 |
|
| Update
Newsletters |
|
Christian Vegetarian Association
Blog
Discussions
Update Newsletters
Take
Heart!
Take Heart Contents
| Animal Issues | Articles |
Bible | Children |
Devotionals | Environment
| Food | Health |
Opinion | Quotations |
Recipes |
Update Newsletters
18 August 2010 Issue
1. Essay: Reflections on Genesis 18
2. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
4. Upcoming Activist Opportunities
1. Essay: Reflections on Genesis 18Will God intervene in world affairs and spare humanity from the consequences of humanity’s selfish, destructive behavior? I am skeptical that God violates the laws of nature, for at least two reasons. First, experience tells me that the laws of nature seem to be followed regularly, regardless of the consequences for individual humans and animals. Jesus said that God “makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” Matthew 5:45. When planes crash, we do not find corpses of evil people while righteous people walk away unscathed.
Second, I would not praise God if God had the power to prevent the torture and murder of innocent individuals yet chose not to intervene. Such a God would strike me as a monster unworthy of respect. Yet, I do believe that God does intervene in world affairs, and I think God’s humans and nonhuman beings are the vehicles. I come to this conclusion by noting that consciousness is not, as best we can tell, a product of physical forces, which suggests that consciousness derives from a divine force. I believe that all conscious beings (human and nonhuman) have a spark of the divine, and this gives us the potential to be vehicles of divine action in the world.
This leads me to reflect on Genesis 18, in which Abraham asks God if Sodom will be destroyed if there are 50 righteous men among the wicked people of the city. God says that the city would be spared. Abraham keeps lowering the number until it reaches 10, and God says that God will spare the city if there are only 10 people. God then leaves Abraham, and the reader does not learn the smallest number of people needed to spare Sodom.
Recalling last week’s discussion about how violence and injustice are ultimately self-destructive, I think that the lesson here is that, if there are enough righteous people, they can change the ways of the wicked and spare the city from self-destruction. What if there are less than ten righteous people? What if there is only one? I think it is important that we not have the answer – there is always a possibility, however remote, that one righteous person can start a change that will ultimately spare the city.
One might wonder who is righteous, since Paul said, “None is righteous, no, not one” Romans 3:10 and “all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” Romans 3:23. I think we all have the capacity for righteousness and evil, and none of us is purely one or the other. Perhaps none of us can count as one full person in the quest to bring righteousness to a world filled with evil, but we are called to our best. This, I think, is what faithful living is about.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
2. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary HoffmanDaniel, God’s Man in the Field (Part V)
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s30jul89.html
3. Web Site of the Weekhttp://veggiedietitian.blogspot.com/2010/05/reliable-nutrition-information-for_06.html
Reliable Nutrition Information for Vegans by Virginia Messina, MPH, RD.
4. Upcoming Activist Opportunities
|
08/26 MO Branson The Hoppers Gospel
08/27 TX Arlington The Hoppers Gospel 08/27-28 CO Denver Women Of Faith Conference 08/27-28 OK Tulsa Women Of Faith Conference 08/27 WV Huntington Kutless Christian Rock Concert 08/28 AL Verbena Kutless Christian Enfuego Festival 08/28 WA Vancouver Fish Fest Christian Rock Fest 09/2 MN St Paul Minnesota State Fair Mercy Me, Jeremy Camp Christian Concert 09/3 IN Shipshewana The Hoppers Gospel 09/5 TN Gatlinburg The Hoppers Gospel 09/4 TX San Angelo Unite & Conquer Festival 09/4-5 NJ Frenchtown TABLE Revelation Generation Music Fest 09/10 FL Orlando Jars of Clay Christian Rock Concert 09/10-11 CA Anaheim Women of Faith Conference 09/10-11 PA Philadelphia Women of Faith Conference 09/10 PA Lancaster Steven Curtis Chapman Christian Concert 09/11 WA DC TABLE DC VegFest 09/11 NY New York Steven Curtis Chapman Christian Concert 09/11 MO Eureka Kutless at Six Flags! 09/12 PA Philadelphia TABLE GreenFest Philly 09/16-17 SC Greenville Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade 09/17-19 MO Saint Louis Kirkwood Green Tree Festival 09/18 AR Fort Smith Kutless Rock the River Christian Concert 09/24-26 IL Rosemont Chicago Harvest Festival 09/25-26 IL Bellville Our Lady of Snows Youth Day Celebration 10/2 FL Tampa TABLE Tampa Bay Veg Fest 10/2-3 CA San Francisco TABLE World Vegetarian Festival 10/14-15 OH Cleveland Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade 10/23 FL Tampa TABLE Central Florida VegFest 11/6 FL Jacksonville TABLE Northeast Florida Veg Fest 12/9-10 FL Coral Gables Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade |
Contact Paris at [email protected] if you can to help. To find out about all upcoming leafleting and tabling opportunities in your area, join the CVA Calendar Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christian_vegetarian/ .
Your question and comments are welcome
| Copyright 2008 © Christian Vegetarian Association. All rights reserved. |
