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Purpose:
  Our
Creator's
Character
is
a Protector not a Predator
Which one are you?
An "Animal"-Assisted Ministry
For All Suffering Souls (Nephesh)
(Both the Good Shepherd's People & His
Animals)
to
Educate & Motivate
Sid Galloway,
BS, M.Div.
(just a sheepdog)
Click here for an updated Resume
With the invaluable help of my wife Linda, and
our six children
(Since
1983 - Donations Welcomed &
Needed)
"Survival of the
Fittest"
should NEVER be our Way of Life
Yet, cruel is becoming "cool"
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  For
Will,
my adopted “black”
grandfather
who showed me the character of Christ
For my dog Suzy who saved my life
For my leopard Mandy who opened my
eyes
For
the Millions of
Children, Women, & Men
Modern
Slaves - “Invisible Disposable People”
Who desperately need to be protected, rescued, and
restored
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Ambassador John
Miller, director of the U.S. State Department's
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
says regarding, NOT FOR SALE, "Batstone
exposes the alarming rise of one of the great moral
crises of the day, human slavery. His well-written
accounts of victims and survivors will inspire you
to join the growing 21st century abolitionist
movement." |
Questions the Good Shepherd
might hold each of us
responsible to answer:
(as both His "Brothers' Keepers" and as His "Zoo
Keepers")
Suffering
- Did our "Good" Shepherd desire
and design "survival of the
fittest"?
(selfish competition, pain, fear, and death)
- Why would a "good" God allow
a world full of suffering?
People
- Why do so many people (yes many Christians)
ignore the
suffering even of people enslaved and tortured?
- Why are so few people actively angry against
the escalating cruelty forced on the weak in our world?
- What if it were happening in the house next door to you - to
your own children?
- Why do many Americans' counseling "problems" seem insignificance in light of modern
slavery?
Animals
- According to the Bible, do you really know why the Good Shepherd
made nephesh animals?
- Can God's animals help restore the hearts of people who've been
hurt or horribly abused?
- Which does a better job of teaching love and responsibility: an
electronic video game or a puppy?
- Will your
beloved pets be embraced by the Good Shepherd in His
Heaven?
- Are there "factory-farms" right now causing horrible
suffering that a Good Shepherd would not support?
- Are there
unnecessary types of "entertainment hunting"
that the Good Shepherd opposes today?
(like slow kill with sharp sticks and razor blades, "canned"
hunting, etc)
-
Why do so many tolerate the unnecessary suffering of
animals that can think and feel (nephesh)?
- Can cruelty toward animals
lead to cruelty toward people in a family or a culture?
Christians
- Are most Christians doing a good job of showing the character of
Christ, the Good Shepherd?
- Are you ever ashamed of how
some "Christians" on TV present themselves and Christ?
- How can the saying, "God told me",
be true when they often contradict one another &
the Bible?
- Why would God allow Christians
in the America to have so much more than Christians in
other countries?
- Is it so we can build for ourselves massive
entertainment centers and social clubs?
- Or could it be so we can give sacrificially and
show the unnatural love of the Good Shepherd
for all?
Non-Christians
-
How do non-Christians feel when some Christian are
insensitive and arrogant?
- Why not
build bridges of agreement
across religious, ethnic, political, economic groups, & nations?
- Can't we agreeably disagree and still work together to rescue,
restore, & protect suffering souls here & now?
- Why not respect that "Sid-hartha " Gautama
("Buddha") cared about the suffering of all nephesh
souls?
Everyone
- Why do we focus on "stars"
of movies, music, sports, finance, intellect, beauty, etc
instead of reality?
- Why do we pretend that success is proven by physical
quantity instead of relational quality?
- Why do we tolerate governments & corporations that
prey on people under them like predators?
- Why does the Bible record Jesus as grieved, angry, & looking
toward future joy, but never
laughing?
- If we could bear to see all the world's suffering all the time
would we feel like laughing?
- Could it be that in the view of our Creator, the Good Shepherd, it's
not funny?
- Wouldn't a Good Shepherd have consequences for
people who've practiced cruel survival of the
fittest?
- Does the Bible really say the self-existent Good Shepherd
will torture forever those who reject his Way?
- How could people be happy in heaven if others are
suffering forever without hope of deliverance?
- Is the traditional view of hell truly biblical or
an import from Greek philosophy & medieval fear
tactics?
