Don't Drink the Kool-Aid!

Water needed to produce:

Potatoes: 60 gallons per pound

Wheat: 108 gallons per pound

Corn: 168 gallons per pound

Rice: 229 gallons per pound

Soybeans: 240 gallons per pound

Beef: 12,009 gallons per pound

Also:

16 pounds of wheat and soy per 1 pound of beef

“The average U.S. resident eats over 200 pounds of meat a year, or more than 1/2 pound per day.”

Health:

According to the USDA, one pound of ground lean beef has 1,197.5 calories. The USDA lists one pound of potatoes as containing 288 calories.

Moral:

925 million people are hungry.

Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. That’s one child every five seconds.

884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one in eight people.

3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.

Millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting water from distant, often polluted sources.

At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.

Even if you’re terrible at math, you can figure out the devastation the production of meat is perpetuating in the U.S. and around the world. To reallocate all this food and water to produce meat (that also ends up being unhealthy because of the way it’s produced and is full of antibiotics and other chemicals), is irresponsible and counter-productive when regarding world hunger and global issues like water and the environment. So, you either support the meat and dairy industry in this travesty or you oppose this horrible practice. And in case you’re wondering how you support or oppose (and it’s either one or other), it’s by what you buy/eat. So next time, think before you eat. (MC)

Vegetarian: a person who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, as eggs or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc.

Vegan: a person who refrains from using any animal product whatever for food, clothing, or any other purpose.

Marcos: I decided to become vegetarian a few months ago when I first began learning about the animal argibusiness and the harm it does to one’s own body and this beautiful planet. I’ve never been a big fan of the fast-food-chain burger so cutting fast food out of my daily diet was not a big problem. It was those home-cooked meals that were difficult to turn away from. However, the more I learned how disgusting humans were towards animals and the despicable practices corporations would promote only to increase their profit, the easier it became to leave the chicken enchiladas aside and go for the veggie burgers (which are very tasty either way!). In reality, this issue is no joke. One is making a statement by eating meat, and yes even if you decide to ignore the facts. By deciding to eat meat raised on factory farms, you are promoting and supporting practices that contribute to the climate change problem (more than the SUV in your garage), the torturing of animals, and the continued endangerment of your own health. The truth is that we can now live without having to eat meat. Vegetables, fruits and many other foods are great substitutes to eating meat. And it’s easier than you think! It also helps if you find people with similar healthy lifestyles. Why not start this new year right. Start off small, if you’d like. Perhaps with Meatless Mondays. All I implore of you is to do something about this serious issue that very much concerns your health.

Rocio: I had wanted to become vegetarian for a few years now due to my love for animals. I tried it a few times without success. Always falling back into the horrible habit of eating meat. In 2010 I started to research the meat industry and the effects it has on animals, the environment, our planet, people in third world countries, and our health. That is when I decided to follow my morals and cut meat out of my life completely. I have been vegetarian for a year but have recently decided to become Vegan. A vegan is a person who not only will abstain from eating meat but also from eating animal products such as milk and eggs. In addition to that, vegans also abstain from wearing and using animal products like leather, fur, and any product that has been tested on animals. I believe that animals deserve our respect and compassion. They are living creatures who can feel pain just as we do. They are being exploited by humans in a horrible way. I think we live in a society where we are programed to channel out of our minds the negative so that we can have our conscious at peace. I think that is a horrible way to live because there is no greater evil than a good person who is apathetic to a living creatures suffering. We are not only hurting animals when we partake in their suffering, we are hurting ourselves and we are hurting our planet. If the meat industry would stop mass producing animals in the way that it does, we would have enough grain to wipe out world hunger. Our environment would not be getting so horribly contaminated by the pollution that animal mass production causes. These are only a few examples from the vast amount of reasons to become vegan.

Facts:

Every year in the U.S., more than 27 billion animals are slaughtered for food.

Animals raised for food are bred and drugged to grow as large as possible as quickly as possible—many are so heavy that they become crippled under their own weight and die within inches of their water supply.

Animals on factory farms do not see the sun or get a breath of fresh air until they are prodded and crammed onto trucks for a nightmarish ride to the slaughterhouse, often through weather extremes and always without food or water.

