The Friends We Keep
Unleashing Christianity's Compassion for Animals
By Laura Hobgood-Oster
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Subjects: All Cultural Studies, All Ethics , All Practical Theology, All Religious Studies, All Theology, Church History, Contemporary Theology, Ecological Ethics, Social & Economic Ethics, Social Problems, Spiritual Formation |
Today we find ourselves in an anomaly in human history: many of our lives are empty of animals. Those of us who live in urban and suburban areas often have pets or watch documentaries on Animal Planet, but, for the most part, the lives of all the other species on our planet are invisible. Few of us really know how they live today, and, sadly, as Laura Hobgood-Oster reveals, many of them are not living very well at all.
Seeking to awaken Christians to the place and, too often, plight of animals in the twenty-first century, The Friends We Keep gently but astutely introduces the situations animals face today—as companions, as animals in sport, as animals raised for food, and as creatures in the wild—and simultaneously retells a myriad of often surprising and instructive stories from the long, rich history of Christianity. We see and experience animals as Christians have for generations—as beloved companions to the saints, as unfortunate prisoners in Roman arenas, as sentient and compassionate recipients and givers of hospitality, and as good and worthy beings created by God. Once upon a time, it seems—not too terribly long ago—animals held an important place in Christianity.
Could it be, then, that Christianity can be good news for animals today?
With a guide for group discussion and ideas for how people of faith can respond, this thoroughly engaging and enlightening book is essential for all who desire to live compassionately.
Preface: Writing a History of Animals in Christianity
Introduction: Even Dogs Deserve the Crumbs
1 What a Friend We Have: Our Animal Companions
2 Lions and Christians: Animals in Sport
3 Eating Mercifully: Animals for Food
4 Good Christian Hospitality: Animals at Home on the Earth
5 Where Have All the Animals Gone?
Group Discussion Guide
How to Help: Ideas for Individuals and Households
How to Help: Ideas for Communities and Congregations
Additional Resources
"A carefully researched and powerfully argued book – both moving and revelatory. Hobgood-Oster identifies the intersection of animals and religion throughout the history of Christianity, reminding us that compassionate concern for other creatures is an article of Christian faith."
– Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO, The Humane Society of the United States
“And what about our closest biological and spiritual kin: the other animals? How might we honor them as subjects of their own lives? How might we recognize that we meet something beautiful—something sacred—in their presence? Can Christianity help us? With her sensitive retracing of the place of animals in the lives of saints and her constructive proposals for how Christians might include them with religious life in respectful ways, Laura Hobgood-Oster provides answers in this short, beautiful book.”
—Jay McDaniel, Willis Holmes Distinguished Professor of Religion, Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas and Author of Of God and Pelicans, Earth, Sky, Gods, and Mortals; With Roots and Wings.
“Wonderful. Read and share this inspiring, wide-ranging, and easy-to-read book so that we can all expand our compassion footprint to every being, big and small, furred and finned. The renowned Laura Hobgood-Oster clearly reviews all of the issues that are pertinent to how we interact with nonhuman animal beings and shows how easy it is to treat animals better—and why we must do so for their, and our, benefit.”
—Marc Bekoff, best-selling author of The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy—and Why They Matter and The Animal Manifesto: Six Reasons for Expanding Our Compassion Footprint
“Well-balanced and highly readable, The Friends We Keep has all the virtues of good scholarship while being wonderfully suitable for a wide range of readers. Hobgood-Oster is forthright in dealing with the complicated contemporary problems faced by each of us in our ordinary lives, and in this book she has provided a superb example of how to combine scholarship with faith experience and active citizenship. I heartily recommend it.”
—Paul Waldau, President of the Religion and Animals Institute, Bob Barker Lecturer on Animal Law at Harvard Law School, and author of The Animal Invitation: Religion, Law, Science, and Ethics in a More-Than-Human World
“I hope this is a book to which many will turn. In such lively and engaging writing, The Friends We Keep tells the stories that are often behind the scenes—of horse racing, dog fighting, food production, and the rapid extinction of creatures of which most of us have never heard. As others before her have done for domestic violence and slavery, Hobgood-Oster shines a light on a hidden ethical issue so that we are forced to wake up to practices that have been tolerated and reinforced by Christians and our theology.”
—Wendy Farley, Professor of Religion, Emory University
“At last! A compelling and engaging book on how faith can speak to both our love for animals and our concern for their fate. Hobgood-Oster writes what pet owners have known for awhile, what St. Francis of Assisi blessed, and what food ethicists like Michael Pollan have been trying to tell us: God cares about all of life on this planet, and the presence of the divine is everywhere—especially in animals. The Friends We Keep is a must-read for anyone who has ever loved a pet or who is concerned about the impact humans have on the livelihood of species.”
—Janetta Cravens Boyd, Senior Minister at University Christian Church in Seattle, Washington
Laura Hobgood-Oster is Professor of Religion and Environmental Studies and holds the Paden Chair in Religion at Southwestern University. Featured in the documentary “Eating Mercifully,” produced by the Humane Society of the United States, and frequently interviewed by national print and broadcast media, she is the author of Holy Dogs and Asses: Animals in the Christian Tradition and executive editor of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. She lives in Georgetown, Texas.
Includes 10 b/w photos
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