THE RIGHTEOUS MINISTER
"The Church which the nations claim to follow is the religion of Paul, who is admittedly the chief and almost the only theologian that the Church recognises. Because of his betrayal of the Master's teachings, the vision of true Christianity has beeen so dimmed that men have been able to defend war and a host of other evils, such as flesh-eating and slavery, on the authority of the Bible." - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore 1909 - 1952 (From 'Christ or Paul?')
"Let the reader contrast the true Christian standard with that of Paul and he will see the terrible betrayal of all that the Master taught...For the surest way to betray a great Teacher is to misrepresent his message...That is what Paul and his followers did, and because the Church has followed Paul in his error it has failed lamentably to redeem the world...The teachings given by the blessed Master Christ, which the disciples John and Peter and James, the brother of the Master, tried in vain to defend and preserve intact, were as utterly opposed to the Pauline Gospel as the light is opposed to the darkness." - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore (From 'Christ or Paul?')
"The Church is powerless to free mankind from such evils as war, oppression and disease, because it does nothing to stop man's oppression to the creatures. Men do not see that our cruelty to the creatures has its rebound. Every evil action, wheter it be done to a man, a woman, or a child, or an animal, will one day have its effect upon the transgressor. The rule that we reap what we sow is a Divine Law from which there is no escape. God is ever merciful, but He is also righteous, and if cruel men and women will learn compassion in no other way, then they will have to learn by suffering; even if it means suffering the same tortures that they have inflicted. God is Perfect Love, and He is never revengeful or vindictive, but the Divine Law of mercy and compassion cannot be broken without it having tremendous repercussions upon the transgressor" - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore
[ NB: One of the great spiritual laws that man ignores at his peril is that suffering can only be requited by suffering.]
"There are three main reasons which prompt people to adopt a pure diet. Some do it for reasons of health. This is prudent. Others do it because it is humane. This is excellent. But the noblest of all, are those who do it because they realsie is is an essentially religious movement and that the pure life is necessary for the redemption of this planet. Indeed we cannot hope to rid the world of war, disease and a hundred other evils until we learn to show compassion to the creatures and refrain from taking their lives for food or pleasure." - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore
"Thus it become abduntantly clear that man's cruelty to the creatures is largely due to his failure to realise who they are. That the creatures are not things, should be obvious to the lowest intelligence. They are highly sensitive organisms - organisms capable of intense feeling and affection, and what is more, they are (like ourselves) creatures, i.e. creatures of our Heavenly Father.
If we consider the testimony of those who have tried to understand them from a higher standpoint than the merely scientific one, we shall find that they all agree that they have souls and that these survive physical death. If it is objected that it is impossible to prove this, we would reply that it is equally difficult to prove that human beings have immortal souls. And yet in each case we can point to things which support such a belief. Just as there are desires implanted by God in man that can only be satisfied in a future existence, so there are traits in the character of the creatures which by their very nature must be eternal. Thus the self-sacrificing love and trust that a dog has for its master and the sorrow that it feels over the loss of a friend are qualities that are not only human, but divine.
The belief in a soul for the creatures has been held by the Egyptians, the Hindus and the Buddhists. It was once to be found in Persia, in Greece and Italy. The Druids, and the Welsh bards, the Norsemen and the Germans all held the same belief. It can be traced among the natives of Mexico, the tribes of Africa and America. The idea may take strange forms, but it is found throughout the whole world, except where Christianity holds sway. It is a terrible tragedy that those who claim to follow the Master should have done so much to dispel a belief that should have helped to ameliorate the lot of the creatures. Not that they have ever been able to bring any evidence against it, apart from their own false traditions and prejudices. The remark of Voltaire that, "If it were true that they (the creatures) had no souls, it would be necessary to invent souls for them", is highly significant, for (as Anna Kingsford says) "Earth has become a hell for want of this doctrine." It is largely because the creatures are popularly believed to be soulless that they are treated so callously, for if it were admitted that they had souls it would become obvious that they had rights. But this is just what both Catholics and Anglican theologians deny." - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore (From 'Those We Have Not Loved')
SOMETHING WRONG SOMEWHERE
I felt sure the chicken suffered, and could not bear to watch the process [of neck-wringing]. Why? If there was nothing wrong about it, why had God put compassion for these sentient beings into my heart? And if this compassion made it wrong for me to kill, why was it not just as cruel to pay someone else to do it for me by purchasing flesh foods?
