FOR OUR FRIENDS THE ANIMALS

Echols patterns this brief, meditative tract about having more “reverence for life” on the writings and broader ethos of Albert Schweitzer, who coined that phrase. The debut author specifically condemns humankind’s arrogance, citing its self-centeredness as the main stumbling block to connection with the world’s other living creatures: “Our anthropocentrism,” he writes, “our unflagging yet highly dubious and injurious belief that the human animal is somehow more deserving than other life forms, is causing great harm to and often the untold deaths of countless other animals, species, and their habitats.” Alluding often to Schweitzer’s writings, the author offers a series of wildlife-related prayers and meditations on biblical passages, reflecting always on the welfare of nonhuman animals—which were created, he says, so that they might live “free from human domination and devastation, able to enjoy their lives to the fullest extent.” As Echols takes readers through these reflections, culminating in an itemized list of the most prominent industries that engage in animal abuse, he regularly notes the key sentiment of Schweitzer’s work—the assertion of solidarity between humans and all other forms of life on Earth. The prose throughout this book is clear and ringingly compassionate, steadfastly drawing a one-to-one link between Christian thought and a wide-spectrum empathy for other animals. The author’s persistent casting of his calls to action as Christian prayers makes his target audience clear, but his broader claims, particularly regarding the independence of nonhuman animals—their innate value, apart from their utility to humans—are so stirringly put that they may also appeal to secular readers and those of other faith traditions.

A short but powerful religious treatise on animal rights.