Our treatment of animals is a gospel issue, Andrew Linzey contends, because those individuals and institutions that could have become the voice of God's most vulnerable creatures have instead justified cruelty and oppression. He offers an inspiring personal account of the gospel truths that have sustained his commitment to the cause of animals for more than twenty-five years.
Fearless and profound, these poems detonate across the landscape of the South at the end of the twentieth century. The author uses animals as mythic totems and contemplative signposts, compelling the reader to relive visceral memories of the enveloping poverty and racial brutality of the American South. The poet's steadfast faith in story and song illuminates and propels this astonishing lyrical narrative. Brian Barker has an Academy of American Poets prize and two Krakow Poetry Seminar fellowships. Currently, he is assistant director of the Center for Literary Arts at the University of Missouri and managing editor of the journal Center, His works have appeared in Poetry, Indiana Review, Sou'wester, Pleiades, and others. He lives in Columbia, Missouri.
"All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever." - Daniel 3:81 The long awaited book that finally gives voice to the animals from the Gospel! "Who is this child who has just been born in my poor stable?" wonders the old ox. "Who is this man whom even the winds and the sea obey?" the fish asks himself. "Who then is this king riding on my back?" marvels the trembling little donkey. Playful and profound, this artistically illustrated book gives voice to twelve animals from the Gospels. A Faithful Dog; A Thoughtful Ox; A Gentle Wolf; A Startled Fish; A Hungry Fox; An Impatient Sparrow; A Lost Sheep; An Overburdened Camel; A Mother Hen; A Little Donkey; A Hopeful Rooster; A Joyful Dove. Told in engaging and lyrical stories that carry us along to a close encounter with Jesus.
After an argument with his family, Buddy Baker heads to the desert for some time to think, but there he meets an usual creature: a wily coyote with the bizarre ability to survive brutally fatal attacks.
When we consider modern American animal advocacy, we often think of veganism, no-kill shelters, Internet campaigns against trophy hunting, or celebrities declaring that they would "rather go naked" than wear fur. Contemporary critics readily dismiss animal protectionism as a modern secular movement that privileges animals over people. Yet the movement's roots are deeply tied to the nation's history of religious revivalism and social reform. In The Gospel of Kindness, Janet M. Davis explores the broad cultural and social influence of the American animal welfare movement at home and overseas from the Second Great Awakening to the Second World War. Dedicated primarily to laboring animals at its inception in an animal-powered world, the movement eventually included virtually all areas of human and animal interaction. Embracing animals as brethren through biblical concepts of stewardship, a diverse coalition of temperance groups, teachers, Protestant missionaries, religious leaders, civil rights activists, policy makers, and anti-imperialists forged an expansive transnational "gospel of kindness," which defined animal mercy as a signature American value. Their interpretation of this "gospel" extended beyond the New Testament to preach kindness as a secular and spiritual truth. As a cultural product of antebellum revivalism, reform, and the rights revolution of the Civil War era, animal kindness became a barometer of free moral agency, higher civilization, and assimilation. Yet given the cultural, economic, racial, and ethnic diversity of the United States, its empire, and other countries of contact, standards of kindness and cruelty were culturally contingent and potentially controversial. Diverse constituents defended specific animal practices, such as cockfighting, bullfighting, songbird consumption, and kosher slaughter, as inviolate cultural traditions that reinforced their right to self-determination. Ultimately, American animal advocacy became a powerful humanitarian ideal, a touchstone of inclusion and national belonging at home and abroad that endures to this day.
What does the Christian tradition say about the condition and rights of animals? This helpful and timely anthology of selections from the Bible and from the great Christian thinkers of all times is an essential primer for those who care about animals. The book is organized around four themes--Attitudes to Creation; the Problem of Pain; the Question of Animal Redemption; and Reverence, Responsibilities, and Rights--and concludes with a section on practical issues--Animal Experimentation, Fur-Trapping, Hunting for Sport, Intensive Farming, and Killing for Food. This book includes selections from the following: the Bible, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, Karl Barth, St. Bonaventure, John Calvin, RenŽ Descartes, Austin Farrer, John Hick, St. Irenaeus, St. John of the Cross, C. S. Lewis, St. Thomas More, E. F. Schumacher, Albert Scheweitzer, Paul Tillich, Leo Tolstoy, Alec Vidler, John Wesley, and others
In this well-argued and timely book, Bauckham considers the relationship of humans to the rest of creation.He argues that there is much more to the Bible’s understanding of this relationship than the mandate of human dominion given in Genesis 1, which has too often been used as a justification for domination and exploitation of the earth’s resources. He also critiques the notion of stewardship as being on the one hand presumptuous, and on the other too general a term to explain our key responsibilities in caring for the earth. In countering this, he considers other biblical perspectives, including the book of Job, the Psalms and the Gospels, and re-evaluates the biblical tradition of ‘dominion’, in favour of a ‘community of creation’.With its clear analysis and thought-provoking conclusions, The Bible and Ecology is an essential read for anyone interested in a biblically grounded approach to ecology.
Profound reflections on the cross that help you to meditate on and marvel at the sacrificial love of Jesus. This book can be used as a devotional, especially during Lent and Easter. These profound reflections on the cross from David Mathis, author of The Christmas We Didn’t Expect, will help you to meditate on and marvel at Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, and spectacular resurrection-enabling you to treasure anew who Jesus is and what he has done. Many of us are so familiar with the Easter story that it becomes easy to miss subtle details and difficult to really enjoy its meaning. This book will help you to pause and marvel at Jesus, whose now-glorified wounds are a sign of his unfailing love and the decisive victory that he has won: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) This book can be used as a devotional. The chapters on Holy Week make it especially helpful during the Lent season and at Easter.
Few children can ignore an inquisitive donkey looking over a gate or the wriggling puppy they meet in the street. Animal stories also capture their attention, and are usually those with which younger children identify most readily. The description of the animals in Noah's Ark is surely the one least likely to be forgotten! Bible Animals (for ages 5+) goes one step further; it uses a collection of animal stories drawn from Scripture, to present important, basic Bible truths. What is sin? Why did Jesus die? Why do bad things sometimes happen? Why is obedience important? These are issues about which positive God honouring attitudes can be formed in the ealy years. Sharing the pages of this original book with your child provides an opportunity to begin laying these vital foundations. An animal picture to colour is provided with each lesson.
