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1. (15 page) LINK TO A PDF LIST OF RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
BY AUTHORS WHO ARE FAR BETTER WRITERS THAN I AM
(15 page list of books, articles, videos, etc.)

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2. SID’S ARTICLES, ESSAYS, BOOKLETS

A. – Sid’s Current Writings Now Online

(16-pages) JESUS’S AGAPE-LOVE MODEL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY & SOCIAL HARMONY: Ancient Wisdom That Closely Parallels Modern Evidence Based Therapies
(Downloadable PDF) – The following quote by psychiatrist Dr.. Curt Thompson the core message of my essay on Jesus’s Agape-Love Model –
“No wonder, then, that despite all our technological advancements and the proliferation of social media, we are more intra-and interpersonally isolated than ever. Yet it is only when we are known that we are positioned to become conduits of love. And it is love that transforms our minds, makes forgiveness possible, and weaves a community of disparate people into the tapestry of God’s family.”
Christian Psychiatrist Curt Thompson MD. Anatomy of the Soul: Surprising Connections between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life and Relationships, p. 3.

(2-pages) “TRADITIONS” HAVE REPLACED JESUS’S SIMPLE MESSAGE ABOUT STRONG AGAPE-LOVE FOR ALL PEOPLE
(Downloadable PDF) – “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, …. Therefore, you must be mature as [God the Source of Love] is mature.” (Jesus in Matthew 5:43-48)

(4-pages) PEER-SUPPORT COUNSELING NETWORKS: The Science & Lost Art of Friend to Friend Mentoring
(Downloadable PDF) – “Extensive research on psychotherapy’s effectiveness has revealed that shared ingredients, known as “common factors,” are more significant predictors of positive outcomes than the specific techniques of any single school of therapy. These factors are fundamental to the therapeutic relationship and the client’s internal process, rather than the specific model being used….” (AI data summary regarding “Common Factors Theory”
PAMPHLETS – TOOLS FOR PEER-MENTORING
– Encouraging All to Serve Wherever You Are
– Peer-to-Peer Agape-Centered Mutual Mentoring
– Diagrams for Mutual Mentoring
– A Simple Process for Communicating Heart to Heart
– The Simple Process for Making Wise Decisions

(28-pages) THE JOY OF COMPASSIONATE PLANT-POWERED EATING/LIVING
(Downloadable PDF) – Dr. Albert Schweitzer, World renowned humanitarian – “We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.”
1 – ETHICS: Suffering of Humans & Sentient-Animals
2 – PLEASURE: Better than animal-flesh, when seasoned the same 
3-  HEALTH: Physical, Mental, Relational-Cultural
4 – ECONOMICS: Personal, Societal, Global 
5 – ECOLOGY: Water, Land, Air, Home
6 –THEOLOGY:  Compassion is the “Way” of our Mutual Creator

(16 pages) QUESTIONING HELL: Jesus Did NOT Teach Eternal-Suffering
(Downloadable PDF) – …. the traditional view of unending conscious torture, … sprang from … [Greek] Platonic theories … [not from Jesus or the Bible] … nearly all of us have completely skirted the relevant material [evidence] on this subject …”  Edward Fudge. Part 2 Chapter 2, in the book RETHINKING HELL: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism. Kindle 901-904. [brackets in the quote are my explanatory comments]

(150-page BOOKLET) LOVE, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, & QUANTUM-AI  CANNOT SAFELY MATURE UNLESS COMPASSION GUIDES IT
(Downloadable PDF) – “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.” 
“Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. He who loves is a participant in the being of God.
– Dr. Martin Luther-King Jr.

(2-pages) PLEASE, STOP FUELING THE FIRES WITH EXTREMISM: Politically, Religiously, Raclially, Sexually …
(Downloadable PDF) – “This tendency is called acrophily, or love of extremes. …leads people to rapidly self-select into more extreme camps. Ultimately, that pattern speeds up segregation and makes it harder to cooperate, compromise and find common ground—all essential features of a healthy society.”
Scientific American Journal – Dr. Amit Goldenberg. Extreme Views Are More Attractive Than Moderate Ones

(2-pages) WHEN “RELIGION” Clouds-Over & Chokes-Out the Way of Compassionate-Love
(Downloadable PDF) – “….for, between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference – so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ ….” – Frederick Douglass – former slave & friend of Abraham Lincoln

(11-pages) DISABILITIES ARE ABILITIES IN DISGUISE: Opportunities for Learning the Highest Human Virtue
(Downloadable PDF) “…. we all have disabilities. Some are just more visible than others.”
Psychiatrist Curt Thompson MD, p. 200, in his book, THE DEEPEST PLACE: SUFFERING AND THE FORMATION OF HOPE.

