Author Bibliography (in progress)
Shakers, Who They Are and What They Believe
AUTHOR: Evans, Frederick William
https://archive.org/details/shakerswhotheyar00evan
The book is damaged and pagination is discontinuous. It is a compilation of distinct works, thus authorship is sometimes unclear. The book includes the pamphlet, Social Gathering Dialogue (1873), which is a dialogue among six sisters, one of whom is Martha Jane Anderson, concerning the Shakers' practice of ethical veg*ism.
KEYWORDS: animals, food
SUMMARY (Bryn Skibo, edited Deborah Madsen)
“Celibacy is in order, food and raiment in common. Mother Ann said, 'the time would come when her children would not eat the flesh of animals.' When the Jews came out of the house of bondage they had all the diseases of the Egyptians upon their bodies. To them, the God of Isreal [sic] — not Deity — by Moses, promised 'to take all, sickness away from the midst of them.' To effect this, he cut off the use of flesh meat and gave them manna for a whole generation” (22-23).
“The Jews were to be saved, by their God, from evils that other nations were not saved from. Their righteousness, of the stomach, of the reproductive powers, of the affections and of property, was to exceed that of all other people upon the earth. Dietetic lusts were first noticed. Five kinds of animal food — kine, sheep, goats, pigeons and doves — was the limit to begin with, and no animal food at all was to be the end of the spiritual training and travail, then commenced with Abram. Generative lusts were taken in hand and circumcision instituted. The true signification of the rite has not been understood by Gentile Christians. … Wars and fightings have no place in the Christ order. They originate in the slaughter of animals and in the eating of their bodies” (32-33).
Hester M. Poole describes a visit to the Lebanon Shakers and mentions that “the table, almost entirely vegetarian, is perfect” (76).
In the dialogue transcript between six sisters, one briefly alludes to their vegetarian diet (232).
Last updated on July 5th, 2024
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