LettersLetter from Tom McInerney Concerning Fishing, Flesh Eating, Violence and the Bible - 6 May 2004
Letters From All-Creatures.org and The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation

Letter from Tom McInerney Concerning Fishing, Flesh Eating, Violence and the Bible - 6 May 2004

I read some of your website, an i noticed that all of your scriptural references are taken out of context, though they may be used correctly.

I don't believe in your definition of the word "violence". is catching a fish violence? according to your website, it is. Do you believe killing a cow for meat is violence when god specifically gave us permission when adam and eve were evicted from the garden of eden? If bolt-gunnig a cow (which is definately quicker that slitting it's throat or whatever means adam end eve used) for meat is a sinful act of violence, then why did god permit it?

I also believe that your views on the reading from genesis 22:1-14 are quite foolish. this isn't a riddle, you regard it as a riddle because you have such a distaste for bloodshed. God put Abraham to the test by giving him something hard to do, killing his son, which is a sinful thing to do. but god made him do it, because it was something that abraham didn't want to do, and, one would hope, abraham thought it would be sin. But when you've got god telling you to do it, it's a different story. It was a test of obedience, he obeyed, and he didn't have to go through with it after all. God did not change his mind!

I'm sure i could go on all night, I am at TAFE and have little time.

Regards

Tom

Reply by Frank L. Hoffman

Dear Tom:

Thank you for your letter.

How could sticking a hook into the mouth and causing a fish to suffocate not be violent?

God may not consider the eating of meat as a sin, but it is neither His creation intent nor His heavenly will. It is only a concession because of the hardness of the human heart.

However, the mistreatment of animals in the production of food is an

abomination before the Lord, and since the vast majority of animal products sold today come with a tremendous amount of pain and suffering, the purchasing and eating of such products condones the sin.

Think about the blessings of the beatitudes. How can we receive these blessings and continue to treat animals the way they are in factory farms and slaughterhouses? The simple answer is: we can't!

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank


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