"Your Mommy Kills Animals"

Having children has changed so much in the way that I look at the world. (We have three - 4, 2.5 and 10 months). The challenge of raising them in a culture which is increasingly hostile to the Christian worldview is one of greatest one's any of us will ever face. This is why it is so easy to become infuriated with this campaign by PETA. It is one thing to use Pamela Anderson to get your message across, its another thing to target children directly. These "comic books" were given to children attending The NutCracker whose parents were wearing fur.

To understand the basis of this twisted thinking, a quick visit to the PETA website is educational. Under the PetaKids.com link, we have this brilliant piece of ethical reasoning:

Chickens should be friends, not food! Chickens are friendly, curious little birds who value their lives just as much as you value yours. Did you know that chicken moms talk to their chicks even while the babies are still in the shell? When the chicks are born, their mom watches over them carefully, takes them under her wing to keep them safe, and teaches them all about life.

I'm curious to know how PETA knows that the chickens value their lives just as much as we value ours. I'm also quite curious about the amazing life lessons that the mother chicken teaches her little charge. I recently took my children to a zoo where they saw chicks hatch - my 4 year old son had no problem distinguishing between the chicks he saw and his sister. I cannot begin to wonder why the distinction is lost on these folks.

As parents, we will attempt to teach our kids as much as we can to about life. I pray that that teaching will include critical thinking skills that will enable them to see this propaganda for what it is. I do believe a case for the humane treatment of animals (from a Christian worldview) can be made, but this is about as far from it as you can be.