The book that I am reviewing today is entitled "The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity's Compassion for Animals" written by Laura Hobgood-Oster. The author is a professor of religion at Southwestern University in Texas.
While I don't agree with everything that is in this book, especially the final chapter about sacrificial atonement, the author makes many interesting points about how that Christians are called to be good stewards of what God has made. We are to show compassion to creatures and not abuse animals and cause them pain and suffering. Christians should be at the forefront of protecting animals and the environment.
The author offers practical suggestions about how to show more compassion to animals. One of her suggestions is to eat less meat. She recommends completely removing meat from the diet. However, all of us can eat less meat and go meatless one or two days a week. We can also show compassion for animals by rescuing animals from cruelty and by adopting animals from the shelter. The author also mentions that Christians can show compassion for animals by not attending greyhound races, horse races and circuses.
I recommend this book with the caveat that the author is obviously not a conservative Christian. There is much liberal theology in the book. This is very clear from the last chapter of the book. However, the points she makes about helping animals are certainly worth considering.
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