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18 June 2007 Issue
2. Farmers Take the Heat, but Big Ag Reaps the Farm Bill Benefits
3. Christianity and Violence: A Utopian Vision
Rick, leafleting with Mare, Barb, Erin, Rachael at a recent Women of Faith event in St. Louis, writes: We distributed about 2400 booklets in about three hours to a largely friendly and receptive crowd. Pamela plans to leaflet there in the morning and Carla, Barb, Erin and I plan to leaflet tomorrow evening.
Scottrade Center security officers attempted to deny us access to the public sidewalk stating that it was their private property and that the owners did not want us there. Fortunately, I had checked with a St. Louis City Police Sergeant onsite when I first arrived to confirm the sidewalk as public property. The security officer tried his best to intimidate me, threatening me with forcible eviction and a night in jail. I insisted that I had every right to be on the public property and asked if he wanted to be in federal court. He did not pursue the matter.
Upcoming Events
6/28 CA Lake Forest Phil Wickham Christian Rock Concert
6/29 PA Wexford Apologetix Christian Rock Concert
6/30 NC Charlotte Salvadore Christian Rock Concert
6/30 AL Mobile Promise Keepers
6/30-7/1 SD Sioux Falls Casting Pearls Tour 07
6/30 WA Seattle Women of Faith Conference
7/1 NY Orchard Park Benny Hinn Special Event
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/. Read the home page, and then join. You will then be able to log in anytime to identify upcoming events in your region.
Contact Paris at christian_vegetarian@yahoo.com if you might be able to help.
2. Farmers Take the Heat, but Big Ag Reaps the Farm Bill Benefits
By David MobergIn These Times - Monday 04 June 2007 http://www.truthout.org:80/docs_2006/060607P.shtml
The big winners in the Farm Bill are not family farmers or consumers – it’s big corporate agriculture.
3. Christianity and Violence: A Utopian Vision
[This is the second-to-last essay in a series has reflected my views and not "official" CVA positions.
It is being archived at http://www.christianveg.org/violence_view.htm.]
What would a society grounded on Christian love look like? I offer one of several possible utopian visions that accord with Christian values and beliefs. Members of a community who were guided by “the faith of Christ” would love each other and forgive each other’s shortcomings. They would honor, respect, and even celebrate individuality and diversity.
They would then find that they could relate to each other in a much more genuine manner, not wearing the “masks” that hide their true feelings and beliefs in order to gain social acceptance. Such integrity would allow people to feel more comfortable with who they are, to have more meaningful interpersonal relationships, and to grow personally and spiritually by learning from each other.
Currently, taboos restrict such openness. While taboos are grounded in the scapegoating process, a culture based on Christian principles would be grounded in love.
In terms of rights, responsibilities, and laws, a society guided by Jesus’ teachings would offer freedom of faith and practice, as long as those practices did not harm other individuals. It would place a high value on freedom of thought, expression, and association, to protect against scapegoating and other forms of abuse by those in power. Its laws would protect weak and vulnerable humans and animals, which would still be needed as long as some people did not have God’s law of love written on their hearts.
The government would exist to meet the needs of its people. Public officials would regard their positions as sacred responsibilities, and society would hold them to a high standard in terms of performing their duties efficiently and honorably. A society dedicated to the principles Jesus encouraged would not seek grand wealth, making it a less attractive target for invasion.
Ideally, there would be no military, because it is always tempting for leaders to find a pretense to use a military for purposes of conquest. However, if neighboring communities were violent or aggressive, the lack of military defenses would pose a grave risk. A community grounded in love might not offer armed resistance to an invasion but might instead refuse to cooperate with any invading force, even though such a policy might result in brutal persecution.
Such nonviolent non-cooperation would require a high degree of consensus among the community’s members. However, our desires for self-preservation and for the protection of family and friends, and our obligations to protect vulnerable individuals, make this strategy seem unrealistic. Consequently, there is violence in this world outside Eden, and, I do not categorically renounce use of force. However, I see pacifism as a Christian ideal.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
Your question and comments are welcome
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