causes

One definition for cause is "the welfare of a person or group, seen as a subject of concern," and another is "the reason or motive for some human action" (Dictionary.com).  As our name suggests, not one sparrow believes that nothing related to animal care and wellbeing on the one hand or abuse and suffering on the other should go neglected, no matter how small or institutional.  While everyone is responsible for caring for the animals which share this world with us, the church of all communities should be sensitive to the needs of God’s creatures (see motivation) ...

The effects of humanity’s fall on our relationship to animals have been sweeping, and often staggering.  In Scripture we read about Balaam beating his donkey without warrant, a rich man stealing and slaughtering a poor family’s pet lamb, and the devastating effects of community sin on livestock and wild animals.  Even legitimate uses of animals which involved their suffering, such as sacrifice and consumption, are presented as concessions to human fallenness (see fall).  All creatures are in fact described as groaning as they wait for human redemption, and their own redemption (see redemption).

Human history in general is littered with the neglect and abuse of animals, and the depths of our carelessness and depravity are apparently limitless: from Descartes’ dissection of conscious dogs to the still-current practice of skinning live animals for fur; the former routine abuse of carriage horses and the modern touring of dilapidated circus animals; from drowning stray canines in 19th-century cities to modern puppy mills with stacked wire cages which shoot their breeders when they can’t produce another litter; and the age-old mistreatment of farm animals by many an uncaring hand to the current hell-spawned factory farm industry through which literally billions of sentient creatures are funneled each year.

The rest of this section is divided into four areas: celebration, about cultivating an appreciation for all animals; consumption, related to animals used for human purposes; companion, about animals bred and kept as pets; and conservation, regarding our effect on wild animals.  Thank you for looking into these often overlooked issues, and please see our blog for additional posts and resources or contact us if you have any other questions.