Religiously, I'm a rare bird. I don't talk about religion much because there's no way to satisfy anyone and there's nothing to prove by doing so. But today, I'll peek into that Pandora's box. As I became educated and read my way through the world, I realized that all religion was the same story, told in a different way. The creation of the world, what happens to us after we die, the preciousness of each soul and the divinity of each of us ran through every religion I learned about.
It seemed to me that the subjugation of women, the distribution of guilt for the exploitation of the masses and the judgment of others was something that was inserted into religion by churches, not by anything - or anyone - holy. When I began to look at the world in that way, it became clear to me that I didn't have to reject the God of my fathers, but rather accept the Goddess of my mothers - and everything else that people believe.
Religion has a lot of power over people. People exploit that power. That doesn't mean religion is evil. That means people use the weapons they can find for evil.
The divinity that is within us all tells the story - over and over - from the cave wall to the virtual drum circle. On Christmas, not accidentally about the times of our Solstice, we remember the story of the baby who came to be the Son of God, but also The Son of Man. He is the God, the Son, the Brother, the Husband. His Mother is the Goddess, the Blessed Virgin who cares for all of us.
He came to preach love and peace, brotherhood and light. He was stamped out in the prime of his life for speaking about the corruption of the church and the exploitation of believers for the profit of the leaders. His message rang true and pure, but was corrupted by the very same pirates of the soul.
Like so many of my generation, I do not seek a personal savior. I wish to be responsible for my own soul. I don't believe that any creator would throw away most people because they ate bacon or said the wrong words. What would the point of that be?
I want to believe that God has a sense of humor. When I die, I want to be led to a room full of books with a cute coffee shop waiter and a lady who looks suspiciously like Alanis Morrisette, just in from a game of Skee-Ball. She'd laugh and say, "Well done." That's not real, but it's Jodism - and there's not a damn thing wrong with that.
Until then, I simply, quietly seek the story of the baby - the man who would be the Son of God, that came to tell us that we, too, are the sons and daughters of each other, and thus, God. Some of us, myself included, often forget that the baggage the world has attached to that man was not his - it is from the attics of banks and churches.
I don't believe in what someone in a building tells me to believe. Anyone with a bible in one hand and a collection plate in the other is not to be trusted. Divinity lies within us all. I am choosing to be everything, rather than nothing - Christian, Buddist, Wiccan, Pagan, Agnostic, Catholic, Jewish, Methodist, Unitarian. I believe the terrible judgment comes, not from a bearded old man in the sky, but from others and from ourselves. It's about what we do to make the world better that really matters - not words, not guilt, not pain but action.
For me, Christmas is about the same thing that the Winter Solstice is - the darkest night lit by a star that exists only within our minds. It is the search for the source of who we are, so we might give ourselves the gift of beginning again.
What a peaceful world it would be if we could only stop trying to make everyone think alike.
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Comments
sweetfeet - Why, thank you!
WAH - I'm just glad you're walking away happy again. I don't mind you walking away anything, as long as there is something descriptive there, but I'm glad it's "happy" now.
Without putting it into words this coherently, I decided a long time ago that it's okay for me to cherry pick my own religion. Otherwise I would have left long ago... but I like the community aspect, so I choose to "take what I can use and leave the rest."
"People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them."
--Dave Barry
wonderful post Jodi, thanks
It seems there are plenty, but there should be MORE.
Great message here.
Happy Holidays!
:-)
mginmn - I think everyone does it, but doens't say so. I think if everyone were honest about what they believed we'd either have world peace or kill each other within the week. I'm hoping enough egg nog would cause the former rather than the latter.
Barry - That would have been a great bump quote! Why didn't I have that?
Owl - Consider being an Owlist. That sounds really cool.
Spotted - If there were more people like me, bacon would be health food and Bill Hicks would be alive and referred to as "Mr. President." That's a scary world.
NOG!
Merry, merry.
I love you, Jodi Kasten and thank God for your light and your voice in this world.
Merry Christmas, friend.