Our Christian
Failure to Care
Like Christ
Why I'm sometimes ashamed to call myself a
"Christian"
- An Apology to the World
- An Appeal to the Church
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Reaching
Hurting Hearts
with "Animal Assisted" Ministry
Local Outreach
to:
- Abused children & women
- Disabled children
- Enslaved people trapped in
the web of human trafficking
(yes, in the
New Orleans area)
National Outreach
to:
- Educate & Motivate
- Bridge build with like
minded individuals, groups,
churches, agencies, etc to
coordinate efforts to rescue
and restore those in need
International
Outreach to:
- Educate & Motivate
- Bridge build with like
minded NGO's, individuals,
groups, agencies, etc to
enhance efficiency and
effectiveness against the
transnational networks that
oppress the vulnerable
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Actions
are fruit produced
by the root beliefs. History demonstrates that when a culture
even unintentionally teaches a view of a cruel "Creator"
its people will tolerate, practice,
and eventually exalt cruelty. Please never forget Hitler, Stalin,
Lenin, Mao, Saddam Hussein, "suicide"/homicide bombers, racists, etc. Ongoing /escalating
oppression and suffering of the weak and vulnerable - by predators
(tolerated by passive sheeple) is the
inevitable result of a distorted view of the Creator's image and purpose of
life. In contrast, I believe
we are all created and called to serve, to varying degrees, as
both our brother’s keepers
and God’s zoo (animal) keepers.
There is an
inseparable connection between the rejection of our Creator’s
character (the Good Shepherd / Protector / Provider / Rescuer /
Restorer) and the increasing, predatory cruelty manifested today
against both humans and animals. Research even demonstrates a
clear connection between sociopathic violent criminals
and a past childhood environment that tolerated
and encouraged cruelty to animals
(Livingston, Margit, "Desecrating the Ark: Animal Abuse and the
Law's Role in Prevention" . Iowa Law Review, Vol. 87, No. 1, October
2001).
Modern Christians
and non-Christians, who sincerely care about suffering, often
mistakenly address cruelty and abuse concerns in a fragmented
way as if these issues are separate - mutually exclusive.
Some focus on creation, many on education, others on counseling
for the abused, and
some only on the protection of animals.
However, to effectively deal
with this cancerous problem of cruelty we must begin with
a consistent view of our
CREATOR, the GOOD SHEPHERD who sacrifices self for the needs of others. He is never a
Great Predator who would sacrifice others
for selfish desires.
 William
Wilberforce, highlighted in the recent movie AMAZING GRACE, was
the driving force behind both the abolition of “legal”
slavery two centuries ago and the forming of the SPCA to protect
animals from abuse. Wilberforce understood the vital link
between a culture’s worldview of its Creator’s character and the
level of cruelty tolerated by society and its individuals.
Sadly, I and so
many other Christians have often presented the opposite image
from Christ’s character. Many churches and Christian
organizations have become social clubs and entertainment
centers, serving primarily the providentially privileged,
while millions of children and women are being enslaved, abused,
tortured, and murdered here and abroad.
Reducing
cruelty, restoring broken lives, renewing our affluent “churches”,
and contributing to our culture for future generations, requires
repairing the
only foundational cornerstone on which to rebuild.
It must be the
consistent characterization of our Creator, as He has revealed
Himself to be - the Good Shepherd. For God, this includes all
of the “nephesh” creatures He designed and cares about, both
nephesh animals and people. The term “nephesh” in the Hebrew
Old Testament is used for both animals and humans. It means a
being that can think and feel – therefore experience joy or
suffering. The souls of humans are unique in that we can think
and feel about God and so are responsible for our choices.
Therefore, instead of focusing on our rights as humans, the
Good Shepherd
expects us to focus on our responsibilities as humans to
treat His creation and His creatures His Way (John 14:6).
25
years
actively working to rescue and restore
both people and animals (as a zookeeper,
veterinary emergency technician, wildlife rescuer/rehabilitator, biblical family counselor,
church-planter, seminar speaker, and now Good Shepherd-centered
biology teacher),
has culminated in an increasing conviction to speak out
about some vital ethical issues. Many Christian pastors and leaders
have privately told me they agree, but won't or can't address
these publicly. I'm ashamed to say that I should have
spoken out a lot sooner, yet failed because I didn't think I
could do it well enough and was afraid of repercussions.
Thankfully, the practical principle of 1 John 4:18 works - "love [for others in
greater need] cast out fear". In fact, true love
is also energized by a measure of controlled anger against the abuse of
power and the oppression of the weak.
Organizations for the most
part are "one-issue"
focused and won't address other issues that might offend
a percentage of their supporters. This is reasonable if
the desire is to avoid diluting their specific message, but when
it's done to protect "funding" (i.e., for money),
then something is wrong with both motive and method.
Remember, "PC" can stand for either "politically correct"
or "preacherly" correct", and I'm ashamed to
say that I've been guilty of both.
Please pray about helping me through these new changes in focus
through GSI. In order to
serve those who are suffering the most, I'll be reworking the
website, writing, and traveling to educate, motivate, and
activate many others. Together those of
us who agree about the cancer of cruelty can
exponentially multiply practical assistance to those in the most
desperate need.
