The Dilemma Caused by Being Vegetarian in a Christian Church

From all-creatures.org
ARCHIVE OF COMMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Our subjects cover: animals, religion (Christian, Jewish and others); diet and lifestyle (vegan and vegetarian); and other miscellaneous subjects.

The Dilemma Caused by Being Vegetarian in a Christian Church
Comments by Lucas Patterson - 7 Apr 2008

Pamm --

Carol J. Adams' book "Prayers for Animals" has been a great comfort to me of late ... helping keep me from wallowing in my feelings of aloneness that so often come up (even at church). I met her recently at a college presentation and she was as nice as she seems from reading her work. Here's one of my favorite prayers/poems:

"Dear God,

A cow jumped over a slaughterhouse fence and escaped.
For her freedom, I am thankful.
For her continued safety, I pray.

Safety, O Loving Presence, is needed by so many.
I remember a time when I needed all cows inside that fence.
They were captives to my desires.

God, there are fences I need to jump, too.
You know what keeps me captive.
You know what keeps my thoughts from You.
You know what limits me.
I stay comfortable with the old, with narrowed ambitions and selfish desires.
Help me leap over fences that keep me from You.

Thank you for leaps of faith and leaps of desperation.
May those unsafe and those who are too safe jump for freedom!"

It's a safe bet that most Christians fall (including vegans!) into that "too safe" category in many, many ways.

I would also suggest visiting a Seventh-day Adventist church on a week when they're having potlucks (or "fellowship meals" as they're often called). These are almost always entirely vegetarian -- I've not seen meat there once in my 33 years of attendance -- and there are many vegan dishes there, too. I'm a Seventh-day Adventist and I can't say that I'm blown away by my fellow church goers' compassion for animals, but the vegetarian diet (more often done for health reasons than anything) is a big start and certainly leaves the door open to discuss the ethical aspects of dietary choices as well.

Also, here's a link to an article my pastor sent me a few years back since he knew of my strong affection for animals. The article is written by a young Adventist in California who has also written a good book called Animals, Ethics, and Christianity. I take great comfort in knowing that even though this fellow lives 3,000 miles from me we share identical faith in God and love for animals. I hope you find that same comfort via this list or through continued exploration.

Good luck.

Lucas

Go on to: Comments by Elyse Bell - 7 Apr 2008
Return to: The Dilemma Caused by Being Vegetarian in a Christian Church

Your Comments are Welcome:

| Home Page | Archive | Discussion Table of Contents |
Watercolor painting by Mary T. Hoffman - God's Creation in Art


| Home Page | Animal Issues | Archive | Art and Photos | Articles | Bible | Books | Church and Religion | Discussions | Health | Humor | Letters | Links | Nature Studies | Poetry and Stories | Quotations | Recipes | What's New? |

Thank you for visiting all-creatures.org.
Since date.gif (1294 bytes)