Many die during transport, and others are too sick or weak to walk off the truck after they reach the slaughterhouse. The animals who survive this hellish ordeal are hung upside-down and their throats are slit, often while they’re completely conscious.

Many are still alive while they are skinned, hacked into pieces, or scalded in the defeathering tanks. Learn more about the factory-farming industry. By switching to a vegetarian diet, you can save more than 100 animals a year from this misery.

63 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, making us the fattest nation in the history of the world. (Click here for full article.)

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) states that vegetarians and vegans enjoy a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and lower body mass indexes, as well as lower overall cancer rates.

For more information on vegetarianism, visit www.goveg.com or www.chooseveg.com.

Great reading material on the subject: Eating Animals, Skinny Bitch, Skinny Bastard, and Gristle.

“A good example of the colouring by religious agendas is the whole heart-warming legend of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, followed by Herod’s massacre of the innocents. When the gospels were written, many years after Jesus’ death, nobody knew where he was born. But an old Testament prophesy (Micha 5:2) had led Jews to expect that the long awaited Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. In the light of this prophesy, John’s gospel specifically remarks that his followers were surprised that he was not born in Bethlehem. ‘Others said, This is Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?’

Matthew and Luke handled the problem differently, by deciding that Jesus MUST have been born in Bethlehem after all. But they get him there by different routes. Matthew has Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem all along, moving to Nazareth only long after the birth of Jesus, on their return from Egypt where they fled from King Herod and the massacre of the innocents. Luke, by contrast, acknowledges that Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth before Jesus was born. So how to get them to Bethlehem at the crucial moment, in order to fulfill the prophesy? Luke says that, in the time when Cyrenius (Quirinius) was governor of Syria, Caesar Augustus decreed a census for taxation purposes, and everybody had to go ‘to his own city’. Joseph was ‘of the house and lineage of David’ and therefore he had to go to ‘the city of David, which is called Bethlehem’. That must have seemed like a good solution. Except that historically it is complete nonsense, as A.N. Wilson in ‘Jesus and Robin Lane Fox in the unauthorized version’ have pointed out. David, if he existed, lived nearly a thousand years before Mary and Joseph. Why on earth would the Romans have required Joseph to go to the city where a remote ancestor had lived a millennium earlier? It is as though I were required to specify, say, Ashby-de-la-Zouch as my home town on a census form, if it happened that I could trace my ancestry back to the Seigneur de Dekeyne, who came over with William the Conqueror and settled there.

Moreover, Luke screws up his dating by tactlessly mentioning events that historians are capable of independently checking. There was indeed a census under Governor Quirinius - a local census, not one decreed by Caesar Augustus for the Empire as a whole - but it happened too late: in AD 6, long after Herrod’s death. Lane Fox concludes that ‘LUKE’S STORY IS HISTORICALLY IMPOSSIBLE AND INTERNALLY INCOHERENT’, but he sympathizes with Luke’s plight and his desire to fulfill the prophesy of Micah.

In the December 2004 issue of ‘Free Inquiry’, Tom Flynn, the Editor of that excellent magazine, assembled a collection of articles documenting the contradictions and gaping holes in the well-loved Christmas story. Flynn himself lists the many contradictions between Matthew and Luke, the only two evangelists who treat the birth of Jesus at all. Robert Gillooly SHOWS HOW ALL THE ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF THE JESUS LEGEND, INCLUDING THE STAR IN THE EAST, THE VIRGIN BIRTH, THE VENERATION OF THE BABY BY KINGS, THE MIRACLES-EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM-FROM OTHER RELIGIONS ALREADY EXISTENCE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND NEAR EAST REGION. Flynn suggests that Matthew’s DESIRE TO FULFILL MESSIANIC PROPHECIES (decent from David, birth in Bethlehem) FOR THE BENEFIT OF JEWISH READERS CAME INTO HEADLONG COLLISION WITH LUKE’S DESIRE TO ADAPT CHRISTIANITY FOR THE GENTILES, AND HENCE TO PRESS THE FAMILIAR HOT BUTTONS OF PAGAN HELLENISTIC RELIGIONS (virgin birth, worship by kings, etc.) THE RESULTING CONTRADICTIONS ARE GLARING, BUT CONSISTENTLY OVERLOOKED BY THE FAITHFUL.