(6-pages) The Successful Protests of Jesus, Dr. King, & Gandhi VS. the Failure of Others
(Downloadable PDF) – Dr. Martin Luther-King Jr. “A second basic fact that characterizes nonviolence is that it does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding.” “The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of the violence is tragic bitterness.”

(10-pages) THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT & COMPASSIONATE LOVE: The Way of St. Francis
(Downloadable PDF) – “The deep friendship and rich dialogue between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kamil centuries ago can inform interfaith dialogue in our own times.”

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B. – Sid’s 2 New Writings Coming …

I’ll link rough drafts of these soon, & update them periodically as my writing progresses.

Decades ago, a few publishers asked me to write some books on at least 2 subjects, using both my counseling-psychology and my animal-behavior backgrounds to communicate a few important parts of Jesus’s message about life, love, and reality. My overly busy life at the time (see my ABOUT webpage) kept me from attempting these projects back then. But now that I’m retired, maybe they’ll get done. At least I’m having fun working on them. The central concept underlying each subject, according to Jesus (and the whole Bible in context) is “agape”, which is strong, self-sacrificingly compassionate, Good Shepherd love. It is the essence and nature of the Creator Source of all things – “God”. It’s therefore the fundamental architecture and law of the original Cosmos. It’s the way to fulfilled life and relationships. And it is the ultimate goal for the teleios consummation of all things.

1. (A New Short Booklet coming) AMAZING ANIMAL-SOULS WE’VE SERVED, KNOWN, & LOVE:
Who Have Helped Heal 100’s of Hearts Through Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) – including my own!
– including lions, tigers, bears, wolves, hyenas, … elephants, dogs, otters, raccoons, owls, ducks, & many more ….
– to me they were friends: Suzy, Scotty, Bratar, Akela, Rakshi, Banu, Byomi, Jean, Panya, Bartley, Scotty, Ollie, …..
– each of these animal friends were personal therapists to me from childhood, throughout adulthood, and now ….

“We have to move from the idea that animals are things, tools, machines, commodities, resources here for our use to the idea that as sentient beings they have their own inherent value and dignity”. Dr. Andrew Linzey PhD, DD, HonDD, Oxford University. Founder: Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

2. (A New Long Booklet coming) JESUS AND ANIMAL COMPASSION: His Teaching on Animal Emotion & Intelligence Should Convict Us All Over the Ways We Humans Support the Use & Abuse of Them for Our Own Convenience & Pleasure
This “booklet” is about the many animals mentioned in the Bible, along with the numerous nature-animal metaphors, parables, and stories. The particular stories, parables, and metaphors directly involving Jesus’s personal life and teaching will serve as the foundation and spring-board in the booklet for a look at what the whole Bible has to say about sentient (nephesh) animals. When I was in seminary completing my master’s degree and working on a PhD (not completed – see my ABOUT webpage), my papers caused many of my professors to express surprise about how much Jesus and the Bible said about animals and our relational responsibility to them. Even though the professors were respected experts in the Bible, ancient languages, and ANE culture, their personal interest of study had not been “animals”. So, they told me they had simply overlooked the depth and breadth of rich knowledge regarding animals there was throughout the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. In fact, in many ways this subject of animals (sentient, thinking, feeling creatures) is foundational to a Judeo-Christian cosmological, philosophical, and theological worldview.

“Animals are not property or ‘things,’ but rather living organisms, subjects of a life, who are worthy of our compassion, respect, friendship, and support. There is absolutely no doubt that countless nonhuman animals are sentient beings who feel deeply and passionately.”
Dr. Marc Bekoff, Emeritus Professor of Animal Behavior, University of Colorado.