The Mary T. and
Frank L. Hoffman
Family Foundation
and All-Creatures.Org

Letters and Responses

Letter from Frank About Our Web Site Opening His Eyes - 10 Oct 2003

To Whom It May Concern:

I happened upon your web site this morning and studied, with abject horror, the photos you posted there. I have been eating meat all my life and even admit to being a person who said with a cavalier tone in his voice, "I know calves are mistreated to produce veal, but it is so delicious." Well, hearing that calves are mistreated and SEEING the sheer torture had a sobering effect, I assure you. I am mortified and am now seriously considering how I must change my life in view of what I have seen. I don't want to just try to forget about it and carry on as usual.

So, I thank you for "opening my eyes." One thing I will point out, however, is that you constantly quote from the Bible about the sacredness of all life, but do keep in mind that your God (I am not Christian) ordered animals to be slaughtered for "blood sacrifice" and "burnt offerings" all the time. Worse than that, he supposedly ordered things so that his own "son" would be tortured and slaughtered for the "salvation" of the world. With a blood-thristy example such as that, is it any wonder so many people think nothing of similar atrocity? Believe me, I am in no way blaming Christians for all of this. I know other religions do much the same thing. But, since you offered a Christian example, I am offering this response. I know my comment will not change your mind-- nor do I intend to change your mind about your God. I just thought it might be a salient point to consider.

Thank you for your web site. Although it was painful to look at, it is nothing compared to the pain of the animals tortured for our desires. I can't say I object to meat-eating, in theory... but as there seems no way to treat animals humanely until they are also humanely killed for consumption, the solution seems to be to stop consuming meat altogether. I don't know how I will do this as I'm not big on fruits and vegetables... but I guess I will have to get accustomed pretty quickly!

Best Regards,

Frank

Reply from Frank and Mary Hoffman

Dear Frank:

Thank you very much for your visit, email, and comments.

The same atrocities that horrified you this morning, we're the same things that started us on our vegetarian (vegan) journey over 30 years ago. We have published an extensive recipe section on our web site that might make your transition away from animal foods easier. http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes.html 

Your interpretation of the Bible is quite understandable, for that is the way it appears when looking at certain passages out of the whole context. Your understanding, and that of most Christians, is the same, but it fails to consider the difference between God's intent and concessions that He granted because of the hardness of the human heart. You might want to read: http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons98/s17mar2002.html 

We look forward to hearing from you again.

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank and Mary

Return to Letters

We welcome your comments


| 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 (1367 bytes)