If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men: St. Francis of Assisi
5 comments:
Anonymous
said...
This Fancis was nothing but an early leveling Marxist. See from Wikipedia "Although many hagiographers remark about his bright clothing, rich friends, and love of pleasures, his displays of disillusionment toward the world that surrounded him came fairly early in his life, as is shown in the "story of the begger." In this account, he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for alms. At the conclusion of his business deal, Francis abandoned his wares and ran after the beggar. When he found him, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and mocked him for his act of charity."".
Animals, the poor, all just trying to level everyone
Ok, anon, now this last post is surely a joke. St Francis of Assisi a Marxist? He was a radical, yes, but in the sense of following Jesus' teaching in a very deep way. We can argue if Francis was right - or whether the teachings make sense (and I think their ethical component does: I have issues with the apocalyptic theology)- but Marxist? In any event my point was that casual cruelty to animals is, as Francis suggested (and he saw cruelty), often seen with cruelty to people.
Not sure about this one. Some people believe that nonhuman animals don't experience pain, loss and suffering in the same way humans do. Others believe that humans as the dominant species are somehow entitled to exploit animals no matter how much suffering it causes. Perhaps the quotation applies best to those who lack empathy for the pain of any living creature?
5 comments:
This Fancis was nothing but an early leveling Marxist. See from Wikipedia "Although many hagiographers remark about his bright clothing, rich friends, and love of pleasures, his displays of disillusionment toward the world that surrounded him came fairly early in his life, as is shown in the "story of the begger." In this account, he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for alms. At the conclusion of his business deal, Francis abandoned his wares and ran after the beggar. When he found him, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and mocked him for his act of charity."".
Animals, the poor, all just trying to level everyone
Ok, anon, now this last post is surely a joke. St Francis of Assisi a Marxist? He was a radical, yes, but in the sense of following Jesus' teaching in a very deep way. We can argue if Francis was right - or whether the teachings make sense (and I think their ethical component does: I have issues with the apocalyptic theology)- but Marxist? In any event my point was that casual cruelty to animals is, as Francis suggested (and he saw cruelty), often seen with cruelty to people.
Francis went to Egypt to try to conver the Muslims. Hardly the doings of a Marxist.
Perhaps he was a Marxist with Islamophobic feelings? Can't trust those Christian types. [Note, this is intended as a joke]
Not sure about this one. Some people believe that nonhuman animals don't experience pain, loss and suffering in the same way humans do. Others believe that humans as the dominant species are somehow entitled to exploit animals no matter how much suffering it causes. Perhaps the quotation applies best to those who lack empathy for the pain of any living creature?
Post a Comment