Seriously though, my own beliefs are aligned with yours almost without flaw. I consider the good things about religion as philosophical rules to live by, not something we should blindly follow to the grave. The bad parts of religious teachings, the smiting of entire groups of people, hatred, judgment, etc. I choose to ignore as I feel they are a detriment to harmony with ones neighbors.
Anyhoo, Merry Christmas and thanks for all of the wonderfully thoughtful and entertaining posts you've managed over the past year. You are a true gem and very much appreciated!
Michael - I deeply distrust anyone who thinks they have The One True Answer. I sincerely believe that all the "the only way to heaven is through me" stuff was put in by some monk in the 3rd century. I'm also betting my eternal soul that God was kidding about that shellfish thing.
Happy Christmas!
Now I have to figure out what froggyism is.
I liked your post. I agree with you quite a lot. I just wrote a text that the God and the Devil made a New Deal during this night. Jesus will not return yet. He is on the honeymoon. He just got married! Please check it out.
Happy Holiday!
I like your take on this. Although personally I kind of hope that God looks like Gregory Peck.
RATED! for looking bravely into Pandora's box.
Merry Christmas!
It is said that Lord Jesus Christ was born not among kings or the wealthy, but in a manger, amongst the animals, while shepherds and their flocks heard the good news from an angelic choir. (Luke 2:1-20) "O great mystery and wonderous sacrament, that animals should see the Lord born and lying in a manger," is the Response to the Second Nocturne' before Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in the Roman liturgy.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray for the coming of God's kingdom (Matthew 6:9-10), the kingdom of peace, in which the entire world is restored to a vegetarian paradise (Genesis 1:29; Isaiah 11:6-9). Recalling Psalm 37:11, he blessed the meek, saying they would inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5) The kingdom of God belongs to the gentle and kind (Matthew 5:7-9) Christians are to "Be merciful, just as your Father is also merciful." (Luke 6:36) Those who take up the sword must perish by the sword. (Matthew 26:52)
Jesus repeatedly spoke of God's tender care for the nonhuman creation (Matthew 6:26-30, 10:29-31; Luke 12:6-7, 24-28). Paul, on the other hand, asked scornfully in I Corinthians 9: "Does God take care for oxen?"
From history, we learn that the earliest Christians were vegetarians as well as pacifists. For example, Clemens Prudentius, the first Christian hymn writer, in one of his hymns, exhorts his fellow Christians not to pollute their hands and hearts by the slaughter of innocent cows and sheep, and points to the variety of nourishing and pleasant foods obtainable without blood-shedding.
It's possible historically that Christianity began as a vegetarian religion, but was corrupted over the centuries. Secular scholar Keith Akers writes in Broken Thread:
"The 'orthodox' response to vegetarianism has been somewhat contradictory...The objection to meat consumption has been taken as evidence of heresy when Christians have been faced with outsiders; however, vegetarianism met with a kinder reception among the monastic communities...Vegetarianism does attain a certain status even in orthodox circles.
"Indeed, a list of known vegetarians among the church leaders reads very much like a Who's Who in the early church. Peter is described as a vegetarian in the Recognitions and Homilies. Hegesippus, quoted by Eusebius, said that James (the brother of Jesus) was a vegetarian and was raised as a vegetarian. Clement of Alexandria thought that Matthew was a vegetarian...
"According to Eusebius, the apostles--all the apostles, and not just James--abstained from both meat and wine, thus making them vegetarians and teetotalers, just like James. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Basil, Gregory of Nanziance, John Chrysostom, and Tertullian were all probably vegetarians, based on their writings...they themselves are evidently vegetarian and can be counted on to say a few kind words about vegetarianism. On the other hand, there are practically no references to any Christians eating fish or meat before the council of Nicaea.
"The rule of Benedict forbade eating any four-legged animals, unless one was sick. Columbanus allowed vegetables, lentil porridge, flour, and bread only, at all times, even for the sick. A fifth-century Irish rule forbids meat, fish, cheese, and butter at all times, though the sick, elderly, travel-weary, or even monks on holidays may eat cheese or butter, but no one may ever eat meat.
"The Carthusians were especially strict about vegetarianism. The origin of their order is related by the story of St. Bruno and his companions, who on the Sunday before Lent are sitting before some meat and are debating whether they should eat meat at all.
