OpEds: Open Letter to a Misguided Christian

embraced by ahimsa…

I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride

Dear Caryl Lecznar, Councilwoman Seven Hills, Ohio

There are few animals more graceful, gentle and harmless than a deer. For those with an open and loving heart they are a marvel to watch, especially when gliding through the forest or gently nibbling on ground cover. However for those whose hearts have been shut to compassion by the christian doctrine of dominion, deer are yet another animal that may be destroyed to demonstrate man’s wrathful domination over animals:

“The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.'” genesis 9-1-3

It has come to my attention that you are leading the call to cull deer, for some mindless, irrational reasons. Not coincidentally you are affiliated with a christian ministry. Christianity has a well earned reputation for irreverence for animal life, probably stemming from the mandate in genesis to inspire fear and dread over animalkind. Compliance with the mandate to kill and exploit for human benefit allows those to take the lives of animals for unreasoned and baseless excuses, So that a deer who eats a petunia in someone’s garden may be condemned to death to assuage the empty lives of those intent on their destruction.

Within the framework of dominion, excuses abound for murdering defenseless animals. The most ironic of all quite possibly is killing them to bond with each other and god. Killing for religious grandeur actually diminishes the killers and the religion. There are are christian hunting ministries which call for the killing of animals who have harmed no one, for the sole purpose of bonding with jesus:

“Outreach Outdoors is a Christian hunting ministry aiming to spread the message of Jesus Christ to non-believers and challenge Christians to live a life of purpose” (http://www.outreachoutdoors.com/christian-hunting.php)

Is it the illusion of power of domination and slaughter that is so appealing to those well versed with dominion? In reality such destruction is an illusion of power meant to conceal the fear, dread and helplessness of the killer. Or is it the fear that the measure of a man is determined by compassion, rather than brutality? Real strength lies in compassion and care, not in mindless killing.

All religions are not as heartless. Two mainstream religions in India: Hinduism and Jainism have understood the wisdom of respecting all living beings: both human and animal. Due to the influence of the jain concept of ahimsa, often referred to as non-violence, animals are not hunted down as an illusion of power. Instead they are rescued and rehabilitated. Fragile, helpless fawns are protected, not killed when religion promotes compassion, rather than terror:

The animal rescuer in the picture above, at a sanctuary in India, has a better grasp of love and compassion, than the lofty enforcers of dominion, including clergy, who so heartily endorse the taking of innocent lives.

Change is in the air. As those among us with compassion learn of more compassionate religions, with reverence for life, who would cherish the moment a deer wandered into their yard, as a moment to celebrate life, rather than invoke the destructive powers of dominion, Christianity [and similar violence=endorsing religions] will lose their stranglehold on the human spirit.

You are living proof that Christianity is a failed, flawed religion  The one thing you are not is a hypocrite. You do not pretend compassion and are devoid of even a trace of empathy for the suffering you seek to inflict. True to the code which condones the darkness in your heart, you order a cull of harmless, defenseless deer. Without a worry in the world, you push ahead  with this plan, with the fervor of a religious crusader.

You have declared a holy war on deer, for the unpardonable offense of eating some petunias in a garden or accidentally wandering into an open garage. Only an individual or religion devoid of compassion would insist on or allow for such cruelty. Only a religion which has been steeped in the blood of animals for thousands of years would mindlessly declare an all out holy war on deer.

The Semitic religions (judaism, christianity and islam) have yet to understand that the devaluation of animal lives, devalues us all. They have yet to grasp the wisdom of non-violence for animals and humans alike, as they declare endless culls, crusades, inquisitions, holocausts, jihads and intifadas against the disenfranchised of dominion. Violence prone religions would do well to consider a more peaceful way and relinquish the brutality of dominion:

“Ahimsa Parmo Dharma” jain sutra – Non-violence is the first principle of religion.

It is time to start counting the dead of the endless rampages of dominion.

Sincerely
Ruth Eisenbud

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ruth Eisenbud is a relentless advocate for the freedom of animals from human tyranny.