If hot dogs were made of dogs, would you still eat one? If you’d asked me that question seven years ago (when I still ate meat), I would’ve answered with a firm (though puzzled) ‘no’. My previous answer fascinates me now because it highlights that our beliefs about what is (and is not) acceptable to eat typically derive from our cultural inheritance, rather than any Biblically informed ethic. After all, if, as we Christians might initially be tempted to think, it is okay to eat lambs and pigs because humans were given dominion over God’s creation (Genesis 1:26-28), then it will also be okay to eat cats and dogs, for nothing in Genesis (nor any other book in the Bible) suggests that lambs and pigs are for eating while cats and dogs are for cuddling. Yet most of us find the idea of eating cats and dogs horrific.
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I must have been about nine when I saw the sheepskins hanging over the abattoir (slaughterhouse) wall. I’d turned vegetarian at the age of eight, after realising that what-was-on-my-plate was who-was-in-the-fields, and I remember feeling embarrassed for the grown-ups, visiting family in Leeds, who’d taken a wrong turning on our Sunday walk. I shouldn’t be seeing this, was my thought.
Animal Liberation: Broad Church or Sect? – Alan McManus was last modified: December 18th, 2018 by admin
Jacy Reese discusses his new book The End of Animal Farming, the direction of the animal advocacy movement, positive changes in religious thinking towards animal issues and how people of faith can take constructive steps in support of animals.
The End of Animal Farming – Jacy Reese was last modified: April 15th, 2020 by admin
Jay Wilde, the Derbyshire farmer who made national headlines after famously donating his herd of cattle to an animal sanctuary in 2017, reflects upon his relationship to animals, the future of his farm and the newly released documentary 73 Cows which chronicles his remarkable story.
Jay Wilde: A Story of Human and Animal Liberation was last modified: November 7th, 2023 by admin
When I tell church friends that I work in animal theology, I am often met with puzzled looks: ‘Do you mean animals go to heaven?’ Animal theology certainly includes such questions, but has wider concerns: What is animal creation for? To what end did God make them? How are humans supposed to treat them?
What On Earth Are Animals For? – Philip Sampson was last modified: October 18th, 2018 by admin
How can people fight injustice, save the planet, and fuel their resistance one meal at a time? Renowned animal rights advocate Carol J. Adams and vegan dietitian Virginia Messina explain how in their new book Protest Kitchen.
Protest Kitchen – Carol J. Adams and Ginny Messina was last modified: October 8th, 2018 by admin
Professor Karen Swallow Prior explores the depiction of animals within literature and considers how a positive understanding of animals can enrich our own lives as humans.
Ask the Animals, and They Will Teach You – Karen Swallow Prior was last modified: October 1st, 2018 by admin
Thomas Jay Oord, renowned theologian, philosopher and author, reflects upon the iconic verse John 3:16 and the meaning of God’s love for the whole of creation.
For God so Loved the World (not just humans) – Thomas Jay Oord was last modified: September 3rd, 2018 by admin
Dr. Andrew Root’s search for the canine soul began the day his eight-year-old son led the family in a moving Christian ritual at the burial service for Kirby, their beloved black lab. In the coming weeks, Root found himself wondering: What was this thing we’d experienced with this animal? Why did the loss hurt so poignantly? Why did his son’s act seem so right in its sacramental feel?
Andrew considers these questions in his latest book The Grace of Dogs, a touching and profound exploration of the relationship between human and canine family members.
The Grace of Dogs – Andrew Root was last modified: August 16th, 2018 by admin