"During the debate, numerous examples of vegetarians among their monastic predecessors are mentioned--the Desert Fathers, Paul (the Hermit), Antony, Hilarion, Macharius, and Arsenius, are all cited as vegetarian examples. After much discussion, they fall asleep--and remain asleep for 45 days, waking up when Archbishop Hugh shows up on Wednesday of Holy Week! When they wake up, the meat miraculously turns to shes, and they fall on their knees and determine never to eat meat again.
"It is true that the church rejected the requirement for vegetarianism, following the dicta of Paul. However, it is interesting under these circumstances that there are so many vegetarians. In fact, outside of the references to Jesus eating fish in the New Testament, there re hardly any references to any early Christians eating meat.
Thus vegetarianism was practiced by the apostles, by James the brother of Jesus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Basil, Gregory of Nanziance, John Chrysostom, Tertullian, Bonaventure, Arnobius, Cassian, Jerome, the Desert Fathers, Paul (the Hermit), Antony, Hilarion, Machrius, Columbanus, and Aresenius--but not by Jesus himself!
"It is as if everyone in the early church understood the message except the messenger. This is extremely implausible. The much more likely explanation is that the original tradition was vegetarian, but that under the pressure of expediency and the popularity of Paul's writings in the second century, the tradition was first dropped as a requirement and finally dropped even as a desideratum."
In the (updated) 1986 edition of A Vegetarian Sourcebook, Keith Akers similarly observes: "But many others, both orthodox and heterodox, testified to the vegetarian origins of Christianity. Both Athanasius and his opponent Arius were strict vegetarians. Many early church fathers were vegetarian, including Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Heironymus, Boniface, and John Chrysostom.
"Many of the monasteries both in ancient times and at the present day practiced vegetarianism...The requirement to be vegetarian has been diluted considerably since the earliest days, but the practice of vegetarianism was continued by many saints, monks, and laymen. Vegetarianism is at the heart of Christianity."
Congregational minister Frederic Marvin preached a Christmas Eve sermon in 1899 entitled, "Christ Among the Cattle." Marvin regarded Jesus' birth in the manger as that of God incarnate teaching humanity by dramatic example. Birth among the cattle was a sign for people all over the world to follow--a lesson teaching the need to show compassion towards the animals.
I know you know who said that. And I know you know I very much agree with Jodism. It echoes my own feelings pretty well.
Thumbed, religiously.
Commenting on Deuteronomy 22:6, which forbids harming a mother-bird if her eggs or chicks are taken, Martin Luther (1483-1546) wrote: “What else does this law teach but that by the kind treatment of animals they are to learn gentleness and kindness? Otherwise it would seem to be a stupid ordinance not only to regulate a matter so unimportant, but also to promise happiness and a long life to those who keep it.”
According to Luther, Adam “would not have used the creatures as we do today,” but rather, “for the admiration of God and a holy joy.” Referring to passages from scripture concerning the redemption of the entire creation and the Kingdom of Peace, Luther taught that “the creatures are created for an end; for the glory that is to come.”
British historian William Lecky observed that, “Luther grew sad and thoughtful at a hare hunt, for it seemed to him to represent the pursuit of souls by the devil.” Author Dix Harwood, in Love for Animals, depicts a grieving young girl being comforted by Luther. Luther assures her that her pet dog who died would certainly go to heaven. Luther tells her that in the “new heavens and new earth...all creatures will not only be harmless, but lovely and joyful...Why, then, should there not be little dogs in the new earth, whose skin might be as fair as gold, and their hair as bright as precious stones?”
Biblical teachings on human responsibilities towards animals were not lost on John Calvin (1509-1564). According to Calvin, animals exist within the framework of human justice: “But it must be remembered that men are required to practice justice even in dealing with animals. Solomon condemns injustice to our neighbours the more severely when he says, ‘a just man cares well for his beasts’ (Proverbs 12:10). In a word, we are to do what is right voluntarily and freely, and each of us is responsible for doing his duty.”
