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Perceiving the Kingdom
To initiate the campaign the following advertisement was placed in the May, June & July issues of the ‘Pompey Times’ Portsmouth Diocese monthly newspaper.
The role of the Christian in relation to the rest of God’s Creation.
I have been asked to introduce myself. I am a middle-aged ex-colonial from South Africa, an Anglican Priest, married with two daughters.
My father was a bank-clerk would-be farmer, so we grew up with plenty of pets - cats, dogs, rabbits, budgies and muscovy ducks. He had also been a POW, had escaped and lived ‘on the run’ for a few years, and so had an intense awareness, and horror of the suffering of others. He was by no means a vegetarian, but knew that psychologically and physically animal suffering is not different from ours in kind. He taught me that if we are to be Christian, or fully human (which is really the same thing) we must do all we can to prevent and alleviate suffering wherever it is found.
As I grew up I absorbed his love of animals and horror of suffering. As a teenager and young adult I began to learn of the terrible cruelty of most commercial farming, as well as the wastage of a carnivorous diet; that if the grain that was fed to animals to provide meat for the rich was given to the poor instead, there would be no hunger.
At University I met the girl I was to marry, who was (and remains) if anything more concerned about the suffering of animals than I am, although we initially made contact during a break in lectures through a joint fondness for tea. Together we resolved to be as vegetarian as we could without causing disruption at home, and to become completely so when we got married, which we did some 25 years ago. I am pleased and proud to say that both our daughters are too, often despite much peer-pressure.
My wife’s concerns have developed largely in the direction of the Society for the Protection of ANimals Abroad, while mine have focused on Compassion In World Farming.
This is not the time to give any worked-out argument on why I believe Christians should be vegetarians, but I believe passionately:
• that as Christians we are called to have compassion for all of God’s creation,
• that an essential part of following Christ means being willing, if necessary, to go without, even to suffer if that will prevent or alleviate suffering for others,
• that all creation was intended to be herbivorous, humans fruitarian, and that insofar as we can, that is the direction in which God wants us to move.
Yes I have in part been influenced by non-Christians, such as Ghandi and Camus. But my understanding that animals suffer as we do comes from studying and knowing them, my desire to alleviate suffering comes I believe as a gift from God, a reward perhaps for trying to understand the sufferings of Christ. Then in reading the scriptures certain passages jumped out, taking on a meaning so obvious I wondered why everybody didn’t notice: Genesis 1:29&30 for example, or Isaiah 11:1-9.
If we are to follow Christ we must be willing to be different: I believe as much in our compassion for animals as in our sexual morality, church-going and almsgiving.
May the Lord bless you as you stand up for his love for all of his creation.
My father was a bank-
As I grew up I absorbed his love of animals and horror of suffering. As a teenager and young adult I began to learn of the terrible cruelty of most commercial farming, as well as the wastage of a carnivorous diet; that if the grain that was fed to animals to provide meat for the rich was given to the poor instead, there would be no hunger.
At University I met the girl I was to marry, who was (and remains) if anything more concerned about the suffering of animals than I am, although we initially made contact during a break in lectures through a joint fondness for tea. Together we resolved to be as vegetarian as we could without causing disruption at home, and to become completely so when we got married, which we did some 25 years ago. I am pleased and proud to say that both our daughters are too, often despite much peer-
My wife’s concerns have developed largely in the direction of the
This is not the time to give any worked-
• that as Christians we are called to have compassion for all of God’s creation,
• that an essential part of following Christ means being willing, if necessary, to go without, even to suffer if that will prevent or alleviate suffering for others,
• that all creation was intended to be herbivorous, humans fruitarian, and that insofar as we can, that is the direction in which God wants us to move.
Yes I have in part been influenced by non-
If we are to follow Christ we must be willing to be different: I believe as much in our compassion for animals as in our sexual morality, church-
May the Lord bless you as you stand up for his love for
About Fr John Ryder - CVAUK Spokesperson
Godshill, Isle of Wight
