Response to William Greenway's article

William Greenway’s article, “Animals and the Love of God,” clearly shows the way similar looking art can mean completely different things. He is a professor of theology and obviously has a strong sense of faith and attributes his thoughts to his Christian beliefs. My animal spirit photography is achieving similar messages through a completely different religion or belief. My project is based on Native or shaman beliefs. Both religions believe that animals are blessings to us and that we need to form relationships with them, which is a large part of “My Patronus” project. William Greenway is discussing how the Bible equates humans to animals and that we must not forget this in current day life. Greenway highlights the theological teaching that, “all life is sacred, and we are to love all creatures.” This is a common thought across different religions and cultures, which put importance on all versions of life on earth. Essentially this is the same reason the Natives believe in animal spirits, because they believe that humans and animals share the Earth and live in harmony. I want people to look at my project and think about the importance they put on animals in their lives, and have they ever stopped to think why they feel pulled towards certain animals and not others. Even though William Greenway is looking at animals from a completely religious point of view, my project shares similar concepts in that human relationships and putting importance on animals needs to be a priority in our lives.