I received this book for free from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Vegangelical by Sarah Withrow King Published by Zondervan on June 7, 2016
Genres: Christian Life, General, Religion, Social Issues
Pages: 176
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Among the many pressing social concerns that have galvanized evangelical Christians’ response—abortion, human trafficking, environmental degradation, and many others—the care of animals has received relatively little attention.
Yet as author Sarah Withrow King deftly uncovers in Vegangelical, animal stewardship is a necessary aspect of a holistic ethic of Christian peace and justice. Indeed, care for animal welfare correspondingly strengthens our care for environmental and human flourishing.
Practical, restrained in its conclusions, and grounded on a broader theology of Christian compassion, Vegangelical calls readers to a greater attentiveness to one of the primary relationships in God’s created order, that between humans and animals.
As a vegetarian Christian who struggles daily with whether or not it is all right from a faith perspective to even be a vegetarian. I’ve had Romans 14:2 KJV “For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs” used against me as a reason not to be vegetarian. So you can imagine my surprise to see a book that actually uses research into Biblical principles for not only being vegetarian but being vegan.
Sarah Withrow King holds a Masters’ Degree in Theology, so the theological and Biblical research in this book is sound. It makes sense. God created the creatures and commanded us to be good stewards of our planet and His other creatures. She even takes on the tricky question of whether or not Jesus ate fish (or other animals for that matter).
While she makes several good points regarding the reasons in which from a faith standpoint it not only is appropriate to be vegetarian or vegan, but also that it can grow your faith, Mrs. King does take the time to do a bit of animal activism in there as well. Yes, she does use it to drive home the point about the Biblical commands from God about being a good steward of His world, but much of it does actually remind me a lot of what I see/hear from PETA (for whom the author used to work).
The book is very interesting and easy to follow, although I fear that for Christians who are currently meat-eaters, it may be quite off-putting because it will step on their toes quite a bit. But the fact of the matter is, it is a great read for those of use who don’t consume meat and are wondering if it truly is all right for a Christian to be vegetarian/vegan after God said we could eat animals for food. There’s a great commentary on that scripture from Genesis in this book as well.
I give this one a solid 4 stars, only because the reading could get a bit on the dry side at times.