Faith going to the dogs?: 10-3-08

When Country Club Congregational United Church of Christ holds a "blessing of the pets" event at 2 p.m. tomorrow at its Brookside location in Kansas City, it will be an example of the way in which people of faith and animal advocacy groups are beginning to occupy common ground.

Now, many churches over many years have had special animal blessing events, and the connection between religion and animals is a long one. (Just ask Christians about the Lamb of God.) But in recent years groups concerned about animal welfare have begun to recognize that they may have natural allies among people of faith.

ReligionLink, a service of the Religion Newswriters Associaton, has created source material on this very subject for journalists who cover faith matters.

I invite you today to have a look at that material and see what you might learn. One of the things I learned there is that there is a growing movement of hospice care for animals. I had no idea. I'm a member of the board of Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care, a non-profit agency, and can tell you how important hospice care for human beings has become in recent decades. But I hadn't heard about hospice care for animals.

Earlier this year my Kansas City Star colleague, Helen Gray, did a piece about what various religions teach about animals and heaven. And that's a topic I don't necessarily want to open up again. But I do know that animals can mean the world to people, and faith communities need to find legitimate and effective ways to recognize that.

By the way, the Humane Society of the United States has started a campaign about animals and religion called "All Creatures Great and Small," and is signing up religious leaders who endorse the effort. For details, click here.

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THIS COULD BE THE GENESIS OF A REVELATION

Pope Benedict XVI plans to lead a six-day, seven-night televised reading of the entire Bible being done by a bunch of celebrities in Italy. If you've been a celebrity in moral trouble, will the pope make you do penance by reading I and II Chronicles?

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P.S.: If you've never attended a Kol Nidre service in a synagogue as part of the High Holidays but would like that experience, you can tune into the Jewish TV Network late Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 8, to see live streaming video of such a service. When you get to the JTVN site, scroll down and look on the right side of the page. AND: On the topic of broadcasts related to religion, "Speaking of Faith" on public radio is scheduling "The Faith Life of the Party -- the Left and the Right" over the next couple of weeks. For details, click here, and scroll down, keeping your eye on the right side of the opening page.

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ANOTHER P.S.: The Church of the Nazarene, which has its world headquarters in Kansas City, is going to celebrate its centennial this Sunday. For details, click here.

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AND P.S. NO. 3: I like Eboo Patel, a commentator and interfaith activist, so I was happy to hear him interviewed yesterday on NPR. For informaton about that and a link to the audio, click here.

To read my latest Kansas City Star work, click here. (My column tomorrow will talk about the responsibilities of people of faith when they vote in presidential elections.)

Comments

[adamh]

A blessing of the pets, when viable unborn humans are routinely murdered here in Kansas?

Utterly insane.

[Joe Barone]

I guess concern for animals and the environment is Biblical. Psalm 8 and the opening chapters of the Old Testament pop into my mind.
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I attended Catholic school eight years. We never opened the Bible once. But we worked on memorizing the catechism every day.

[Dolores Lear]

In Genesis, the Female was made from the Male's rib, Twin Brother/Sister Clones. They Should Not reproduce Children.

The Human Species did not reproduce Children. All Humans and Animals were Peaceful. Without Body Birth, they would not overpopulate the Planet. They Species did not Kill each other, for food and a place to live.

The lion could lie down with the lamb. When did Humans start killing animals, and each other? When did Animals become pets?

We Know how to Clone Animals today. It would be possible to Clone Humans, if Humans did not believe, God made 'them' to Reproduce Children, even thought Genesis says different.

Why did Perfect Adam and Eve take over God's Reproduction Work? What caused Perfect Humans to make Imperfect Humans?

In China the yin/yang is about Balanced Elements also. A male and female Clone are a Balanced Genetic and Physical Pair.

The Eco System and All Species were Balanced, in the beginning. The Imbalance began with Heterosexual Birth Imperfect Humans.

Sitchin in 'The Twelfth Planet', translated ancient buried tablets. Humans from Space came to Earth, when Humans were prehuman, and changed them to the Humans that could reproduce.

Did Evolution happen on Earth? Sitchin has the history of Brother/Sister rulers also, which I accept as the Adam and Eve Clones, after they 'fell' to reproducing a Son, etc.

The Adam and Eve Clones were the first Brother/Sister Kings and Queens with a Son, of Past History. Cain, not a Clone also went out, married, had a son, and started another city.

High Tech Humans can travel, like the Religious Gods, to and from their Home Planet, in the Solar System and Universe.

A High Tech Translation, can sort out many of the Past Mysteries, on our Home Planet.

[KCFreeThinkers.org]

The godless billboard of www.KCFreeThinkers.org is on Kansas City "Pitch" web site
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2008/10/dont_stand_next_to_this_billbo.php

The actual numbers of hits are at 1,000 now.

