Hello All,
Am a bit hurried this week, but cannot resist the impulse to thank Patrick and Steve for their Recent posts and comments on our treatment of nonhuman animals. A propos Steve's post just below, it might also be apt here to mention what appears to me to be the Anglican/Episcopal Church's longstanding salutary role in bringing the travesty of our current treatment of our nonhuman cousins to the forefront of theological and ethical reflection.
For as long as I can remember -- which is for more decades than I'm comfortable admitting I've been on the earth -- Anglican and Episcopal congregations have been holding 'Blessing of the Animals' services in chapels and public parks in the fairly large number of cities I've inhabited. I might also mention here the many wonderful books written by Andrew Linzey, an Anglican priest and professor of theology at Oxford -- http://resources.theology.ox.ac.uk/staff.phtml?lecturer_code=alinzey. Father Linzey also heads up the Centre for Animal Ethics there -- http://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/home/.
Finally, while at it here, let me commend to our readers the many very thoughtful posts and links on our treatment of nonhuman animals that can be found at Dorf on Law -- http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2010/02/new-blog-and-thought-on-failure-of.html. There are even contributions there by Patrick and little old me -- e.g., here: http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2009/08/what-is-harm-guest-post.html.
All best and more soon,
Bob
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