faq #5, have other Christians cared about animals, past and present?
I've looked forward to this series for a while now, and hope it holds a few surprises for you as well. We'll mostly be focusing on notable voices for animals from the past in coming posts, just as Karen Swallow Prior helped introduce the theme a few entries back with an eye-opening overview of historic evangelicals and animals. But as the following response from our FAQ page points out, we've regularly featured friends and other current Christian voices here on the blog, and will continue to:
Sadly, animals haven't had many champions through the two thousand year history of the church, at least not prominent ones. Who knows how many showed compassion to God's creatures without notice or record? But there have been a few standout voices scattered through the years, from St. Francis of Assisi to John Wesley, William Wilberforce, Leo Tolstoy and even C. S. Lewis more recently, among others.
As for contemporary Christian voices for animals, we make an effort to feature as many as we can on our blog: from friends and regular contributors to not one sparrow, to more occasional but noteworthy attention from faith leaders such as Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, John Stott and Billy Graham. We're also deeply appreciative of the hard ground plowed by other Christian animal advocates and groups in recent years, and refer to some of them often, though many tend to work with a more progressive Christian theology.
I'm hoping to share more from C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Humphrey Primatt, John Wesley, William Wilberforce and perhaps a few others, including the reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin, in some of the following posts and Facebook notes. Please feel free to share quotes and stories from that "great cloud of witnesses" which you've come across yourself!
In the meantime, I must admit to not having focused a great deal on St. Francis of Assisi in my own study of Christian engagement with animal issues to this point. In addition to coming from a different tradition which isn't as familiar with or focused on his life and witness, it's also hard to distinguish between truth and legend in the stories about him, however touching they may be regardless.
Still, it's clear St. Francis (1181 - 1286) was uniquely and perhaps even prophetically in tune to nature and its creatures, and their integral place in their Creator's kingdom. His legacy of sensitivity and compassion toward animals is a shining testimony, long before its time (if that time has come even yet), and an inspiration to all of us who care about and for God's beloved creatures. I hope to become more familiar with that legacy.
You can read more about St. Francis in a Humane Society Faith Outreach profile, and listen to the following beautiful and deeply meaningful rendition of the "Prayer of Saint Francis," sung by Sarah McLachlan. The song is attributed to St. Francis, though its specific roots are unclear. Regardless, I'm very grateful to Mel Lozano and Charla Barrett for sharing, and to YouTube user CmdrKateBowman for posting the moving song and images:
(artwork by Carl Weidemeyer-Worpswede (1911), from Die Blümlein des heiligen Franziskus von Assisi, courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
October 5, 2010
Reader Comments (4)
Don't forget probably THE most important Christian theologian committed to animal rights, Andrew Linzey.
His site:
http://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/who-we-are/director/
Great catch, AdR, Andrew Linzey is a good friend, and has done an awful lot for the Christian animal advocacy movement. I would consider him the modern-day father of it. I've interacted with his work in a few places on our blog, and just highlighted his excellent collection 'Animals and Christianity' on our Facebook page. best wishes, Ben
And may I please add contemporary Christian voice J.R. Hyland (1933-2007), who edited Humane Religion magazine http://www.all-creatures.org/hr/hr.htm and wrote numerous articles and books, among which is a favorite of mine: "God's Covenant With Animals: A Biblical Basis for the Humane Treatment of All Creatures" (Lantern Books, 2000).
Thanks, Susan, I've read that book by Hyland as well. She was definitely a meaningful and consistent voice for animals and other humanitarian causes as well, but her theology did bend increasingly progressive later in life and as she wrote that book - Ben