NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — They’re seen in icons with saints, incorporated into church architecture and mentioned over and over in the Scriptures, yet animals have largely been missing from modern Christianity. Americans use them for food, for sport and as companions, but author Laura Hobgood-Oster believes Christians have much to learn from God’s creatures.

In her new book, The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity’s Compassion for Animals (Baylor University Press, $19.95), Hobgood-Oster has delved into Christian history and traditions to show that animals are worthy of compassion and hospitality.

“There’s a very rich history of animals in the Christian tradition,” she said. “Starting with the Scriptures themselves you can find animals powerfully represented in the texts, in texts that show very much that God and the animals are in a relationship without us around. There are Psalms about birds praising God and that has nothing to do with us.” Once people begin looking for animals in Christianity they can easily be found, the author said.

On a research trip to Italy she instructed a couple of her students to visit local churches and look for images of animals.

They were dubious, she said.

“They came back a couple of days later and said there are animals everywhere,” she said. “They had just never looked for them before, but once you start looking for them you see them.” When she’s not volunteering at her local animal shelter, Hobgood-Oster is professor of religion and environmental studies at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She’s also the author of Holy Dogs and Asses: Animals in the Christian Tradition and executive editor of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature.

Hobgood-Oster’s interest in animals runs deep, and she believes it meshes with her Christian faith. The evidence, she said, is in church tradition and Scripture. Jesus, in particular, is often linked with animals.

They were there to witness his birth, accompanied him in the wilderness and were often featured in his parables and lessons, she said.

The saints of Christian history also have a rich relationship with animals and are frequently depicted in art with their companions.

“In the stories of saints that I’ve been looking at for 10 years now, animals just pop up everywhere,” Hobgood-Oster said.

St. Roch is often shown with a dog bearing a loaf of bread in his mouth. Legend has it that while helping residents stricken with the plague, Roch also contracted the disease. To keep from spreading the illness to others he withdrew into the wilderness and was befriended by a dog who kept him alive by bringing bread.

St. Anthony Abbot is usually pictured with a pig, St. Hilda with snakes, St. Agatha with cats and St. Jerome with a lion. The stories go on and on, Hobgood-Oster said.

“Animals are part of the whole story of the lives of saints,” she said. “For generation upon generation, people learned the stories of Christianity’s holiest people that included these animals they were in wonderful relationships with.” That close connection with animals didn’t last, she said. After the Protestant Reformation, many Christians distanced themselves from the saints because of their prominence in the Catholic Church.

The icons and artwork disappeared from churches and animals began to fade into the background of the faith.

Animals were further diminished in daily life after the Industrial revolutionand as more Americans left the rural life for the city. Today, most urban and even most suburban dwellers are far removed from animals, Hobgood-Oster said. For millions of Americans, their only connection to God’s creatures is through their pets.

“I think one of the reasons pets have really begun to skyrocket is we miss having animals around us. Pets are becoming increasingly important now,” she said.

ANIMAL CONNECTIONS

In the book, Hobgood-Oster discusses various relationships humans have with animals today - as companions, as entertainment or sport and as food. She focuses on Thoroughbred horse racing, dog fighting and trophy hunting as examples of ways humans use animals for entertainment or sport.

Hobgood-Oster also highlights the animal/human relationship when it comes to food by exploring factory farming and how Americans eat today. She urges readers to think about the origins of the chicken in the church potluck casserole.

“I actually think the way we’re treating animals now - which is sometimes justified by ‘dominion,’ that we can do whatever we want - is a misreading of Christian Scripture,” she said. “I think a more accurate and theologically faithful reading is one that calls for a very benign care and stewardship. ... We are now using animals inappropriately and in a way that is not responsible within the Christian tradition.”

The author also offers suggestions for how individuals, families and churches can improve their relationship with all of God’s creatures. Ideas for individuals and familiesinclude adopting a pet from a shelter, donating pet food and decreasing the consumption of meat. For congregations, she suggests creating a petfood bank or hosting a “compassionate potluck.”

BREAKING BREAD

“If there’s anything Christians like to do, particularly Protestant Christians, it’s getting together to eat,” she said.

The potluck could feature meat raised by local ranchers, produce from local farmers, vegetarian dishes or dishes made with cage-free eggs, she said.

“The idea is to provide a local, sustainable potluck, to really think about what we’re eating,” she said. “It’s amazing what an impact that can make. It eventually starts to shape what you do everyday, not just on special occasions.”

Hobgood-Oster sees the growing popularity of church pet blessing ceremonies as a positive sign and offers a few service guides in the book. Churches throughout Arkansas host blessing services each year, usually around the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, who is known as a patron saint of animals. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock welcomes the Humane Society of Pulaski County to its annual event and blesses the shelter’s animals, as well as pets of parishioners and community members.

Allen Ohlstein, deacon at the church, left this year’s service with one of the Humane Society’s dogs - Sally, a basset hound. He said the annual pet blessing service is a way to formally recognize the importance of all creatures, not just humans.

“In my tradition, we believe God created us all,” he said. “In some ways, when we honor pets, we are increasing awareness that, in the eyes of God, all of creation is important.”

Ohlstein inherited some of his love of animals from his grandfather, who told him about his Irish roots and the pre-Christian Celtic view of God’s creation.

“The Celtic background dates back to the Druids, that God put a spark of himself in everything he created - every rock, every tree, every leaf. Therefore everything God created was to be honored,” he said. “When Christianity came to Ireland those types of thoughts were linked with Christianity.”

Ohlstein said he believes animals can enrich a person’s spiritual life. He has seen it happen in his own life.

“I know that I achieve inner peace when I’m with an animal, like I do in a chapel,” he said. “Being with an animal who just wants to love you allows you to get centered on what’s important. ... Animals are a reminder of pure love. If I could live my life like Sally does, I’d be a much better person.”

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville goes a step beyond the annual pet blessings to welcome pets into weekly worship services. The church started the petfriendly service on Sundays on St. Francis Day last year, welcoming dogs, cats and pets of all types. It’s an idea that is catching on in other churches around the country, Hobgood-Oster said.

“Animals are re-entering Christianity now in a lot of ways after having sort of disappeared for a couple hundred years,” she said. “There is at the heart of Christianity a very compassionate and loving relationship with animals ... and we’re inviting animals back into Christianity and from that we’ll see a broader impact.”

Religion, Pages 29 on 10/21/2010