Jon Hochschartner

As I read more in Christian theology, I’ve been surprised to learn that while many organizations don’t have an official position on other creatures in the afterlife, quite a few notable figures have argued animals go to heaven.

The more I learn about the Bible, the more I understand it as a messy text. The Bible was written by many different people at many different times. As a result, it’s filled with conflicting ideologies and values.

To a certain extent, being a perennialist implies a cafeteria approach to all religions. Ideally, one tries to pick and choose what is universally true while ignoring what is culturally specific.

Due to our privileged place of dominion over the planet, we have the responsibility to unite other creatures in Christ to the best of our ability. We don’t have the technology or knowledge of ecosystems to successfully intervene in violence between animals, but we can certainly eliminate our own violence toward them.

It is meant to be shared around the table, in the car, or wherever your journeys take you! It's a celebration of God's love for all, echoing Jesus' words during the Last Supper and affirming our role in furthering God's Kingdom work as we love and serve one another.

Saint Paul is often regarded as a particularly troublesome writer for those who try to reconcile animal liberation and Christianity.

One of the things I’ve gathered from reading scholarship about the historical Jesus is very little about him can be said with certainty. Historians generally agree he existed and was crucified, but, beyond that, almost everything is debated.