Christian vegans and squash blossoms

I can't say how pleased I am with this campaign. It has long troubled me that my personal beliefs have not been supported by my church. I have often prayed to God to help the creatures, especially those enduring the cruelty of factory farms. HSUS has helped answer that prayer. I plan to take part in this campaign and "spread the word."

Beautiful column. Thank you.

I'm glad the Humane Society is launching this campaign. Hopefully, our spiritual leaders will realize how we view and treat all of God's creatures directly and indirectly, affects and reflects our relationshiop to God who put them in our care.
Neglected Scriptures such as Hebrews 4:13 should be brought into church teachings. We will be held accountable some day to the Creator for every creature. The laity have been teaching the truth. Someday we will live in harmony once again with God's creatures in His Kingdom (Isaiah 11); But, creation is waiting for us to set them free here and now (see Romans 8:19-22).
Dairy products are related to animal cruelty in our greedy world system as well as eggs. We've been deceived into thinking that animals are here for us exclusively to have a 'healthy' life. It's time to wake up and stop believing the lies and to stop supporting factory farms and all animal cruelty. We need to listen to what God is trying to teach us and where God is trying to lead us.
God's Creatures Ministry

We congratulate our friends at HSUS on the success of their, "All Creatures Great & Small" campaign and even more delighted that they joined Best Friends Animal Society by creating an Animals and Religion department.

In July of 2007, Best Friends sponsored a meeting among over 30 leaders of faith from more than 20 faith traditions who engaged in discourse about how they could facilitate change for animals within, and beyond, their faith circles. The result was the delivery of, A Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion (http://www.bestfriends.org/signproc) which was unveiled in the Cannon Caucus Room in Washington, D.C., last November.

As more and more animal welfare organizations participate in this new and emerging discipline, society will continue its journey to the place where kindness and compassion for animals are considered to be core spiritual values. The tipping point lies before us and the paradigm will surely shift. As one of the proclamation co-author's who spoke at last year's D.C. event stated, "THIS is the new evangelism."

As a preacher's kid, I must admit that the 'All Creatures Great and Small' campaign is the most exciting HSUS campaign to me! When I was a little girl I used to take my weekly allowance and send it into the Humane Society of the U.S., then would pray for all of the animals in the world each and every night that they would be safe from harm. Ask my parents! Animals were all I ever thought about! :)

I am heading to DC for the Animals and Religion events this weekend. It will be like a dream come true for me to meet other people of faith who love and respect God's animals as much as I have my entire life.

Proverbs 12:10 says, 'The righteous man cares for the life of his animal, but the compassion of the wicked is cruel.' --- May this campaign remind faith based communities here and around the world that we have a duty not only to other humans, but to God's animals as well.

Has anyone noticed that John McCain has never been baptized? (see article in New Yorker) McCain IS NOT A CHRISTIAN!

Interesting column, but wouldn't spaying and neutering "cruelly deny the ability to manifest even their most basic God-given instincts?"

Man's brain started to dramatically increase in size after they started eating concentrated protein and fat in meat. Plus here is another consideration:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/health/health/article1670895.ece

People with low levels of vitamin B12 are SIX times more likely to suffer brain loss, researchers at Oxford University have discovered.

Vegans and vegetarians — such as Heather Mills, Russell Brand and Big Brother's Chanelle Houghton — are the most likely to be deficient because the
best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish.

As the bumper sticker says "I Love Animals. They're Delicious". Not an excuse for mistreating them otherwise though.

I dearly wish that the same Christian values and sense of purpose was extended to the children of America. While I myself am a vegetarian for the same moral reasons the humane society exists. I am also a passionate child advocate. I am sick and tired of hearing and reading about the outraged public when a dog is left in a hot car, but when a child is abused or neglected, it is none of our business, and the child should be kept with the family. All creatures great and small means exactly that -- ALL CREATURES. Too bad the humane society only cares about the protection and rights of one group of creatures and not all vulnerable members of our earth...

"People with low levels of vitamin B12 are SIX times more likely to suffer brain loss, researchers at Oxford University have discovered.

Vegans and vegetarians — such as Heather Mills, Russell Brand and Big Brother's Chanelle Houghton — are the most likely to be deficient because the
best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish."

Hogwash. I have been a vegan since 2000 and I have never relied on meat or animal products for B-12. I take vitamin B-12 religiously every day, B-12 is found in yeast extracts, Vecon vegetable stock, veggieburger mixes, textured vegetable protein, soya milks, vegetable and sunflower margarines, and breakfast cereals.

Besides, I know of meateaters who are total airheads. No offense.

