Reflections on Virgin Births... And My Holiday Wish

I've been meaning to talk about this for several years... But it's a sensitive subject - So I kept putting it off till now.  I suppose I should begin by saying that I don't object to any one's religious or spiritual beliefs - as long as those ideas don't require or condone bloodshed or other justifications to oppress or exploit others.  I guess my "religion" and my "God" would be one that is rooted in a Golden Rule kind of thinking... 


And so I'm not timid in admitting that when I first became aware of animal issues I was curious where theologians stood, and what the "boss" had to say... I went through a WWJD phase.  And so it started at his birth, whether legend or not, that I saw some major contradictions in the way "the faithful" live their lives:
That was my first Christmas celebrated as a vegan.  Now, years hence I'd again like to take a (critical) look at another dichotomy: one of virgin births.


As John Sakars illustrates in this video - Nonhumans are artificially inseminated (violated) as a daily practice.  Even in remote islands there is news that "beef" cattle are now being impregnated via man's intervention.  Artificial insemination/livestock semen is big, big business.


Most pigs, cows, sheep, goats, and even turkeys are "made" without mating.  They are all "virgin births"... But ones of a most "unholy" kind, as these are also lives destined to be brutally destroyed (sacrificed) - Even though the birth of a babe named Jesus was supposed to have ended the ritual of bloodshed.


So my hope this holiday, whether one believes or not, is that good people everywhere consider the infinite errors in using the bodies of others.  I wish the profiteers would stop making "virgin births". 

Whether folks think that nonhumans are nephesh or not, I wish that they would see the wrong in denying innocent ones the basic drives of their species... Denying them mothers... And the most inhumane tragedy of all in stealing their lives.


Whatever your ideology - No one will betray their faith if they choose compassion.  Indeed, perhaps the bloodshed was instructed to end a long time ago from the first commandment on: 
Isaiah 1:11-17
Animal Sacrifice
The "Cleansing of the Temple"


It may be suggested by some books that it is not a sin to kill an animal, but it is written in our own hearts - more clearly than in any book - that we should take pity on animals in the same way as we do on humans. 
Leo Tolstoy

Be generous with a gift of benevolence... Extend Good Will to All. Treat every mother's young like the precious life that it is.