The Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - May 30, 2024
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
1. Toward the Beloved Community: Finding Peace of Mind
In the last essay, I discussed problems with using prescribed or illegal
mind-altering drugs in attempting to find peace of mind in a stressful
world. Causes of heightened stress in our modern world include the weakening
of the nuclear family that once provided a reliable source of love and
security, the challenges of feeling safe when interacting daily with people
who are total strangers, the unease that accompanies rapidly changing
technologies, and the constant pressure of working in a capitalist economy
that always aims to maximize worker productivity.
I will offer some suggestions on how to find peace of mind. They are:
- Spiritual/religious faith or commitment
- Mindfulness meditation
- Meaningful personal relationships
- Meaningful projects
Regarding spiritual/religious faith or commitment, I think people need a
sense of how they relate to the wider universe. This sense helps us address
the three great existential questions: Where did I come from? What am I
supposed to do with my life? What happens to my sense of self when I die?
Whether or not a person believes in one, many, or zero gods, the answers to
these existential questions provide a sense of how things ought to be and
what is our role in the cosmos. These answers help us live in a world in
which many loud voices demand that we behave in different, often conflicting
ways.
As Christians, we cannot prove that our theology is correct, just as no
premise can be proven correct.* However, we can have faith and live
according to that faith. We should always be ready to modify our
convictions, particularly about what our Christian faith calls us to do, if
we come across new evidence. For example, for many Christians, Scripture
endorses the harmful exploitation of nonhumans. However, many of us have
come to see that there are teachings that call for benign treatment of
nonhumans, and scriptural passages that have been used to justify animal
abuse can be understood in animal-friendly ways.
* The claim that a given premise is true requires reference to one or more
pieces of data, such as our own experiences or the experiences or teachings
of other individuals. Validating a given piece of data requires reference to
one or more other pieces of data. Ultimately, all premises are grounded in
our own and others’ experiences, and we know that experiences reflect the
body’s interpretation of the world. At its core, we can only have
experiences related to things in the word; we cannot know what those things
really are. We can have confidence our experiences meaningfully relate to
the world, in large part because we generally find that our experiences
generally help us exist in the world, but we cannot know whether our
experiences reflect reality “out there.” Therefore, I assert that certainty
about any premise is a state of mind, not a state of knowledge.
Stephen R. Kaufman, MD
2. From All-Creatures.Org Ministry
All-Creatures.org Newsletter, May 22, 2024
We hope you enjoy this week's newsletter. Check out this week's edition!! All-Creatures live stream interview, Will Tuttle — Hamster breeding mill horrors — conservation does work — animal sentience in art — Patty Mark, activist extraordinaire, turns 75 — could gruesome horse soring soon be illegal? — Food Empowerment Project announces youth zine ‘Envision’ — saving Purple Martins — another win for Greyhounds — Japan to slaughter more Whales — Duck hunting hurts many Animals — Tyson dumps toxic pollutants into waterways — and more…
All-Creatures.org Newsletter, May 29, 2024
All-Creatures live stream interview with Judy Carman — A trillion Cicadas emerging — cruelties to ‘obtain’ Feathers for fashion —Costa Rica closes last state-run zoo — poetry: Let Them Be, Veal Calves, Inhumanity, Path to Liberation — again exposing cage-free illusions — ten years later, 26 ex-lab Chimps still not released to sanctuary — so many ways habitat fragmentation harms wildlife — and more…
Do you have things that you would like to see included in future newsletters? Then send them to us at veda@all-creatures.org.
In the Love of the Lord,
Frank L Hoffman
All-Creatures.org
and
Kindness,
Tams Nicholson
Executive Directress
All-Creatures.org
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