Thanks, Mr. Paulson, for going to the HSUS luncheon and writing a nice story. We here in my Calif. household didn't know that the Humane Society "is now embarked on an 'All Creatures Great and Small' campaign aimed at religious congregations and schools."

I'm a Humane California Dog -- a corgi actually. I've been too busy barking about passing Calif. Proposition 2 -- the Initiative on standards for confinement of farm animals -- to notice that humane animal farming and spiritual beliefs are being talked about in the nation's religious circles.

To tell you the truth, as a dog, I think I miss out on a lot of human talk. I know I miss out on squash blossom recipes. I'm not vegan. I and my family eat humanely treated "food" animals and cage-free eggs. My kibble days are a thing of the past!

We hope that inhumane farming will become a thing of the past and that the nation's farmers will profit from converting to humane farming!

Thank you, Mr. Paulson, for providing the background on the Humane Society and writing an article that addresses Christian respect for Creation. I would like to echo Tilin's hope that "inhumane farming will become a thing of the past and that the nation's farmers will profit from converting to humane farming!" I would also add statements from the Seventh Day Adventists that sum up my thoughts:
Seventh-day Adventism advocates a simple, wholesome lifestyle, where people do not step on the treadmill of unbridled over-consumption, accumulation of goods, and production of waste. A reformation of lifestyle is called for, based on respect for nature, restraint in the use of the world's resources, reevaluation of one's needs, and reaffirmation of the dignity of created life. It is the belief of the Seventh Day Adventist Church that humankind was created in the image of God, and is thus to represent God as His steward and to manage the natural environment in a faithful and fruitful way. Nature is a gift from God.

Oh, would that the Christians of America embrace the benevolence described in this article. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of them are part of the problem, not the solution.

When I think of how a "Christian" in Rove-Cheney America eats, I think of Jerry "Wormfood" Falwell, whose ticker finally called it quits after breakfast one fateful morning, which, judging from Falwell's proud gluttony, consisted of one overflowing plate of greasy eggs, bacon, sausage, shortening biscuits and fatty beef gravy too many.

I suggest a "Christian vegan" in this increasingly fundamentalist nation of ours is with rare exception an oxymoron.

Thanks for writing such a great article! I also was at the National Press Club for this luncheon. I want to respond to Judy R-P's comment: As we increase our respect for animal welfare, we also increase our concern for the welfare of children. One problem with these poultry farms where chickens are treated cruelly is that the hired human staff is often also treated cruelly. Sometimes we can also help a child by drawing attention to how the adult's are treating the animals in the same home.

I see some comments directed at the "unfairness" of people becoming outraged about cruelty to animals and not to people. These people need to understand that animal welfare people also care deeply about ALL CREATURES, however, they direct their efforts to animals just as others direct their efforts to people/children. No one has the ability to devote the necessary time to EVERYTHING, and neither can most of us afford to financially contribute to EVERYTHING. I choose to devote myself to animal welfare. Someone must stand up for them as they cannot do it for themselves.

As a former grantwriter for an animal cause (abused farm animals) I ran into this attitude all the time that people deserve as much (read MORE) attention and care than animals. I feel like so many people are concerned about abuses of people that I choose to focus on animals because so many less folks do. It ALL matters. To care about animals does include the human ones...

I am so glad that we are working to stop the nastiness of people and their thinking. What are they thinking? I've seen some horrible things on the poor little coon dogs from China, what they do to them. The lucky ones die when they pound them on the ground to kill them, the unlucky ones get skinned alive. I prayed and cryed all the way home that night. We need to spread the word to folks not to buy coats or sweaters from China that has the fur, it is pretty much going to be one of those beautiful animals. We all have so much work to do to stop all this. I have more to say, but will let someone else get some space. Theresa

Since I last posted here on September 23, 08 09:12 PM I have become extremely unwell. I went to my doctor and he said that it was the result of my vegan diet and he advised me to go back to eating meat and dairy as staying vegan would be detrimental to my health. I am sorry that I had to give up my vegan diet but since I did I have never felt better even though it has taken time. I would advise all vegans's to eat meat at least 2 days a week for the sake of their health.

Rafa I had the same problem as you and quickly realised that a vegan diet is not sustainable in the long run. Thank God for meat it saved me from bad health.

Giving animals human civil rights creates chaos in the law. If one human right is granted, then the same reasoning that allows one, allows all others. The right to marry and procreate are human rights. I don't know the best kind of animal to marry but what if the rest of the in-laws are still managed by the shepherd. Do you try to free them for the honeymoon? The notion of animals rights is unnatural and supported by neither the religious community nor the evolutionists. Animal rights people who wear the remains of dead animals in the form of rubber and plastic are hypocrits. Pajama bottoms with all cotton footies are suggested...with favorite animal cartoon characters all over.........