Thomas Tryon’s lengthy The Way to Health, Wealth, and Happiness was published in 1691. Tryon defended vegetarianism as a physically and spiritually superior way of life. He came to this conclusion from his interpretation of the Bible as well as his understanding of Christianity. Tryon wrote against “that depraved custom of eating flesh and blood.” The opening pages of his book begin with an eloquent plea for mercy towards the animals:
“Refrain at all times such foods as cannot be procured without violence and oppression, for know, that all the inferior creatures when hurt do cry and fend forth their complaints to their Maker...Be not insensible that every creature doth bear the image of the great Creator according to the nature of each, and that He is the vital power in all things. Therefore, let none take pleasure to offer violence to that life, lest he awaken the fierce wrath, and bring danger to his own soul. But let mercy and compassion dwell plentifully in your hearts, that you may be comprehended in the friendly principle of God’s love and holy light. Be a friend to everything that’s good, and then everything will be a friend to thee, and co-operate for thy good and welfare.”
In The Way, Tryon (1634-1703) also condemned “Hunting, hawking, shooting, and all violent oppressive exercises...” On a separate occasion, he warned the first Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania that their “holy experiment” in peaceful living would fail unless they extended their Christian precepts of nonviolence to the animal kingdom:
"Does not bounteous Mother Earth furnish us with all sorts of food necessary for life?” he asked. “Though you will not fight with and kill those of your own species, yet I must be bold to tell you, that these lesser violences (as you call them) do proceed from the same root of wrath and bitterness as the greater do.”
“Thanks be to God!” wrote John Wesley, founder of Methodism, to the Bishop of London in 1747. “Since the time I gave up the use of flesh-meats and wine, I have been delivered from all physical ills.” Wesley was a vegetarian for spiritual reasons as well. He based his vegetarianism on the Biblical prophecies concerning the Kingdom of Peace, where “on the new earth, no creature will kill, or hurt, or give pain to any other.” He further taught that animals “shall receive an ample amends for all their present sufferings.”
Wesley’s teachings placed an emphasis on inner religion and the effect of the Holy Spirit upon the consciousness of such followers. Wesley taught that animals will attain heaven: in the “general deliverance” from the evils of this world, animals would be given “vigor, strength and swiftness...to a far higher degree than they ever enjoyed.”
Wesley urged parents to educate their children about compassion towards animals. He wrote: “I am persuaded you are not insensible of the pain given to every Christian, every humane heart, by those savage diversions, bull-baiting, cock-fighting, horse-racing, and hunting.”
The Quakers have a long history of advocating kindness towards animals. In 1795, the Society of Friends (Quakers) in London passed a resolution condemning sport hunting. The resolution stated in part, “let our leisure be employed in serving our neighbor, and not in distressing, for our amusement, the creatures of God.”
John Woolman (1720-72) was a Quaker preacher and abolitionist who traveled throughout the American colonies attacking slavery and cruelty to animals. Woolman wrote that he was “early convinced in my mind that true religion consisted in an inward life, wherein the heart doth love and reverence God the Creator and learn to exercise true justice and goodness, not only toward all men, but also toward the brute creatures...”
Woolman’s deep faith in God thus led to his reverence for all life. “Where the love of God is verily perfected and the true spirit of government watchfully attended to,” he taught, “a tenderness toward all creatures made subject to us will be experienced, and a care felt in us that we do not lessen that sweetness of life in the animal creation which the great Creator intends for them.”
Joshua Evans (1731-1798), a Quaker and a contemporary of Woolman’s, stated that reverence for life was the moral basis of his vegetarianism. “I considered that life was sweet in all living creatures,” he wrote, ‘and taking it away became a very tender point with me...I believe my dear Master has been pleased to try my faith and obedience by teaching me that I ought no longer to partake of anything that had life.
The “Quaker poet” and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92), wrote: “The sooner we recognize the fact that the mercy of the Almighty extends to every creature endowed with life, the better it will be for us as men and Christians.”
One of the most respected English theologians of the 18th century, William Paley (1743-1805), taught that killing animals for food was unjustifiable. Paley called the excuses used to justify killing animals “extremely lame,” and even refuted the rationalizations concerning fishing.
