christian voices for compassionate animal farming

To close out a short series on a more compassionate animal farming and diet, which previously featured the "Back to the Start" animated video and "... Also Many Animals" from Rev. Leonard Vander Zee, I wanted to link to a few other Christian voices on this critical dimension of caring for God's creatures:

- The Christian Broadcasting Network posted a commendable news segment and accompanying article on Christian "alternative farmer" Joel Salatin, "Natural Farming: Inspiring Passionate 'Stewards.'"  Salatin has received national attention in the natural food movement, including films such as Food, Inc. and books such as The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Following the video is a great quote from Salatin in CBN's article:

Click to read more ...

also many animals

A while back my mother pointed me to an admirable article written by Rev. Leonard Vander Zee for The Banner of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.  The article is titled ... Also Many Animals, a reference to Jonah 4:11 in which God tells Jonah, who is anxious for Nineveh to be judged for its wickedness and to save his own psyche in the process, "Should I not have concern for the great city Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people ... and also many animals? (Today's New International Version).

Click to read more ...

sharks in peril - humanity takes a bite out of creation

I'm grateful to creation care advocate and friend Anna Clark, who is currently involved in an anti-shark finning campaign in her state of Texas, for sharing this heartfelt post on behalf of a creature many of us might not think needs speaking up for ...

Growing up at the height of Jaws fever, I still get nervous every time I wade knee-deep into the ocean.  I know my galeophobia is unfounded, but until this year, I had no idea how much so.  True, shark attacks -- always media sensations -- result in about five fatalities annually.  We humans, however, are biting back by killing 73-100 million sharks each year.  In the span of a few decades, the ocean's top predators, including the great white, which has endured for 16 million years, have become our prey.  At least one-third of shark species are now threatened with extinction.

Click to read more ...

God's compassion for animals

A fundamental post, rich with biblical references to God's concern for animals, from Dean Ohlman of The Wonder of Creation ...

One of the many key indications of the reliability of the Bible is its addressing the broad span of the reality of life on earth.  I’m only vaguely knowledgeable of the scriptures of other religions, but I think it’s safe to say that the Bible is unparalleled in its “heart” for animals—from their origin to their destiny.  They were created by God before mankind (Gen. 1), they were put under man’s authority and responsibility (Gen. 1:20-30; Psalm 8:4-8), they were saved from destruction in the flood (Gen. 7:6-10), and they are remembered by their Creator who covenanted with them that they would continue under His protection and in His care (Gen. 9:8-16).

Click to read more ...

does wildlife need our management? (part 2)

Continuing Jenny Sue Hane's thought-provoking and biblically grounded post "Does Wildlife Need Our Management?" ...

There are already signs that “management” by humans might not be all it’s cracked up to be.  Unlike natural predators, we are not limited in our choice of prey by our strength and speed.  So although hunters might describe their work as “culling,” in reality they often take the highest quality animals they can find.  Traits that once improved animals’ ability to survive are now working against them by making them desirable targets for hunters, so reproductive selection begins to reduce or eliminate those traits.  Elephants without tusks have increased, kangaroos are getting smaller, and bighorn sheep are developing less impressive headgear.  Our attempts to control nature may actually reduce the genetic strength and diversity of animal populations.  Is this a sign of responsible stewardship in action?  Is this what we wanted?  (See for instance Newsweek's "It's Survival of the Weak and Scrawny.")

Click to read more ...

does wildlife need our management?

One of our community members Jenny Sue Hane has been following the recent wolf hunting developments closely, and even organized an exemplary rally in opposition to them.  This is the first part of a thoughtful post she wrote for us on taking a genuinely Christian approach to wildlife management ...

Here in the US, where I live, state game agencies are in the business of managing wildlife.  This includes issuing a number of permits to hunters every year, even for creatures that are not typically eaten and bear many similarities to domestic companion animals.  Some of the arguments for the hunting of non-food animals focus on their supposed conflicts with people and their livestock, which may be greatly overstated.  But once those are out of the way, there is another argument that the trophy hunters fall back on: the “animals need to be managed” argument. 

Click to read more ...

Christian reflections on Ohio tragedy

By now there's a good chance you've heard some news of the awful events which took place in Central Ohio early last week.  Terry Thompson, previously convicted of animal cruelty and other criminal charges, set 50-plus animals free from his private exotic animal collection at Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, including lions, leopards, bears, wolves, primates and 18 endangered Bengal tigers.  Thompson then tragically took his own life, and 49 of the free-roaming animals were killed by local police, naturally untrained to deal with such a crisis involving so many foreign and dangerous animals.

You can get a good overview of Thompson's history with animals and Ohio's lax legislation with respect to exotic animal possession, and failure to require Thompson to relinquish his collection, in a CNN.com article and accompanying video "Friend: Animal farm owner under stress" (from which the following screenshot is taken).

Click to read more ...

against animal violence

A few months ago I bumped into Kurt Willems on Twitter, a writer and pastor who journals at The Pangea Blog on theology, ethics, ministry and recently even animals!  Kurt kindly offered to share a post I wrote on the theme of nonviolence which is close to his heart as an Anabaptist evangelical.  Here's a preview of "The Nonviolence of the Kingdom ... Towards Animals":

Witnessing such acts as Lincoln and Sobosan did, and the resulting agony of noble and harmless creatures, would have been hard for me to process as a child well.  I don’t know that I would have reacted more approvingly of explicit cruelty as I grew into adolescence and something resembling adulthood.  But I do know that the deep-seated fascination and heart which I had for the animal kingdom as a boy was replaced with a practical indifference to their existence, and wellbeing.

Click to read more ...

animal ministries

Earlier this year, the Humane Society of the United States' Faith Outreach program released a booklet called  "Animal Protection Ministries: A Guide for Churches."  Richard Mouw, respected president of the evangelical Fuller Theological Seminary who has spoken out on behalf of animal welfare himself, introduces the guide: "As the Christian tradition reawakens to the human responsibility for stewardship of God's creation, it is crucial for churches to have practical ways to put these ideas into practice.  The Animal Protection Ministries guide offers churches the tools and the inspiration they need to explore this growing area of ministry."

The guide is beautifully put together, with engaging photos and motivating reflections from various church leaders, including Randy Craighead of Church of the King in Louisiana which offers monthly veterinary checkups amon other services to those with low income in their community, a ministry we've featured previously.  Another voice is Dorothy Taylor Blackwelder, associate pastor at Dorchester Presbyterian Church in Summerville, South Carlina, which maintains a 42-acre wildlife sanctuary and serves at a local animal shelter.  Blackwelder shares poignantly,

Click to read more ...

ministers against animal cruelty

This past Spring, the Humane Society of the United States highlighted some exciting news that a group of Chicago-area pastors led by Rev. Robin Hood of Redeemed Outreach Ministries and Bishop Claude Porter of Proviso Baptist Church have formed a coalition called Ministers Against Animal Cruelty.  According to HSUS, Ministers Against Animal Cruelty will "expand animal welfare services, resources, education and communication to pet owners in their communities."

Their mission statement affirms,

“We have a theological and moral responsibility to respect, preserve and live in harmony with all animal life.

Click to read more ...