forty-some days without meat?

With Lent beginning this Wednesday or next Monday for many Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians, an ever growing number of Protestants and Evangelicals are also looking to honor in some way the ancient Christian period of fasting leading up to Easter.  See, for example, an informative and encouraging review of the practice by Rev. Ken Collins. 

The first two traditions have typically included abstaining from meat in their fasting, though in some cases seafood is permitted, while in other forms of fasting even non-flesh animal products are avoided as well.  But I wonder if many of us who are descendants of the Reformation consider fasting from meat or other animal products in any capacity as a legitimate, even vibrant, way of honoring Lent?  

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19th century British Evangelicals on cruelty to animals

Following our two historic and extraordinary examples of early 19th century British Evangelicals speaking out in a strong way against cruelty toward God's creatures.  First is the passionate poem "On Cruelty to Brute Animals," from a Friendly Hints poetry section of The Evangelical Magazine, 1806:

A MAN of kindness to his beast be kind;
But brutal actions shew a brutal mind.
Remember, he who made thee made the brute;
Who gave thee speech and reason, form'd him mute:
He can't complain; but God's omniscient eye
Beholds thy cruelty,—he hears his cry.
He was design'd thy servant and thy drudge;
But know,—that his Creator is thy Judge!

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a call to compassion

Kendra Langdon Juskus, a good friend at the creation care group Flourish, wrote an excellent article for the July/August edition of Prism, the magazine of Evangelicals for Social Action, titled "A Call to Compassion from our Brothers the Animals."  The piece begins with the happy story of Stella, a pig rescued from an industrial farming operation by Elaine and Dale West, both Christians, of Rooterville Sanctuary, and it concludes with a great quote about the same:

At Rooterville, West’s days are filled with compassionate stewardship and our other calling: to name the creatures delivered into her care and to call the most emaciated and wounded, the ones who struggle back into right relationship with their caretakers, beautiful names like Stella, star.

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creature kindness

The last feature in our series on insects and other invertebrates begins with an example of being kind to household spiders, but goes on to develop a much fuller call to show compassion and hospitality to all God's creatures.  "Creature Kindness" is a wonderful article written by Kim Winchell, a diaconal minister for Earthkeeping Education & Advocacy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and originally published in the April 2010 edition of the ELCA's Lutheran Woman Today. 

"Creature Kindness" is rich with a biblical understanding of our intended relationship to God's creation and creatures, as well as personal anecdote and practical advice (the author shares several suggestions for encouraging an appreciation of and kindness toward animals in fellow church members, young and old alike).  I hope you'll have a chance to peruse it in full, but here are just a few poignant lines by way of preview:

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C. S. Lewis, the Lady and her animals

It would be hard to imagine an author which the last few generations of Christians in the U.S. and U.K., and no doubt beyond, have loved and appreciated more than C. S. Lewis.  I know my own journey of faith would be far less rich, and quite possibly much less developed, without him.  He was a humble professor of classical English literature whose undeniable gift for prose and vivid allegory extended to his passion for a wide spectrum of matters of Christian life and theology.

A few years ago, as I was just starting to lay a theological foundation for working on not one sparrow, I happily discovered that, as much as I had read Lewis previously, I had overlooked just how meaningfully he wrote on several occasions regarding animals.  During my last Fall of classes, I had an opportunity to take a class on C. S. Lewis exclusively, for which I read and reviewed an excellent overview of his theology of animals by Andrew Linzey.  While I disagreed with Linzey on a few points, and wished Lewis had naturally fleshed out his perspective a bit further, I came away from the article even more grateful for what Lewis had to say about animals in his various writings, and to Linzey for reminding us of that legacy.

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Leo Tolstoy on slaughtering animals

We cannot pretend that we do not know this.  We are not ostriches, and cannot believe that if we refuse to look at what we do not wish to see, it will not exist.  This is especially the case when what we do not wish to see is what we wish to eat.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), author of the above quote, is one of the world's most read and respected novelists (War and Peace, Anna Karenina).  He was also a Russian theologian and ethicist with deeply rooted Christian beliefs and values.  His strong emphasis on non-violence and inner sanctification, which developed especially later in life, were also extended to animals and his take on our consumption of them.

His essay "The First Step" includes a powerful account of Tolstoy's conversations with butchers and his witnessing of animals being slaughtered, including a visit to an abbatoir (slaughterhouse) in the Russian town of Toúla.  Tolstoy challenges us to acknowledge and own our natural revulsion at this process, the taking of life simply for the purpose of "tasty food," and as a result to aspire to a higher morality which includes abstaining from meat.

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William Wilberforce, a man of many causes

If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures, and to be warmed with the desire of relieving their distresses, is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever to be permitted at large.

I'm not sure in defense of which cause William Wilberforce made this statement specifically before British Parliament, but it certainly applies to his concern for God's nonhuman creatures as well.  Wilberforce, a Christian, is best remembered, and rightly so, for his crucial role in the abolition of slavery in Great Britain, which is featured in the highly-recommended recent film Amazing Grace.  But I was happily surprised to see instances of his care and advocacy for animals featured in the film as well, and to learn of his leadership in putting the cause of animal welfare on the map.

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John Wesley's concern for every living creature

I believe in my heart that faith in Jesus Christ can and will lead us beyond an exclusive concern for the well-being of other human beings to a broader concern for the well-being of the birds in our backywards, the fish in our rivers, and every living creature on the face of the earth.

This hopeful statement was made by John Wesley (1703-1791), a lifelong Anglican who was also the founder of the Methodist movement with his brother Charles.  Wesley, an evangelical who was intently concerned with both personal evangelism and holy living, was a hugely influential pastor, preacher, theologian and writer in both England and America.  He was also an advocate for many social causes.

Wesley's "The General Deliverance" is just as rare as it is valuable, an 18th century sermon which was sincerely given on behalf of both humans and animals.  The biblical text which Wesley is working with, one which we've referred to frequently as well, is Romans 8:19-22:

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Calvin and the beasts

John Calvin, another indispensable figure of the Protestant Reformation and tradition, has a rather mixed legacy at best when it comes to animals (see for instance a cross-section of his comments in the helpful anthology Animals and Christianity: A Book of Readings, ed. by Andrew Linzey and Tom Regan).  In fact, traditionally this legacy has been deemed anthropocentric (human-centered) and negative in its application to animals.

This perception is clarified and also challenged in the excellent article "Calvin and the Beasts: Animals in John Calvin's Theological Discourse" by Peter Huff, professor of religious studies at Centenary College of Louisiana (Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Mar. '99, available to read online).  For anyone who cares about animals who is also interested in or influenced by Calvin's substantial theology, this is a must read, and a fascinating one at that.

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Martin Luther and animals

Dave Kelly, director of worship at King of Kings Church in Omaha, Nebraska, continues our look at historic and contemporary Christian voices for animals with some pointed criticism of factory farming's treatment of God's creatures, wrapped around some powerful statements from a legendary figure of the Protestant Reformation ...

I have written several blogs on the mistreatment of animals.  Indeed, I think the way we treat animals is often a reflection of how we are doing as a race.  Sadly, it seems that we are not doing so good.  The horrors of factory farming continue, where animals (especially pigs and chickens) are reared in horrible, factory-like conditions, where they see no daylight for an entire (extremely shortened) life-span, and where complete disregard for their welfare is commonplace.  Where animals who feel pain and have compassion on their own kind are treated as units for profit.

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