Outreach Opportunities

11/6 FL Palmetto The David Crowder Bands Last Tour

11/6 NV Las Vegas Huge! Winter Jam Newsboys, Kutless, NewSong

11/6 AL Dothan Sounds of Hope Tour Leeland

11/10 ID Boise Huge! Winter Jam Newsboys, Kutless, NewSong

11/10 AL Mobile The David Crowder Bands Last Tour

11/10 ALATHENS Canton Jones Kingdom Business 3

11/11 FL Orlando The David Crowder Bands Last Tour

11/11 OR Portland Huge! Winter Jam Newsboys, Kutless, NewSong

11/11 MS Tupelo Casting Crowns - Come to the Well Tour

11/11 OH Mt Vernon Leeland Sounds of Hope Tour

11/11-12 CT Hartford Women Of Faith Conference

11/11-12 OK Oklahoma City Women Of Faith Conference

11/12 WA Tacoma Huge! Winter Jam Newsboys, Kutless, NewSong

11/12 FL Panama City David Crowder Bands Last Tour

11/12 AL Dothan Casting Crowns Come to the Well Tour

11/13 MS Jackson David Crowder Bands Last Tour

11/15 NC Asheville Casting Crowns Come to the Well Tour

11/18 CA Sacramento Huge! Winter Jam Newsboys, Kutless, New Song

11/18 MD Ocean City Leeland Sounds of Hope Tour

11/18-19 TN Gaitlinburg Hearts on Fire Youth Conference

11/18-20 GA Atlanta National Youth Workers Convention

11/18-20 GA Atlanta National Youth Workers Convention

11/19 FL West Palm Beach Casting Crowns Come to the Well Tour

11/20 FL Estero Casting Crowns Come to the Well Tour

11/25 SC Aiken Casting Crowns Come to the Well Tour

12/2 TX San Antonio David Crowder Bands Last Tour

11/19 CA Fresno Huge! Winter Jam Newsboys, Kutless, New Song

International Events:

11/20 Canada, Ontario Parkway Huge! Winter Jam Newsboys, Kutless, New Song

3. Book Review: Ninety-Five: Meeting America’s Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs.

Edited by No Voice Unheard [the publisher], 2010, 160 pages, $19.95.

This beautifully illustrated book looks at the lives and relationships of rescued, formerly farmed animals. Many of the stories are as poignant as the photographs. For many people, every chicken is the same as every other chicken, but as these accounts attest, each has a unique personality and life story. Even though the book is meant to personalize nonhuman beings, the title refers to the average number of animals who are spared suffering and death each year by each person’s decision to adopt a vegan diet.

4. Essay: Are We Justified by Works?

Many Christians believe that righteous actions are crucial to being “justified” (i.e., acceptable to God), and certain sins can result in condemnation by God. They find some of the best biblical support in James. For example, James wrote, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (2:17). I think that serving God by caring for God’s creation and showing compassion for what God has created can help us feel closer to God and give meaning and direction to our lives. Is faith a necessary component of this process?

Some of the most compassionate people I know reject the notion of a supernatural being, and some of most hard-hearted people I know claim to have a deep faith in God. Overall, I’ve not seen a correlation between religious faith and compassion. As best I can tell, atheists, while denying that a divine being ordains how we should live, still have faith in a cosmology in the sense that they have beliefs about the way the universe should be. For example, many atheists hold that all members of a certain class of beings deserve to be treated with equal compassion and respect. There are differences among atheists about who belongs to this class. While many claim that all humans belong (though in practice they largely restrict their concern to their nation, their community, or their family), far fewer hold that nonhuman beings belong to this class. I’ve not been impressed by the arguments for including all humans and excluding all nonhumans (except, perhaps, for household animal companions and members of certain esthetically pleasing species such as giraffes and panda bears). I suspect that humans, who believe they benefit from harmfully exploiting nonhumans, are swayed by weak arguments that endorse a self-serving worldview.

Commonly, atheists seem to have difficulty abiding by a consistent ethic; what about people of faith? I think that faith can help direct works, particularly when works seem hopeless or inconsequential. I’ve seen a lot of animal advocates “burn out” and abandon the movement because they have been frustrated by the rate of progress and they have emotionally traumatized by a sense of isolation and alienation from a society that endorses animal abuse. Perhaps those whose lives are focused on serving God can better weather the difficulties that accompany challenging powerful forces.

Christianity teaches that we are called to be faithful, not to save the world. A crucial part of being faithful is living faithfully, and that means serving God by caring for what God has created. Indeed, James wrote, “I by my works will show you my faith” (2:18). As I’ve discussed in previous essays, serving God does not mean just making gestures of good works – we should always aim to be as effective as possible. Even if we fail to change the world, we have answered our calling to follow Christ if we have done our best.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

5. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

God’s Compassion Protects Us in the Cleft of the Rock
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s30oct88.html

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