I began to feel there was something wrong somewhere. Could it be possible that Jesus would kill creatures that God had created with a love of life and will to live? I tried to picture Christ taking the life of a lamb and eating its body. No, it did not make sense to me...not He who preached the Sermon on the Mount. Not He who had said "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." - Henry L. Nunn
"The Church which the nations claim to follow is the religion of Paul, who is admittedly the chief and almost the only theologian that the Church recognises. Because of his betrayal of the Master's teachings, the vision of true Christianity has beeen so dimmed that men have been able to defend war and a host of other evils, such as flesh-eating and slavery, on the authority of the Bible." - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore 1909 - 1952 (From 'Christ or Paul?')
"Let the reader contrast the true Christian standard with that of Paul and he will see the terrible betrayal of all that the Master taught...For the surest way to betray a great Teacher is to misrepresent his message...That is what Paul and his followers did, and because the Church has followed Paul in his error it has failed lamentably to redeem the world...The teachings given by the blessed Master Christ, which the disciples John and Peter and James, the brother of the Master, tried in vain to defend and preserve intact, were as utterly opposed to the Pauline Gospel as the light is opposed to the darkness." - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore (From 'Christ or Paul?')
"The Church is powerless to free mankind from such evils as war, oppression and disease, because it does nothing to stop man's oppression to the creatures. Men do not see that our cruelty to the creatures has its rebound. Every evil action, wheter it be done to a man, a woman, or a child, or an animal, will one day have its effect upon the transgressor. The rule that we reap what we sow is a Divine Law from which there is no escape. God is ever merciful, but He is also righteous, and if cruel men and women will learn compassion in no other way, then they will have to learn by suffering; even if it means suffering the same tortures that they have inflicted. God is Perfect Love, and He is never revengeful or vindictive, but the Divine Law of mercy and compassion cannot be broken without it having tremendous repercussions upon the transgressor" - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore
[ NB: One of the great spiritual laws that man ignores at his peril is that suffering can only be requited by suffering.]
"There are three main reasons which prompt people to adopt a pure diet. Some do it for reasons of health. This is prudent. Others do it because it is humane. This is excellent. But the noblest of all, are those who do it because they realsie is is an essentially religious movement and that the pure life is necessary for the redemption of this planet. Indeed we cannot hope to rid the world of war, disease and a hundred other evils until we learn to show compassion to the creatures and refrain from taking their lives for food or pleasure." - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore
"Thus it become abduntantly clear that man's cruelty to the creatures is largely due to his failure to realise who they are. That the creatures are not things, should be obvious to the lowest intelligence. They are highly sensitive organisms - organisms capable of intense feeling and affection, and what is more, they are (like ourselves) creatures, i.e. creatures of our Heavenly Father.
If we consider the testimony of those who have tried to understand them from a higher standpoint than the merely scientific one, we shall find that they all agree that they have souls and that these survive physical death. If it is objected that it is impossible to prove this, we would reply that it is equally difficult to prove that human beings have immortal souls. And yet in each case we can point to things which support such a belief. Just as there are desires implanted by God in man that can only be satisfied in a future existence, so there are traits in the character of the creatures which by their very nature must be eternal. Thus the self-sacrificing love and trust that a dog has for its master and the sorrow that it feels over the loss of a friend are qualities that are not only human, but divine.
The belief in a soul for the creatures has been held by the Egyptians, the Hindus and the Buddhists. It was once to be found in Persia, in Greece and Italy. The Druids, and the Welsh bards, the Norsemen and the Germans all held the same belief. It can be traced among the natives of Mexico, the tribes of Africa and America. The idea may take strange forms, but it is found throughout the whole world, except where Christianity holds sway. It is a terrible tragedy that those who claim to follow the Master should have done so much to dispel a belief that should have helped to ameliorate the lot of the creatures. Not that they have ever been able to bring any evidence against it, apart from their own false traditions and prejudices. The remark of Voltaire that, "If it were true that they (the creatures) had no souls, it would be necessary to invent souls for them", is highly significant, for (as Anna Kingsford says) "Earth has become a hell for want of this doctrine." It is largely because the creatures are popularly believed to be soulless that they are treated so callously, for if it were admitted that they had souls it would become obvious that they had rights. But this is just what both Catholics and Anglican theologians deny." - The Rev. V. A. Holmes-Gore (From 'Those We Have Not Loved')
SOMETHING WRONG SOMEWHERE
I felt sure the chicken suffered, and could not bear to watch the process [of neck-wringing]. Why? If there was nothing wrong about it, why had God put compassion for these sentient beings into my heart? And if this compassion made it wrong for me to kill, why was it not just as cruel to pay someone else to do it for me by purchasing flesh foods?
I began to feel there was something wrong somewhere. Could it be possible that Jesus would kill creatures that God had created with a love of life and will to live? I tried to picture Christ taking the life of a lamb and eating its body. No, it did not make sense to me...not He who preached the Sermon on the Mount. Not He who had said "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." - Henry L. Nunn
posted by HOLY LANCE @ 6:00 PM
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