The Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - August 30, 2018
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
- CVA Booklet Reprint
- Original Sin, Part 44: Forgiveness
- Activist Feedback/Upcoming Outreach Opportunities
- This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
1. CVA Booklet Reprint
We will be printing more “Joyful, Compassionate Living” booklets in the near future. We welcome comments and suggestions. Please advise comments to: CVA@christianveg.org.
2. Original Sin, part 44: Forgiveness
Last week, I noted that materialism fails to provide an adequate explanation for conscious experience, and I suggested that a role for dimly understood divine forces is a reasonable hypothesis. If the divine (which Christians call God) accounts for consciousness, it is reasonable to hold that God cares about conscious beings. The Garden of Eden story reflects this theology – in an ideal, God-created world, all creatures live in peace and harmony.
How can humans, so prone to violence, live harmoniously? Crucially, we need to forgive each other. Otherwise, our resentments and urges for revenge lead to conflict and violence. It is hard to forgive those who have harmed us, and it’s even harder if the harm is ongoing. I offer two perspectives that might help. About a year ago I did a series in which I raised doubts about whether we have free will. If people don’t have absolute control over their decisions, it is easier to forgive their sins.
Second, it is helpful to remember that we all sin. Scapegoating is the unjust or excessive attribution of guild to others, and as humans we cannot fully resist its temptations. Individually, we want to feel good about ourselves, and we tend shift some or all of our own blame for conflicts from ourselves to others. Communally, scapegoating involves blaming one or a few individuals for rising tensions within the community. This maintains communal cohesiveness at the price of injustice. Importantly, scapegoating is hidden. If people recognize that scapegoating victims have been unfairly blamed, the scapegoating process will fail to raise self-esteem or to bring communities closer together
Accordingly, we should acknowledge that we all have blind spots. However well-intentioned our efforts to discern good from evil, we will, to varying degrees, participate in scapegoating. Since we don’t know to what degree our condemnation of others reflects their actual guilt and to what degree it reflects our own tendency to scapegoat, we should be ready to forgive.
I will next consider the tension between forgiveness and accountability. Then I will consider a question that I am sure has occurred to many readers: Why do we have consciousness if we don’t have free will?
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
3. Activist Feedback/Upcoming Outreach Opportunities
Matthew King, who tabled at the Pittsburch VegFest, writes:
Pittsburgh Vegfest 2018 was a huge success! There was a chance of rain but the weather held out and was perfect all day. There was five of us between Robin, Nina, my in-laws and I, so we all got to both table and enjoy the festival. There was a lot of interest from folks from many different denominations and the merchandise was especially popular. The bumper stickers were great conversation starters! There was only one hostile individual that didn't like that our name was "vegetarian" rather than "vegan" but I tried to explain that we're trying to be inclusive. He had an axe to grind with Christianity in general but he provided an interesting conversation nonetheless. It was great to catch up with the people we knew and we enjoyed making new contacts. Overall, the crowd was massive and we reached a lot of people. As always, it was a fun and rewarding experience!
Upcoming Outreach Opportunities
09/09/2018 MO, Kansas City Needtobreathe
09/14/2018 OR, Portland Needtobreathe
09/15/2018 WA, Seattle Needtobreathe
09/15/2018 PA, Reading Propel Women Activate 2018
09/15/2018 CT, Stamford Casting Crowns
09/21/2018 CA, San Diego Needtobreathe
09/22/2018 AR, Fayetteville Propel Women Active
09/22/2018 CA, Los Angeles Needtobreathe
09/23/2018 AZ, Phoeniz Needtobreathe
09/28/2018 FL, Orlando For King & Country
10/04/2018 IN, Indianapolis Mercy Me & Tenth Avenue North
10/5-7/2018 TX, San Antonio Women of Joy
10/06/2018 LA, New Orleans Propel Women Active
10/07/2018 NC, Asheville Laura Story
10/12/2018 LA, New Orleans Mercy Me & Tenth Avenue North
10/12/2018 PA, Lancaster Laura Story
10/13/2018 TX, Tyler Mercy Me & Tenth Avenue North
10/13/2018 FL, Miami Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/16/2018 OH, Cincinnati Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/18/2018 MO, Kansas City Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/19/2018 OK, Tulsa Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/20/2018 TX, Houston Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/23/2018 TX, El Paso Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/24/2018 AZ, Mesa Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/26/2018 CA, San Diego Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/26-28-18 MO, Independence Mercy Me & Tenth Avenue North
10/27/2018 CA, Los Angeles Hillsong Tour Worship United Young & Free
10/28/2018 AR, N. Little Rock Mercy Me & Tenth Avenue North
11/03/2018 PA, Reading Jeremy Camp and Matthew West
11/03/2018 ME, Portland Mercy Me & Tenth Avenue North
11/09/2018 SC, Greenville Mercy Me & Tenth Avenue North
11/10/2018 NC, Greensboro Mercy Me & Tenth Avenue North
11/10/2018 TX, Hidalgo Jeremy Camp and Matthew West
11/11/2018 TX, Corpus Christi Jeremy Camp and Matthew West
11/16/2018 MO Jeremy Camp and Matthew West
11/18/2018 KS, Wichita Jeremy Camp and Matthew West
Tabling
08/25/2018 OH, Columbus Columbus Vegfest
09/02/2018 NC, Asheville Asheville Vegan Fest
09/08/2018 TN, Chattanooga Chattanooga VegFest
09/15/2018 PA, Scranton NEPA VegFest
09/15/2018 NY, Rochester Rochester Vegfest
09/15/2018 DC, Washington DC Vegfest
09/16/2018 MN, St. Paul Twin Cities Vegfest
09/29/2018 NV, Las Vegas Vegas Vegfest
10/17/2018 MI, Grand Rapids Grand Rapids Vegfest
10/13/2018 IL, Chicago Chicago Vegan Mania
10/20-21/18 CA, Costa Mesa SoCAl VegFest
10/20-21/18 OR, Portland Portland VegFest
10/27/2018 TX, Dallas Texas veggie Fair
10/27/2018 CA, San Francisco World Veg Festival
10/28/2018 FL, Orlando Central Florida Veg Fest
11/03/2018 FL, Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Veg Fest
11/04/2018 AZ, Phoenix SouthWest VegFest
11/10/2018 GA, Atlanta Atlanta Veg Fest
11/11/2018 FL, W Palm Beach Palm Beach VegFest
4. From the All-Creatures.org Ministry
All-Creatures.org Newsletter - August 30, 2018
This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman: Worldly People Ignore God
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