There are many Christians out there who take the Bible very seriously indeed as a literal and accurate record of history and hence as evidence supporting their religious beliefs. DO THESE PEOPLE EVER OPEN THE BOOK THAT THEY BELIEVE IS THE LITERAL TRUTH? Why don’t they notice those glaring contradictions? Shouldn’t a literalist worry about the fact that Matthew traces Joseph’s descent from King David via twenty-eight intermediate generations, while Luke has forty one generations? Worse, there is almost no overlap in the names on the two lists!!!!! IN ANY CASE, IF JESUS REALLY WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN, JOSEPH’S ANCESTRY IS IRRELEVANT AND CANNOT BE USED TO FULFILL, ON JESUS’ BEHALF, THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHESY THAT THE MESSIAH SHOULD BE DESCENDED FROM DAVID.”

-Excerpt from “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is election day in the U.S. and I can’t help to be nervous about it. There is actually a chance that the GOP (Republicans) will take the majority in the Senate and the House. What’s the big deal? Well, they’ve been screaming about repealing the health care reform bill, deregulating the banks and Wall St., cutting taxes for the richest Americans (which account for about 1% of Americans), abolishing public education, enforcing racist and discriminating immigration laws, keeping the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policies in place, keeping wars alive that should be terminated, and cut many government programs that actually help people in their communities. This is what they believe in and would love to enforce. Who or what can stop this from happening? YOU can. All I’m asking is for you to vote using your sanity and reason, and not for a Party. In other words, tomorrow, when you’re in the booth with the ballot in front of you and pen in hand, ask yourself what are YOUR interests and vote for them. The future of your country, your community and your life is in your hands.

Marcos Ceniceros

To the churches:

It’s that time of year. The leaves are turning into those dry and flaky colors but still manage to look amazing. The days begin to get shorter. Pumpkin lattes, pies and doughnuts are in the air, well not literally but their scent sure is. And we all bring out the sweaters, hoodies, boots. But there is something else out there that’s going on. People place cardboard tombstones on their front lawns, pumpkins with scary faces and scary yet harmless human-like skeletons and monsters. It’s Halloween. The question is though, should you or should you not participate in Halloween?

Throughout the years, many churches have taught their congregations that participating in Halloween, in any way shape or form, is to participate in an evil day with evil influences. Funny thing is, many churches don’t know the origins and/or influences of the real Halloween. Does it not have devils, goblins and ghouls? Sure it does. Does it not introduce and encourage an evil and scary culture of blood and underworld creatures to our kids? Perhaps. But there’s more to this creepy and mysterious holiday than meets the eye. Which is the same for many of America’s holidays, including Valentine’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and even the beloved Christmas.

There was a society known as the Celts, circa 800 BCE, predating Christianity by nearly a Century, that celebrated the change in seasons in what is now October. They believed that the veil separating the living and dead was at its thinnest during this time of year allowing the spirits of the dead to visit them. Tradition has it, that they dress up in “scary costumes” to scare the spirits away that would disturb them. They would build large fires to celebrate the end of the harvest season and kids would go around to houses to ask for firewood and other goodies. What does all this sound like? Traditions. We all have them based on our own cultures. This particular celebration took on a culture of its own and has evolved into what it is today: Halloween.

There are a few things people fail to consider. One of these is the culture that Halloween has created. The culture of fear and mystery, which is something I’m sure we all can agree Halloween exerts, is quite thrilling and exciting – much like riding a roller coaster or watching a scary movie. While we’re on the subject, why is watching a scary movie that portrays the very same themes ok but not dressing up to ask for candy? Seems like a double standard, wouldn’t you say?

Another consideration is that we live in corporate America. What does that have to do with anything? My friend, plenty. Why do you think Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and all these holidays are so big in the U.S.? Because they can generate millions of dollars in profit. “Halloween is the holiday when the most candy is sold; it is second only to Christmas in total sales. North Americans spend over $20 million on Halloween candies yearly.” It is also the “third largest party occasion next to Christmas and New Years’ Eve.” It’s an “economy day” created by marketers more than “Satan’s birthday”, a day created by fundamentalists.

