For me, the movie Christspiracy shed light on something I have been pondering for much of my life. That lost little girl inside me finally feels at peace. I am now closer to Jesus, and closer to God, than I ever have been. And I am filled with renewed hope and faith that humanity will eventually wake up and realize that God did not create these beautiful, feeling, emotional, and magnificent beings who share this earth with us, to be exploited, brutalized or murdered so that we can indulge in the consumption of their flesh. They are teachers, they are healers. They are our brothers and sisters. They are here, not for us, but with us.
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"Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go. He followed her to
school one day - that was against the rule. It made the children laugh and
play to see a lamb at school. And so the teacher turned him out, but still
he lingered near, and waited patiently about till Mary did appear. And then
he ran to her, and laid his head upon her arm, as if he said ‘I’m not
afraid, you’ll keep me from all harm. What makes the lamb love Mary so?’ The
eager children cry. Oh, Mary loves the lamb, you know, the teacher did
reply. And you each gentle animal in confidence may bind, and make them
follow at your call, if you are always kind.”
~ Sarah Josepha Hale
Lambs; one of God’s most gentle, precious, and vulnerable creations - innocence in its purest form. When I was a little girl, sitting in Sunday school, I remember being read stories of lambs being used as sacrifices; defenseless babies, violently butchered on an altar, all in the name of "God.” My child’s mind just could not, and would not believe that an all-loving God would condone such an atrocity. So I began to ask why. I asked. And I asked. And I asked. I never did get an answer – or at least not an answer that would ever make me feel at peace with this. It seemed so cruel and unnecessary. In my heart, I knew it just couldn’t be true.
As the years went by, I had more and more questions about religion and the brutal killing of other feeling beings that went unanswered. As an empath and animal-lover, I became disillusioned, even angry. What kind of God was I worshipping? I left religion altogether. In my heart, I still felt there was a higher power, I just didn't know where to turn. I began researching other religions, but still, I never found any real answers to justify the cruelty inflicted upon some of God's most defenseless creations. I went vegetarian, and then five years later, became vegan. I formed an animal rights group and began advocating for them at every chance I got. I went to local events and set up information tables, leafleted at nearby colleges, coordinated walks for farmed animals, and joined in on protests against animal abuse. I became a voice for the voiceless. I felt this was my calling. But who or what was calling me?
In 2003, I founded Happy Endings Rat Rescue, and began rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming some of God’s most misunderstood and mistreated creations. Yes, I rescued rats. When most people think of rats, it does not conjure up an endearing image, but to me, they were some of God’s most fascinating and amazing little creations. Did you know that rats are social animals who bond with their human companions just like a cat or dog would? They are highly intelligent, can be taught tricks for treats, can quickly learn to navigate through complex mazes, and have even been proven to show empathy for their fellow rats. They enjoy interacting with humans; being tickled, pet, and cuddled. They feel, they dream, they develop friendships, and each one has their own, unique personality. I’ve taken in hundreds of them over the years, and each one has been special to me in their own way.
A few years ago, I was in what I call my "critter room" feeding, cleaning; doing daily routine chores, when a feeling of divine love suddenly overcame me. I had no idea what this was at the time, I just knew that my heart felt as if it was overflowing with joy, gratitude and warmth in that moment. It just felt – full. I hadn’t had a feeling like that since…well, maybe ever. I went back to my daily rituals and didn’t give it much thought. In fact, the word "divine” was not really in my vocabulary at the time. I continued advocating for and rescuing as many animals as time and my budget would allow for, and even some it didn’t always necessarily allow for.
I have worked at a local animal shelter, witnessing first-hand, the depressing and devastating effects of humans’ domestication of animals. I have also worked for PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the world’s largest animal rights organization. There is probably nothing I have not seen or heard about regarding the overwhelming amount of cruelty and suffering humans have inflicted on, or created, for the animal kingdom. The numbers are staggering.
In the U.S. alone, we kill 27 billion land animals each year, just to satisfy our craving for flesh. Those numbers do not even include the trillions of fish that die every year, or the millions of other wild animals, on land or in the sea, who are either intentionally or unintentionally killed to make it possible for us to consume so much flesh. Not only are we purposely breeding and slaughtering living, feeling beings, we are actively destroying the beautiful and bountiful planet God made for us – a world that used to be covered with edible and healing plants in abundance, and clean drinking water - all to make more room for our greedy obsession with animal flesh.
About a year ago I had an awakening. I began meditating and going deep inside myself for answers to some of the questions I had hoped to get answers to. This lead me on a very rocky journey of not only uncovering truths about myself, but many truths about the outside world that seemed contradictory to what I had been taught most of my life. As I got further into my meditations and my research on various religions and spiritualties, I began to feel that same overwhelming sensation of love that I had experienced a couple years earlier; only this time, it was getting stronger, and it was sticking around for longer periods of time. I can only describe it as warm waves of unconditional loving energy flowing throughout my entire body. Now, every time I close my eyes, and talk to God, I feel it almost instantly.
Still, there were so many unanswered questions; and as it turns out, I wasn’t the only one asking these questions. Kip Andersen, the producer of Seaspiracy, Cowspiracy, and What the Health, and gospel songwriter and musician Kameron Waters were also on a journey; specifically to find out an answer to the question, "Is there a spiritual way to kill an animal?" Or more importantly, "How would Jesus kill an animal?" Together, they embarked on a seven-year, worldwide quest to find the answer to this one burning question. In the film, Christspiracy, Andersen and Waters travel four continents, and speak to experts around the globe, as they examine animal ethics within Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism, five of the world's most powerful religions. And what they found may shock you.
It's hard to imagine Jesus holding a knife, covered in blood, after just slitting the throat of a defenseless animal. Probably because Jesus is known for being one of the most kind-hearted, gentle, and merciful souls to ever grace the earth. But, did he let others do the killing for him, so that he could feast on the flesh of a dead animal? As it turns out, he did not. Through several years of grueling research, being followed, having their homes ransacked, and often fearing for their own lives, two men have uncovered a truth about Jesus that has been hidden for over 2,000 years. Jesus, was indeed, a vegetarian. Not only was he vegetarian, it seems he was one of the biggest advocates for animals the world has ever known. So why then have we all been told that killing and eating animals was perfectly okay in God’s eyes for so many years? Well, you will have to see the movie to find out for yourself.
For me, this movie shed light on something I have been pondering for much of my life. That lost little girl inside me finally feels at peace. I am now closer to Jesus, and closer to God, than I ever have been. And I am filled with renewed hope and faith that humanity will eventually wake up and realize that God did not create these beautiful, feeling, emotional, and magnificent beings who share this earth with us, to be exploited, brutalized or murdered so that we can indulge in the consumption of their flesh. They are teachers, they are healers. They are our brothers and sisters. They are here, not for us, but with us, to experience life on God’s gorgeous planet just as we are. And we must begin to respect them, and learn to treat them as we would want to be treated; and keep within our hearts, always, one of God’s greatest commandments, "Thou shalt not kill."