[adamh]

KC/Iggy, if 70 years of intimidation, torture, and murder of Christians by an officially athesitic government couldn't destroy Christianity, how is your billboard going to?

As for the 1000 hits, how do we know?

What proof do we have?

YOUR word for it?

[adamh]

By the way, IGGY is asking for donations for the board over at KCFREETHOUGHT, proof positive that he is behind it.

What's I tell ya.

Iggy, call me! It would be easier to refute your irrationalties than with messages that get published at uncertain intervals.

You have the number.

[Nancy]

The mainstream of the Christian tradition for the most part, has not given animals and creation sufficient theological reflection. It is encouraging to see some signs of change. Too often we act as if we have to choose between animals and people. It is not a matter of choosing between the two. It is a matter of recognizing God's care and love for all that God has created.
One of the better writers on this topic is Andrew Linzey of Oxford. His books "Animal Gospel" and "Animal Theology" both offer thoughtful, biblically based, theologically sound discussion on this topic.

[Just Thinking]

The bailout bill and its process of approval is a perfect example of what is WRONG with this country. The House resists the bailout until $110 billion in PORK is added. Now it appears that it may pass. Same old pig dressed up with lipstick.

The bailout bill is the perfect example of what is WRONG in this country. It's not going to solve anything, except add another $850 billion to an already massive debt. And, make a few more porkers very rich.

It's probably too late to stop them. They have the band around their arm, the needle loaded with a $850 billion FIX and they're just about ready to shoot up again. It's not going to stop here. It never does with such addicts. They think just one more FIX will do it. Just one more roll of the dice will fix the problem. Everyone should tell them to STEP AWAY FROM THE TROUGH!!

It turns out that Treasury Secretary Paulson, who will have too much authority in handling the bailout money, is one of the people who proposed relaxing financial standards that caused this mess. In 2004, Paulson, as CEO of Goldman Sachs, and others asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to relax standards to allow the big investment banks to keep less cash on hand so that they could roll the dice in the then lucrative mortgage-backed securities market. So they did. Every one of them is in trouble now, for exactly this reason. And here we are. So Henry Paulson IS PART OF THE PROBLEM, NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/business/03sec.html?th&emc=th

The spendaholics in Washington and the gambleholics on Wall Street will be the ones managing funds to bail us out now. Unbelievable. Warren Buffet would be challenged to handle this situation. But Paulson is an idiot.

[KCFreeThinkers.org]

I have visited with a minister who has granted our freethinking group permission and unrestricted access to his church and Bible studies. If any freethinkers reading this or any theists who'd like to participate, please, contact kcfreethinkers@gmail.com for details. There have been several "never born again" atheists, a former minister and those who lost faith who expressed interest in the Bible class.

Also, two more pastors are interested in possibly participating in some sort of a "bagel breakfast" chat group, so this is shaping up quite interesting. Another junior pastor said she was very interested herself and would talk to her seniors about getting them involved as well.

I was asked to leave the other day one church having talked to the minister only for 2 minutes or so.

Also, learned there maybe an apologist coming to KC later this year. Dan Barker of Freedom from Religion Foundation (former minister) said he'd be interested to talk to our Meetup groups, Community of Reason, Heartland Humanists in a stand alone event or as a joint group and would be very interested to participate in a debate with a minister or apologetic.

Also, Margaret Downey (formerly of Atheist Alliance International) and I had a very detailed discussion the other day about freethinkers in Kansas City and our billboard and effect it has had on the number of people contacting us and coming to the meetups. She maybe coming to KC as well or we may have her talk over Skype video, just like with Dan Barker and the Cryonics company that will be presenting tomorrow.

Also, Blair Scott, National Outreach director for American Atheists was in KC last week on his company's business and we have had several talks over dinner with him and many other Meetup members. A lot of exciting ideas and things are in the works. Blair said he'd be glad to come to KC and also do Skype video anytime.

So, if anyone knows of a minister who'd be interested to participate in a "breakfast chat" or "dinner chat" or present to any of our Meetups or groups, please, post here or e-mail kcfreethinkers@gmail.com.

Thanks!

[Joe Barone]

Nancy, Thanks for listing the books about animals. I plan to look them up.

[adamh]

Iggy, you make a lot of claims that are unverifiable.
For example, you make claims about some minister that is giving you access to his church, but when you are e mailed, you don't answer.

If you have something to say, say it, but don't expect us to accept your unsubtantiated claims.

[KCFreeThinkers.org]

A fascinating article that shows cognitive dissonance in psychology of a believer.

Why I left Young-earth Creationism
by Glenn R. Morton

http://home.entouch.net/dmd/gstory.htm