 Genesis 1:31
“Then God saw all that He had made
and
behold it was very good."
Matthew
18:2-7
“Jesus
called a child to Him … and said …
whoever
causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to
stumble …
woe
to that man …."
The Way of
our Creator =
Sacrificing
self for the needs of others
The Way of "Survival of the Fittest"
=
Sacrificing others for the desires of
self
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Job 12:7-10
“Now ask
the animals and let them teach you ....
That the hand of the LORD has
created all of this,
in whose hand is the soul (nephesh) of
every living soul (nephesh).”
 Romans 5:8
But God proves his kind of love
toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners enemies, Christ died
for us.
Proverbs 14:31
"He who oppresses the poor
shows contempt for their Creator,
but whoever is kind to the needy honors God."
Proverbs 12:10
“A
righteous person cares for the soul
(nephesh) of his animal,
but the compassion of the wicked is cruel.”
[John Wesley 's Classic Sermon
on God's "General Deliverance", including His animals- 1703-1791]
[Regarding animals, Wesley said:] "If the Creator and Father of every living thing is
rich in mercy towards all; if he does not overlook or
despise any of the works of his own hands; if he wills
even the [lowliest] of them to be happy, according to their
degree; how comes it to pass, that such a complication
of evils oppresses, yea, overwhelms them? How is it that
misery of all kinds overspreads the face of the earth?
This is a question which has puzzled the
wisest philosophers in all
ages: And it cannot be answered without having recourse
to the oracles of God. But, taking these for our guide
we may inquire,
I. What was the original
state
of the brute creation?
II. In what state is it at
present?
And,
III. In what state will
it be at the [future] manifestation of
the children of God?"
Isaiah
65:25-66:1
“The wolf and lamb shall feed
together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
….They shall not hurt in all My holy mountain,"
Says the LORD.… the heaven is my throne and the earth is My
footstool…"
Romans 8:19-22
"For the earnest expectation of the
creature waits for the manifestation
of the sons of God. . . .
Because the creature itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of
violence
into the glorious freedom of the children of
God.
For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now."
PLEASE,
get involved and personally help rescue and restore suffering
souls.
If you can NOT be directly involved, then please support those who
can.
(Serving as the Good Shepherd's "Brothers' Keepers"
and as His "Zoo Keepers")
Matthew
18:2-7
“Jesus
called a child to Him … and said …
whoever
causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to
stumble …
woe
to that man ….”
“When the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was set
up, cruelty to animals was common and many people mocked William
Wilberforce's beliefs. But he never gave up - he was just as
determined to improve the way animals were treated as he was to
see an end to the slave trade.”
(From the RSPCA, founded by William Wilberforce)
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Matthew is a sincere, courageous, and gifted person.
In a personal email to me he shared, "Thanks for
spreading the message."
Yet he is not a "biblical" Christian. So, it
is to our shame as "biblical"
Christians that a similarly scholarly book about
compassion for God's nephesh /sentient
creatures has never yet been written from a fully
biblical perspective. Such a book would be
exponentially more powerful for God's glory and the
benefit of both man and animal.
Review From Library Journal:
"This is one of the
best books ever written on the subject of animal
welfare. Scully, a [conservative] journalist
and former speechwriter for President George W.
Bush, chooses to fight on his own ground, and he
rightly argues that the important thing is not
insisting upon equal "rights" for animals
but in
treating them with a modicum of respect and
dignity." |
“The animal welfare movement of
our Evangelical ancestors was rooted, not in an unbiblical ethos
of animal “rights,” but in benevolence as well as in recognition
of the Christian’s duty toward God’s creation. Ample biblical
support from the moral laws of Exodus to the wisdom of the
Proverbs can be cited to advocate compassionate care for animals
rather than exploitative domination. But perhaps the most
compelling evidence of the implicit assumption in Scripture
about the nature of man’s relationship to animals is found in
the picture God provides of His relationship to us: namely, that
of the Good Shepherd “who lays down his life for the sheep”
(John 10:11).
Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, Assoc Prof at Liberty University. Posted
Thursday, October, 18, 2007
Too
few of us
embrace and live out the priority commands of Christ to focus
time and resources on the weak, poor, vulnerable, and
oppressed. Our Creator in His Word also commands that we
actively care about the billions of nephesh animals that are
suffering horribly simply to satisfy unnecessary desires of
people. We humans were created to be like Him, PROTECTORS not
predators (Gen 1:29-31; 9:3).
From abortion, to the subtle
survival of the “coolest” attitude among modern youth, to
hurtful bullying, to the horribly violent forms of popular media
entertainment (Movies like SAW & HOSTEL - Violent video games, etc), to the millions of
children and women trafficked as
human slaves across our “civilization”, survival of the fittest
has become the way of the world. Cruel has become cool. Sadly, it also characterizes
much that calls itself “Christianity”. Governments and
corporations have developed predatory practices that effectively
enslave employees, and even some churches have adopted similar
methods to maintain their budgets.