Lastly, as a friend of mine said, “the Bible doesn’t speak on every subject in life. Some subjects, the Bible is silent. Maybe we should remain silent as well on certain subjects.” (If you’re reading this and feel it’s out of context, I apologize. This is the way I understood the statement.) And in fact, another Christian author wrote, “Christians who spend the night of October 31 filled with concern over what evils might be (and sometimes are) taking place are doing the very thing Lucifer wants them to do. By giving him this respect, such believers are giving his authority credence.”

All I’m trying to say is that Halloween is a fun tradition that has been misunderstood, much like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and should be given the chance it deserves. When you consider the history, context and culture, and not the opinion of some fundamentalists, there really isn’t much that stands against it. So next week, open the door to those “laughing pumpkin heads and goofy ghouls” and put out the candy. Who knows, you might actually enjoy it.

Marcos Ceniceros

Consider this article: http://www.christianitytoday.com/16017?start=2

“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.” Gandhi

I have many questions about religion, in specific Christianity, but one of the biggest ones is, why aren’t most Christians more Christ-like?  In my lifetime, I have met hundreds of people that claim to be Christian. Some of which are my relatives, friends, secular teachers, Sunday school teachers, preachers, musicians, acquaintances, and numerous others.  Of these hundreds of “Christians” I’ve come into contact with, I would honestly say that only a handful of them have portrayed the Christian characteristics taught by Jesus in their Christian Bible. I’m not a theologian but what I was taught from birth is that these are SOME of those characteristics that are lacking:

Compassion/Sympathy/Mercy/Gentleness

Contentment/Meekness

Discretion/ Prudence/Circumspection

Flexibility/Adaptability

Justice/Fairness

Peacefulness

Virtuousness

Faithfulness

Respectfulness/Tolerance

Compassion/Sympathy/Mercy/Gentle- Hebrews 13:3, Galatians 6:2, Proverbs 12:10

To be compassionate of others means to feel the person’s pain and despair as if it were our own pain. Not only does this mean we should feel bad for another person’s troubles, but to take a proactive stance to help. This would tie in another one of these traits:

Justice

When we have compassion in our hearts, we want to fight for justice. One thing that doesn’t make sense to me is an apathetic Christian. That in itself is a contradiction. How can someone that calls themselves a Christian, who claims to have compassion, and claims to serve a just god, be apathetic? It is impossible to have these “Christian” traits and not care about the world around you. Then there are those who claim to care but think that they can’t make a difference anyway because there is too much opposition. To this group of “Christians” I ask, “What happened to one of these other traits, Faithfulness? Aren’t all things through Christ possible?

I hear too many Christians say, “I won’t get involved in politics, nothing is going to change anyway.” “What is me becoming vegetarian going to do to help animals, I’m only one person?” “I’d rather go to church and pray for world hunger to end instead of volunteering at a soup kitchen once in a while.”

I have to say I am extremely tired of seeing republican politicians run for office on a “Christian” platform. I hate to see them affiliate their political party with Christianity and then turn around and do precisely the things that go against the fundamental teaching of Jesus. I am certain that if Jesus was a modern day political figure, the Tea Party would be the ones to crucify him. Giving to the poor, universal healthcare, humanitarianism, loving our enemies; a few things that Republicans protest against. The Tea Party has a huge evangelical following but this party, as well as its followers, are full of messages of hate, ignorance, and greed. I don’t understand how that is in any way parallel to Jesus’ teachings of justice.

Community service and activism is something Jesus also seemed to be passionate about but has fallen as second or third on the church’s to do list after youth group outings and sector services. Animal rights and Human rights should also be on the priority list of any Christian according to the standard of compassion and justice. How can we turn a blind eye to human rights and say we are compassionate and just? Our brothers and sisters are suffering from injustice right in our own community. Some are being persecuted by immigration; some are hungry, cold, or suffering from other circumstances. Isn’t it a Christian duty to help the fallen, the beaten, and the bruised? Wouldn’t Jesus be one to speak up for those with no voice? And if so, aren’t Christians supposedly his hands and feet, to go and help these people, to rally against the unjust government policies?

