Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - December 26, 2019
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)

  1. Consider a Holiday Gift for the CVA
  2. Nonhumans as Scapegoats for Human Sexuality
  3. Essay of Interest
  4. All-Creatures.Org Ministry

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

1. Consider a Holiday Gift for the CVA

Our ministry relies on its donors to cover the cost of booklets and other outreach materials. This year, we distributed nearly 100,000 booklets at Christian concerts, revivals, and other events. We hope you will include our ministry in your annual giving. To donate, go to the bottom of the page at www.christianveg.org/materials.htm or send a check to PO Box 201791, Cleveland, OH 44122. Thank you, and have a blessed Christmas season.

2. Nonhumans as Scapegoats for Human Sexuality

It has become more difficult to scapegoat human beings, in part because the anti-scapegoating ministry of Jesus has made scapegoating humans more noticeable and therefore less effective at attributing excessive guilt onto one or more person. Nonhumans remain vulnerable to scapegoating for several reasons. Nonhumans are poorly suited to defend themselves against false accusations, they have few strong allies (unlike most humans, who have family members and close friends willing to take major risks on their behalves), and most humans participate directly or indirectly in animal exploitation and abuse (making these humans complicit in the victimization of nonhumans).

The desire to scapegoat persists, however, and nonhumans are convenient scapegoats for the conflicted feelings humans experience regarding sexuality. Strong human sexual desires can generate a fear of losing control, and there can also be shame if our sexual desires do not conform to expected norms. Studies have shown that most humans have kinks and fantasies that, if publicly broadcast, would likely result in embarrassment if not ostracism. It is tempting, therefore, to attribute desires that are actually distinctively human to a supposed “bestial”, “animalistic” component of the human psyche. This promotes contempt for nonhumans, which facilitates harmfully exploiting them for food, clothing, research, etc. Ironically, in truth, sexuality tends to be less disruptive for nonhumans than for humans, because nonhuman sexuality is appropriate for reproductive needs, is generally limited to a certain time of the year, and evidently does not generate resentments that spur persistent conflicts.

Is our being sexually “broken” inevitable? I will consider this next week.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

3. Essay of Interest

Shelley’s Prescient Case for Animal Rights and the Spiritual Value of Vegetarianism By Maria Popova

4. All-Creatures.Org Ministry

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