The founder and first secretary of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was an Anglican priest, the Reverend Arthur Broome. The RSPCA was originally founded as a Christian society “entirely based on the Christian Faith, and on Christian Principles,” and sponsoring sermons on humane education in churches in London. The Society formed in 1824, and its first “Prospectus” spoke of the need to extend Christian charity and benevolence to the animals:
“Our country is distinguished by the number and variety of its benevolent institutions...all breathing the pure spirit of Christian charity...But shall we stop here? Is the moral circle perfect so long as any power of doing good remains? Or can the infliction of cruelty on any being which the Almighty has endued with feelings of pain and pleasure consist with genuine and true benevolence?”
This Prospectus was signed by many leading 19th century Christians including William Wilberforce, Richard Martin, G.A. Hatch, J. Bonner, and Dr. Heslop.
German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) believed flesh-eating to be responsible for the downfall of man. He felt vegetarianism could help mankind return to Paradise. He wrote: “Plant life instead of animal life is the keystone of regeneration. Jesus used bread in place of flesh and wine in place of blood at the Lord’s Supper.”
General William Booth (1829-1912), founder of the Salvation Army, practiced and advocated vegetarianism. Booth never officially condemned flesh-eating as either cruelty or gluttony, but taught that abstinence from luxury is helpful to the cause of Christian charity. “It is a great delusion to suppose that flesh of any kind is essential to health,” he insisted.
An essay on “The Rights of Animals” by Dean William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) can be found in his 1926 book, Lay Thoughts of a Dean. It reads in part:
“Our ancestors sinned in ignorance; they were taught (as I deeply regret to say one great Christian Church still teaches) that the world, with all that it contains, was made for man, and that the lower orders of creation have no claims upon us. But we no longer have the excuse of saying that we do not know; we do know that organic life on this planet is all woven of one stuff, and if we are children of our Heavenly Father, it must be true, as Christ told us, that no sparrow falls to the ground without His care. The new knowledge has revolutionized our ideas of our relations to the other living creatures who share the world with us, and it is our duty to consider seriously what this knowledge should mean for us in matters of conduct.”
Dean Inge is reported to have said, “Whether animals believe in a god I do not know, but I do know that they believe in a devil—the devil which is man.”
“The day is surely dawning,” wrote the Reverend V.A. Holmes-Gore, M.A., “when it will become clear that the idea of the Blessed Master giving His sanction to the barbaric habit of flesh-eating, is a tragic delusion, foisted upon the Church by those who never knew Him.”
Reverend Holmes-Gore called vegetarianism “absolutely necessary for the redemption of the planet. Indeed we cannot hope to rid the world of war, disease and a hundred other evils until we learn to show compassion to the creatures and refrain from taking their lives for food, clothing or pleasure.
“The Church is powerless to free mankind from such evils as war, oppression and disease,” insisted the Reverend Holmes-Gore, “because it does nothing to stop man’s oppression of victimizing living creatures...Every evil action, whether it be done to a man, a woman, a child, or an animal will one day have its effect upon the transgressor. The rule that we reap what we sow is a Divine Law from which there is no escape.
“God is ever merciful,” Reverend Holmes-Gore explained, “but he is also righteous, and if cruel men and women will learn compassion in no other way, then they will have to learn through suffering, even if it means suffering the same tortures that they have themselves inflicted. God is perfect Love, and He is never vengeful or vindictive, but the Divine Law of mercy and compassion cannot be broken without bringing tremendous repercussions upon the transgressor.”
Reverend Holmes-Gore acknowledged that a great deal of social progress has been made, but injustices continue to flourish:
“...we have made many great reforms, but there remains much to be done. We have improved the lot of children, of prisoners, and of the poor beyond all recognition in the last hundred years. We have done something to mitigate the cruelties inflicted upon the creatures. But though some of the worst forms of torture have been made illegal, the welter of animal blood is greater than ever, and their sufferings are still appalling.
“What we need is not a reform of existing evils,” concluded Reverend Holmes-Gore, “but a revolution in thought that will move Christians to show real compassion to all God’s creatures. Many people claim to be lovers of animals who are very far from being so. For a flesh-eater to claim to love animals is as if a cannibal expressed his devotion to the missionaries he consigns to the seething cauldron.”
