Weekly Newsletter - April 16, 2014 - Christian Vegetarian Association Update Newsletters


	2014 Newsletters

CVA Weekly Newsletter
April 16, 2014

Important CVA Survey

Activist Feedback

Essay: On Science and Religion, part 4

This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

1. Important CVA Survey

The CVA is partnering with the Humane Research Council to learn more about what people think about when making food choices. Our findings should be very helpful as we prepare the next edition of our booklet. Please help by completing this 2-minute survey, and then send it along to family and friends who might be willing to do the survey. In addition to vegetarians and vegans, we really hope to get a lot of feedback from non-vegetarians – the people we hope will move toward plant-based diets. You might send along a message like the following to family and friends:

I'm asking my family and friends to participate in a short, important survey.

What do you think about when making food choices? The Humane Research Council is studying this question and asking people to complete this short 2-minute survey .

Thank you very much.

News Flash: Over 300 people have done the survey already! We’re aiming to top 1000 respondents, which would give the survey considerable statistical power. The survey will likely close this Sunday at midnight, so please act now.

2. Activist Feedback

Tak, who tabled at the recent Veggie Pride Parade in New York City, writes:

I got there 11:30AM to set up, and I tabled from noon to 4PM with the rest of the organizations. Among the highlights, a handful of young adults who were vegan (non-Christians) shared that their friends/parents were Christians and asked for resources and support to reach out to them. I gave them resources and encouraged them to be patient and continue to work at it, and I acknowledged our shortcomings (as Christians) for failing to live as better stewards and living in ways that contradict some of the fundamental truths in our Bible. Organizations such as nyfarmanimalsave.org came up and asked us for resources because they have a community of Christians that they want to interact with during their vigils. Many of the organizations present on that day were aware of CVA and thanked us for our presence and support.

Thanks a lot for giving me the opportunity to serve.

3. Essay: On Science and Religion, part 4

Is there a place for God in a materialist, scientific world view? I think so, in part because science offers little insight into the great existential questions: Where did I come from? What am I supposed to do with my life? What happens to my sense of individual identity when I die? These are metaphysical questions and, science, which deals with material (physical) questions, is ill-equipped to address them.

We are one small planet near one star in a vast universe of millions of trillions of stars. How did life start here? How did conscious experience arise? As we contemplate such questions, it is natural to have a sense of awe and wonder. This is true whether one has a materialist outlook or a metaphysical outlook or, as with most people today, a combination of both.

I think contemplating our place on earth and in the universe encourages humility, and this can be a good thing. Human arrogance seems to facilitate the abuse of “inferior” nonhumans. Perhaps, however, human arrogance is a psychological defense against feelings of unimportance and fears related to vulnerability and mortality. Perhaps what we really need is a sense of importance and value that does not require our being superior to anyone else. Perhaps what we need is a faith that provides this sense of importance. I’ll consider this next week.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

Peacemakers: Jesus, Ethical Vegans, Animal Advocates

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