We all are
responsible to varying degrees (depending on our opportunity,
training, and experience) to invest our time, resources, and
abilities according to God’s priorities. Some people may only
be able to pray, while others can both pray and give of their
finances. For me, I can no longer in good conscience put off at
least attempting to use my background (my surrogate “black”
grandfather’s past guidance, my two decades of family
counseling, animal assisted therapy, teaching, seminar speaking,
writing, internet resource site, etc) as well as many
connections in a more active and direct way to help.
Good News
People who’ve
endured the cruelty of betrayal, abuse, racism, & even difficult
disabilities can rebuild hope, healing, strength, and
fulfillment by becoming rescuers, protectors, and providers for
others who are in greater need. In fact, learning to let God’s
self-sacrificing love fill the soul and flow out to others is
the most powerful “therapeutic” way. It’s the way of our
Creator. It’s what He did for us on His cross (Luke 9:23-26;
Romans Ch 1 – Ch 8; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7).
 Starting
with an accurate understanding of our Creator, the Good
Shepherd, using His creation to minister to suffering souls can
be extraordinarily effective. Just as Jesus often got away from
the cities to be alone with His Father in “nature”, retreats
away from our techno-saturated world are invaluable treatment
for “Creation Deficit Disorder”.
Even more powerful
for the healing of hurting hearts is the direct involvement of God’s
non-human nephesh creatures in what is often called “Animal
Assisted” ministry. Suzy, the K-9 friend of my younger years,
was used by God to save me from suicide. Later, she and other
animals reached many hurting hearts that were closed off to
“people”. Often the safest way to begin healing & trusting is
by helping animals, who never intentionally hurt our feelings
(only people do that).
The following are resources for
those of you interested in researching directly:
Human Slavery
1. Two articles - concise summaries of the reality of
modern slavery,
by Priya Abraham of WORLD Magazine:
a. “How Christians Can Combat Slavery Today”
http://sites.silaspartners.com/CC/article/0,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2376348,00.html
b. “Let My People Go”
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12700
2. International Justice League (www.ijm.org)
3. There are numerous new books available, such as:
a. NOT FOR SALE: The Return of the Global Slave Trade and How we
Can Fight It,
by David Batstone. 2007.
American director of the U.S.
State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
in Persons says: “Batstone exposes the alarming rise of one
of the great moral crises of the day, human slavery. His
well-written accounts of victims and survivors will inspire
you to join the growing twenty-first century abolitionist
movement.”
b. This Immoral
Trade: Slavery in the 21st Century,
by Baroness Caroline Cox and
Dr. John Marks. 2006.
c. HUMAN TRAFFICKING, HUMAN SECURITY, AND THE BALKANS,
ed H.
Richard Friman and Simon Reich. 2007.
Animal Welfare
1. DOMINION: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals,
and the Call to Mercy,
by Matthew Scully. 2002.
2. The following is a 50 page legal brief demonstrating
and delineating the connection between cruelty to animals and
cruelty to humans, which our global
society is now experiencing at an exponentially escalating rate:
http://www.animallaw.info/articles/arus87iowalrev1.htm
Creation and Animal
Assisted Ministry to Hurting Souls (There is a great
need for biblically based books on this subject.)
1. Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling, by Cynthia K
Chandler
2. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from
Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv
Please pray for my efforts as I seek to shift
gears, communicate, educate, motivate, and equip as many others
as I can during the years I have left on earth. If you agree
and would like to help support me in this
specifically focused need, please let me know. Alone,
I can only do a little. With your support, we can do so much
more. Thank you.
 Your brother and fellow servant of
the Good Shepherd,
Sid (Just a
Sheepdog)
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* The numerous past pages on the website that address
related
subjects are being collated and condensed.
* More concise
content will be uploaded soon.
* You can still access all of the hundreds of pages of
material that have been online for the past ten years.
Thanks to our website visitors
from all over the world, for helping us serve as electronic
missionaries to:
United States, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, Canada,
New Zealand, Tanzania, Japan, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Germany,
France, Greece, Bermuda, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Switzerland,
Argentina, Mexico, Netherlands, Brunei, Switzerland, Russian
Federation, Argentina, Belgium, Israel, Philippines, Norway, Brazil,
India, Thailand, Spain, Korea (South), Hong Kong, Croatia, Hungary,
Slovak Republic, Ukraine, Austria, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong,
Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Romania, Turkey,
Trinidad, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Peru, Poland . . . .
This document
and website are copyrighted
©
1997 Sid Galloway. Please don't plagiarize.
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