“Dear God,” began the childhood prayers of Dr. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), “please protect and bless all living things. Keep them from evil and let them sleep in peace.” This noted Protestant French theologian, music scholar, philosopher and missionary doctor in Africa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.
Schweitzer preached an ethic of reverence for life: “Not until we extend the circle of compassion to include all living things shall we ourselves know peace.” When a man questioned his philosophy, saying God created animals for man to eat, Schweitzer replied, “Not at all.”
Schweitzer reflected, “How much effort it will take for us to get men to understand the words of Jesus, ‘Blessed are the merciful,’ and to bring them to the realization that their responsibility includes all creatures. But we must struggle with courage.” According to Schweitzer, “We need a boundless ethics which will include the animals also.”
Schweitzer founded the Lambarene Hospital in French Equatorial Africa in 1913, managing it for many years. “I never go to a menagerie,” he once wrote, “because I cannot endure the sight of the misery of the captive animals. The exhibiting of trained animals I abhor. What an amount of suffering and cruel punishment the poor creatures have to endure to give a few minutes of pleasure to men devoid of all thought and feeling for them.”
Schweitzer taught compassionate stewardship towards the animal kingdom: “We...are compelled by the commandment of love contained in our hearts and thoughts, and proclaimed by Jesus, to give rein to our natural sympathy to animals,” he explained. “We are also compelled to help them and spare suffering as far as it is in our power.”
On June 5, 1958, the Reverend Norman Vincent Peale stated, “I do not believe a person can be a true Christian, and at the same time engage in cruel or inconsiderate treatment of animals.”
Responding to a question about the Kingdom of Peace, Donald Soper was of the opinion that Jesus, unlike his brother James, was neither a teetotaler nor a vegetarian, but, “I think probably, if He were here today, He would be both.” In a 1963 article on “The Question of Vivisection,” Soper concluded: “...let me suggest that Dr. Schweitzer’s great claim that all life should be based on respect for personality has been too narrowly interpreted as being confined entirely to the personality of human beings. I believe that this creed ‘respect for personality’ must be applied to the whole of creation. I shouldn’t be surprised if the Buddhists are nearer to an understanding of it than we are.
“When we apply this principle, we shall be facing innumerable problems, but I believe we shall be on the right track which leads finally to the end of violence and the achievement of a just social order which will leave none of God’s creatures out of that Kingdom which it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us.”
In 1986, Dale and Judith Ostrander, ministers in the United Church of Christ issued a biblical call for stewardship, in which they concluded: “For Christians the scriptures contain the Word of God. And there is a particular conviction about Jesus Christ being the normative Word through whom all scriptural words are interpreted—the central meaning of Love and reconciliation of all creation. Therefore, all other biblical themes and all specific pieces of scripture become authoritative for the Christian insofar as they affirm or are consistent with God’s reconciling purpose.
“The role of Christians is to help God’s reconciling purpose become a reality. This means, among other things, living out our calling to care for God’s creation. It means taking seriously the interconnectedness of all life and our kinship with all living things. If Christians accept God’s loving dominion, then, created in God’s likeness, we are called to exercise our given ‘dominion’ over creation with the same kind of love. And if the great commandment is to love God, we must love God also through the complex ecological relationship of all living things.
“To misuse our delegated authority over the creation in exploitative, abusive, cruel or wasteful ways is to live as if we did not love God. We are led, therefore, as Christians to raise questions about our attitudes toward and treatment of animals. A growing number of ‘voices crying in the wilderness’ are calling us to take more seriously the ways in which we are despoiling the Earth and threatening its ability to sustain and support life. These voices are calling us to rethink our attitudes and our treatment of animals as we consider anew what it means to be faithful stewards of creation.”
According to the Reverend James E. Caroll, an Episcopal priest in Van Nuys, California, “A committed Christian, who knows what his religion is about, will never kill an animal needlessly. Above all, he will do his utmost to put a stop to any kind of cruelty to any animal. A Christian who participates in or gives consent to cruelty to animals had better reexamine his religion or else drop the name Christian.”
