Canine Communion?

A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.  This week’s item is from the London Telegraph’s Telegraph.co.uk with a headline: “FirstDogChurch caters for all creeds and breeds”.The world’s first chapel for dogs has opened in the American state of Vermont with pews and stained glassed windows depicting black Labradors with halos.Up to 15 dogs at a time have been attending chapel in a forest near the small town of St. Johnsbury.In accordance with a doctrine on the notice board outside:All Creeds, All Breeds, No Dogma. The chapel is a gesture of thanks from Stephen Huneck, a folk artist, to his five dogs who he says helped him to recuperate from a serious illness three years ago.He said, “They played a really important part in my recovery.They understood that I needed to become well and would surround me whenever I went out.”After recovering from a virus that left him in a come for two months, Mr. Huneck, 51, went to work on the chapel which is modeled on a traditional early 19^th century design and made out of white clapper.The weather vane is a running dog, while carved dogs hold up the pews.Light plays through stained-glass windows that show dogs and the legends peace, play and love.Mr. Huneck, who spent £140,000 on the chapel, is an artist with a growing reputation with works in the Smithsonian in Washington, the Museum of American Folk Art and the American Kennel Club in New York.After opening this summer, the chapel has become a haven for both man and dog, particularly owners who have lost pets.I was up there today he said and there were 15 dogs.They seemed really happy to be there.The entrance to the building is already covered with photographs and messages from bereaved owners.“I want dogs and people to feels as if they’re in a cathedral,” he said.Later this year, he hopes to hold “blessing of the animal” services.Local clergy he said, had raised no objections either to the idea or the canine theme.In fact, quite a few of them have been to see if there is anything they can do.

Tom:

Dave, there’s only a few times that I wished we were on TV rather than radio, and that’s so people could see your reaction to some of these “Religion in the News” stories.So where are we going with this?

Dave:

I don’t know Tom; I hope you can make something out of it.I mean is this just Vaudeville?I mean is this just pure nonsense, I hope?What is it, a joke?Apparently the guy is serious.

Tom:

Dave, you know the British pound, how much is £140,000?

Dave:

Well, that’s over $200,000, probably $220,000.

Tom:

So that’s a lot of money that this man is spending and he’s deeply—as we can see from the article—he says, “his five dogs played a really important part in my recovery.”So he’s appreciative of that.Now—

Dave:

I think that if the Jesus Seminar scholars could come out and study the situation and vote with their beads, they might really come up with something out of this.

Tom:

Well talk about subjectivity!This man is saying—well, look how happy these dogs are to be in a cathedral.

Dave:

Yes, they get a sense of being in a cathedral.Can you imagine a dog having a sense of being in a cathedral?

Tom:

Okay, well now here’s what I—

Dave:

I hope they are house-trained.

Tom:

Well or cathedral trained.

Dave:

Yes!

Tom:

That’s important.But Dave, on a serious note, I don’t think this person is trying to mock religion.I think to him, he’s looking for religion in every place, but the right place.He’s not looking for truth, he’s looking for a place to make himself, his feelings about dogs—how many people leave their entire estates to their cats, or something like that?There’s a view with regard to animal rights and so on that has elevated something that God has created beyond what’s rational, reasonable, truthful.

Dave:

Yes, he maybe a an evolutionist, because if we evolve from chimpanzees or a bit of wiggly slime in the bottom of the ocean, how in the world did we get to a place where we could know that there was a God?So it has to be a fantasy of our imagination you see?So we’ll let the dogs fantasize too, and we’ll take advantage of the sense of reverence and so forth and we’ll revere the dogs and let them in on a nice peaceful atmosphere.Tom, it’s no worse than the Jesus Seminar.

Tom:

So-called scholars.

Dave:

Right.The whole thing is nonsense, but they are trying to make something out of it.We are going to get a religious feeling, what Jesus said you know, we’re not sure what he said and we’re going to kind of massage it around and revise it and so forth according to the way we think it ought to have been. And so, well some owners would feel good about their animals.Now I remember listening to a tape by Kenneth Copeland.I think I had to listen to it several times—

Tom:

To believe it—

Dave:

I couldn’t believe it, that you can get your animals baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost and there will be animals in heaven.So maybe he’s been listening to Kenneth Copeland, I don’t know.I haven’t heard Kenneth talking about that lately.

Tom:

Kenneth Copeland has been picking this stuff up where this guy’s been.

Dave:

Well, could be, yes.

Tom:

Now Dave one of the reasons I picked this, is because a couple of weeks ago, or maybe it was longer, I mentioned there’s a difference between animals and humans.And one way we know there is a difference is that humans have a religious affinity.An affinity for things spiritual for God even.Now they’re misdirected in incredible ways, but we don’t find that in the animal kingdom.We don’t find—this man had to make this cathedral for dogs.We don’t find the dogs starting their own cults, or sects, or whatever it might be, whatever religious practices or rituals.You don’t find that.

Dave:

Getting together for some bow-wow worship or meow worship, or whatever, you know.No Tom, I don’t know.That this could be even newsworthy and that people will—

Tom:

It’s the London paper, or Telegraph.

Dave:

That people will not just throw this thing out, it shows the mentality.I mean if we have a sacred owl here in Oregon—the spotted owl—and they won’t let loggers go in and cut down trees because that would disturb their nests and so forth.And as you said, animals have more rights than human beings, well why not have a chapel?It shows what a topsy-turvy world this is and when you get away from the Bible, when you reject the true God, then you begin to believe in anything.

Tom:

Right.