The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity's Compassion for Animals
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The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity's Compassion for Animals  -     By: Laura Hobgood-Oster

The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity's Compassion for Animals

Baylor University Press / 2010 / Paperback

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Product Description

Discover why it's so important that Christians awaken to the plight of our furry and feathered friends! Featuring discussion prompts and practical ideas for how believers can respond, this engaging and enlightening guide explains how the sad situations many animals face relate to stories from Christianity's history. Be inspired to live compassionately! 230 pages, softcover from Baylor University.

Product Information

Title: The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity's Compassion for Animals
By: Laura Hobgood-Oster
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 230
Vendor: Baylor University Press
Publication Date: 2010
Dimensions: 8.50 X 5.50 (inches)
Weight: 13 ounces
ISBN: 1602582645
ISBN-13: 9781602582644
Stock No: WW582644

Publisher's Description

Today we find ourselves in an anomaly in human history: many of our lives are empty of animals. Many of us have pets or watch documentaries on Animal Planet, but, for the most part, we humans don't really know how all the other species on our planet live today. And as Laura Hobgood-Oster reveals, many of them are not living very well--sadly, not very well at all.

Seeking to awaken Christians to the place and, too often, plight of animals in the twenty-first century, The Friends We Keep gently but astutely introduces the situations animals face today--as companions, as animals in sport, as animals raised for food, and as creatures in the wild--and simultaneously retells a myriad of often surprising and instructive stories from the long, rich history of Christianity. We see and experience animals as Christians have for generations--as beloved companions to the saints, as unfortunate prisoners in Roman arenas, as sentient and compassionate recipients and givers of hospitality, and as good and worthy beings created by God. Once upon a time, it seems--not too terribly long ago--animals held an important place in Christianity.

Could it be, then, that Christianity can be good news for animals today?

With a guide for group discussion and ideas for how people of faith can respond, this thoroughly engaging and enlightening book is essential for all who desire to live compassionately.

Author Bio

Laura Hobgood-Oster is Professor of Religion and Environmental Studies and holds the Paden Chair in Religion at Southwestern University. Featured in the documentary "Eating Mercifully," produced by the Humane Society of the United States, and frequently interviewed by national print and broadcast media, she is the author of Holy Dogs and Asses: Animals in the Christian Tradition and executive editor of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. She lives (and rescues every dog she can) in Georgetown, Texas.

Publisher's Weekly

Hobgood-Oster, a professor of religion and environmental studies at Southwestern University, examines the role animals have played in the history and development of Christianity in an attempt to return them to a more central role within the faith. Readers familiar with this area of study will find little new, as Hobgood-Oster recounts the work of scholars and theologians who have come before her: Andrew Linzey, Marc Bekoff, and Peter Singer. But rather than detract from the book, this foundation only enhances it, as Hobgood-Oster suffers from none of the academic-speak that plagues some of the deeper works on animals and religion. Indeed, the book's great strength is Hobgood-Oster herself, exhibited in her conversational tone and personal connection to the stories of animals in Christian scripture, as well as her experience in shelters and refuges, about which she writes movingly. A study guide will lead laypeople and church groups into a deeper exploration of the gifts animals can bring to the practice of Christianity, something Hobgood-Oster believes can only enrich the faith. (Oct.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

Editorial Reviews

This paperback is highly recommended for undergraduate seminars or Christian adult study groups on topics concerning animal rights, environmental ethics, or religious responses to current social issues.


Hobgood-Oster, a professor of religion and environmental studies at Southwestern University, examines the role animals have played in the history and development of Christianity in an attempt to return them to a more central role within the faith. Readers familiar with this area of study will find little new, as Hobgood-Oster recounts the work of scholars and theologians who have come before her: Andrew Linzey, Marc Bekoff, and Peter Singer. But rather than detract from the book, this foundation only enhances it, as Hobgood-Oster suffers from none of the academic-speak that plagues some of the deeper works on animals and religion. Indeed, the book's great strength is Hobgood-Oster herself, exhibited in her conversational tone and personal connection to the stories of animals in Christian scripture, as well as her experience in shelters and refuges, about which she writes movingly. A study guide will lead laypeople and church groups into a deeper exploration of the gifts animals can bring to the practice of Christianity, something Hobgood-Oster believes can only enrich the faith.

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