Letter From Brenden About Christians Who Hunt - 25 May 2004
Letters From All-Creatures.org and The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation

Letter From Brenden About Christians Who Hunt - 25 May 2004

Hey, I know this guy named Chase and he's... well.... I gotta say, an idiot.

He claims to be a Christian, goes to church, and carries a bible around with him everywhere (not that I've ever seen him open it). He tries to act like very pious, always telling other people how they should worship and live their lives, very often driving others around him further away from God by constantly bugging them with zealous ideals.

This other guy, Aaron, believes in God, and is a Christian, but never goes to church, or prays or worships, and Chase got on his case and bothered him all the time. This is not how you're supposed to 'be a light unto others'! Instead, Chase has set a bad example onto others that needed spiritual help by causing Aaron to see all Christians as annoying and narrow minded bible-thumpers. This was off my main subject, but I'm just casting a light on the character of the person I'm talking about.

Chase's dad is a hunter, and his father has raised him to be the same, to have the same uncompassionate outlook on God's children as all so-called "sportsmen" have. In their house is a special room set aside full of dead mounted animals, pelts, weaponry and other equipment. When I first stepped inside the room and flicked on the lights I was horrified. Hanging on one wall is what appears to be a stuffed and mounted black bear cub. (What "sportsmanship"!)

Those were all his dad's trophies, but Chase is beginning to acquire a collection of his own, in his room hangs a mounted javalena head and stuffed raccoon. ...Now seriously, why would anyone kill a raccoon?

One time Chase was on the bus talking about how much he liked hunting, saying in an almost sadistically lustful voice:

"I love hunting. Man, I'd hunt anything.", he said with a cold look in his eyes that made me shiver.

"Would you hunt humans?", I asked him.

"Only if they were bad."

"All humans are corrupted in the heart and mind by Satan's will.", I said.

"Yeah, but I would only kill them if they were like... were murderers or something...or weren't Christian." he wasn't being serious, he was merely half joking, but was still a rather strange, stupid thing to say.

"Would you skin them, mount them and stuff them?", I joked back.

"NO, man, that's just sick!", he said in disgust.

"Well, you do it with animals, don't you?", I responded calmly.

"Yeah, but that's different."

"How?"

"Because animals don't have souls."

"What makes you think that?", I inquired.

"Because they don't believe in god, or worship the lord Jesus Christ."

"How do you know?", I argued.

"Because they're too stupid. They don't think like we do, they're just....God made them for us to eat and hunt.. That's all they're for, that's the only purpose they serve, God only made man in his image, and only meant for man to join him in heaven, and only man deserves any kind of respect."

I was getting kind of irritated at this point, and was about to tell him what an ignorant idiot and insulting example of a true compassionate Christian he was, but he stepped off the bus immediately after that.

What do I tell someone like this?

Do you have any biblical references or other Christian sources that prove him wrong?

I really need your help.

I really feel depressed sometimes when I think about how anthropocentric most Christians are, and just how oxymoronic it is for a religion that claims to be so moral and good natured to only extend generosity and compassion onto their owns species, treating all other children of god with guiltless cruelty. It makes me realize that just because people are Christians doesn't mean good people.

God cares for his other children... doesn't he?

Why would a god so emphasized for being loving and caring and compassionate to his children only care for just one single species, and crap on the rest of the 3,000,000 millions species he worked so hard to create?

Please, I need your guidance. I've had trouble sleeping at night worrying if the backward, irrational views of Chase are perhaps true.

Please tell me. Is that bear cub on the wall in that room in heaven now?

Is he living in eternal peace and happiness, reunited with his family, having forgiven and forgotten humanity for his sick, sadistic ways?

Or did he just die, fall back into dust, ignored and forgotten by God, a cry of pain and grief that fell upon no ears, while the man that heartlessly took his innocent life away gains all the respect and comfort he wants in eternal heaven?

What if all the innocent, kind hearted animals that have suffered throughout time at the cruel hands of humanity find no redemption or repayment after life, but simply die, yet humans, the creatures that had such wickedness in them, have eternal life?

Is that true? This doesn't sound like something a loving god would do!

I believe that God is a loving, just God that cares and provides a peaceful retirement plan for all of his children, but other Christians around me in the small town church I go to believe differently, and are trying to push me into believing that anthropocentric point of view as well.

I need to hear from a Christian that truly cares for animals.

Thank you.

Reply from Frank and Mary Hoffman

Dear Brenden:

Thank you for your letter.

Unfortunately, there are many people like Chase and his fathers that do give Christianity a very bad name, and they do drive a lot of sensitive and compassionate people away from organized churches.

The other problem is that such people usually have an unteachable spirit, and they only mock what you tell them.

Our best advice to you is to live the life that Jesus Christ wants you to live. Be the loving, compassionate, peacemaking child of God that He wants you to be as a witness before others of who Christ really is. Let people discern the difference between you and Chase.

We hope this helps.

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank and Mary

Please visit our web site, and refer your family, friends, and others http://www.all-creatures.org - If we REALLY want God to bless America and the earth, GO VEGAN!

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