Along with this goes tolerance and respect for others’ beliefs and life styles. I understand that as a Christian you are called to convert and change a life style that you see as unpleasing to god but this should be done with virtue and prudence. It is not Christ-like to condemn homosexuals, and other groups that you may see unfit. Many “Christians” approach these types of issues with hate and ignorance. To hold up a sign that reads, “God hates gays,” while wearing a WWJD wristband is contradictory. Doesn’t the Bible state that we are to not hate anyone but actually love one another as he loved us (John 13:34)? Also, judging is not a Christian trait. I know that as Christians you may feel the need to address such issues but I also know that there are more tactful and loving ways of doing this. Let us keep in mind that if as a Christian you choose to discriminate against any group of people for any reason and speak against their rights, then as a Christian you should also not get upset when others discriminate and try to oppress your right to freedom of religion. I honestly believe that anyone that uses the word hate against any group of people should automatically stop considering themselves Christian. It is just not a Christ like trait. Nothing angers me more than when I hear a “Christian” say, “I hate gays/blacks/illegal immigrants (or any other group).” It is 100% contradictory to Christ’s teachings and therefore makes them anti-Christian. And believe me when I say I have heard these types of statements from plenty of “Christians.”

And just like with human rights, animal rights are a Christian duty. Are animals, by the Christian teachings, not considered god’s creatures? And did he not leave humans in charge to care for them? Are we caring for them? From the research I’ve done, I can confidently say we have not cared for them as intended. Isn’t part of the reason why god anointed David as king over Israel because he was a good shepherd and could be trusted with the sheep under his care? He even risked his own life when they where attacked by lions and bears. (1 Samuel 17:37) I think David’s story teaches that god knew that if David had that sort of heart towards his sheep, he would be a faithful shepherd over an even greater multitude of people in Israel. I think god would be the type of god to expect us to be sensitive to all his creation, knowing that exploiting or abusing it shows disrespect towards the creator himself. This to me means that contributing to a corrupt for-profit industry such as the meat industry, leather industry, fur industry, and so on is going against Christian morals. I just can’t fathom a gentle and merciful god that is okay with humans mass producing animals, keeping them in inhumane living circumstances, putting them through excruciating pain their entire lives, torturing them, depriving them of the natural animal life god intended for them, depriving them of their natural animal instincts that was given to them, and then slaughtering them, all this to make a profit. In Job 38:41, god says that he hears the cries of newborn ravens crying out for food, and that not one wild bird falls to the ground without him knowing it in Matthew 6:26. In animals we can see our own dependence on god as we see their dependence on us. If we could ask most animals, I am certain that rather than identifying us as their virtuous saviors, they would immediately identify us with terror as their merciless oppressors.

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” Gandhi

At 2, 3, and 4 years old, I slept under the church benches during Sunday preaching, during Monday night prayer meeting, during Wednesday preaching, during every sector service, every district service, every convention and everything in between. I grew up and was part of the kids choir, juniors youth group, youth activities. I’ve heard countless preachings at camps, conventions, special services. I know all the Kirk Franklin songs; I’ve sung along to the Fred Hammond songs, I’ve clapped my hands along to the mass choirs. I’ve read Christian books. I’ve talked with many Christian people. I’ve prayed and cried at the altar. I’ve defended Christianity. I’ve preached Christianity. I know the good and bad aspects of Christianity. I know what Christianity was meant to be and I know what Christianity no longer is.

Rocio Bolivar

Hi. I’m Marcos. And I’m Rocio. Welcome to our theological/philosophical/sociological/political/naturally-conscience/animal-loving blog! Yup. We are neither theologians, philosophers, nor sociologists but rather aficionados of such subjects and have plenty to say about them. The following is what we intend our readers to understand and take away after reading our posts:

We want to make sure that you, our reader, understand that it is NOT our intent to offend, hurt, or anything in between; we love you all. It is, rather, to inform, express, state our views, and overall provoke thought. Please feel free to leave a comment and/or a question on any of our posts. We do ask, however, that you be respectful to us and your fellow readers when leaving comments and, which should go without saying, please make your comments insightful, relevant and concise.

Anything else, feel free to shoot us an email (and just an email!) at gooniesblog@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to answer in a timely manner.

Till next time.. I’m Rocio. And I”m Marcos. Cheers!