In 1992, members of Los Angeles’ First Unitarian Church agreed to serve vegetarian meals at the church’s weekly Sunday lunch. This decision was made as a protest against animal cruelty and the environmental damage caused by the livestock industry.
Vegetarianism and ethical concern for animals are consistent with Protestant Christianity:
“It is not a question of palate, of custom, of expediency, but of right,” wrote the Reverend J. Tyssul-Davies, B.A., on the subject of vegetarianism. “As a mere Christian Minister, I have had to make my decision. My palate was on the side of custom; my intellect argued for the expedient; but my higher reason and conscience left me no alternative. Our Lord came to give life, and we do not follow Him by taking life needlessly. So, I was compelled, against myself, to eschew carnivorism.”
The Reverend George Laughton taught that: “The practice of kindness towards dumb creatures is a sign of development to the higher reaches of intelligence and sympathy. For, mark you, in every place there are those who are giving of their time and thought and energy to the work of protecting from cruelty and needless suffering the beasts of the field and streets. These are the people who make the earth clean and sweet and more like what God intended it to be.”
I would like to politely suggest that you utilize your blogging feature here at OS and post this information where it can be most useful and be read by the audience you are trying to reach. If you're going to go to all of that work, you should have the opportunity to have folks comment on your work through your own comments on your own blog.
Again, I appreciate the info, but it's not especially on topic and the sheer length of the comments is making the comment section here unwieldy. It's not that I don't wish you to express yourself, on the contrary, I find what you are saying to be interesting, but it's a little much for this particular post.
Please feel free to link to my blog and post the link to any blog you may write on this post. Thanks!
My apologies. I meant no harm. You wrote of religion being responsible for the subjugation of women. The late Reverend J.R. Hyland (1933-2007), an evangelical minister, vegan, feminist, and author of God's Covenant with Animals (it's available through PETA), once commented wistfully:
"Christians believe Jesus is the savior, but they (animal activists) want Pythagoras to be the savior."
Some of the worst crimes in history have been committed in the name of religion. I agree with you, religion has a lot of power over people, and I'd like to see it end injustice, as was the case with Dr. King and the civil rights movement, rather than remain a tool of oppression.
You presented an alternative view of religion, and I merely felt looking at mainstream Christianity from a different angle of vision (its nonviolent side!) was appropriate for this forum.
Again, you have my apologies.
Much love to you and the crew and I hope your day is filled with fun!
People tend to screw up when Religion gets in the way.
Great Post
Happy Holidays
On the other hand there is Religion. This is an interconnected, diversified, global institution designed to exploit God and human insecurity for its own benefit and for its own glorification. Belonging religious is a personal matter and an inalienable right. But it is by no means integral to a fulfilled life, often, the contrary as most religions (starting with the Roman Catholic) are downright rude. And Christmas its most egregious misdemeanor, transforming the joyous birthday of a fascinating and very brave radical (who actually stared down the Roman Empire) into a reactionary circus of mind-numbing piety and unbridled commerce.
Now, where was I? Oh. Jodism -- amen, give me that old time religion! Especially when it includes Nutella and Pudge photos.
I love this. Count me as a devotee of Jodism.
(You have the best quotes!)
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Keep it real please!3
It's seems so simple, yet more death and destruction has been brought to the face of the earth from the "false interpretations" of faith than anything else, expect possibly world domination for the sake of secular power--though the religious institutions weren't far behind then either.
If the collective were able to apply reason to its choices in the main, rather than that of the "fringe" it would change. But even then I am fearful the cause of war outstrips the cause of peace MOST of the time.
Look at the Middle East--or rather would you rather not wish too? It is so horrific an intrusion on the moral conscience it is too difficult a task.
And then this: "What a peaceful world it would be if we could only stop trying to make everyone think alike. "
Uh, yeah. No shit. Great post.
Regardless of how you wish to tell your story Jodi, your 'religion' is no more honest, no better, no more noble, no more pure, and no less an illusion than those you critique...It may sound nice when you write it down, but it still rings hollow...
Rated and Agreed.