The Church and Love for Animals: Is It Biblical?
Nov 5th, 2011 | By Dr. Jim Eckman | Category: Ethics, Featured IssuesPodcast: Play in new window | Download
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Christine Gutleben, the Humane Society?s first director of faith outreach, has stated that ?Animal ministries are in every state, and they do everything, including pet food in traditional food drives, to donating to local shelters, designating church grounds as animal sanctuaries, hosting adoption events, printing animals for adoption in church bulletins.? She also reveals that many churches include pets in their antipoverty work: ?They will host an event for the surrounding community, and provide medical and dental care for people, but also have a veterinarian who will provide free vaccines on church grounds.? In St. Louis, there is a pet ministry, which is a part of Grace Church, a large non-denominational Protestant congregation, call Noah?s Ark. It runs a pet-food drive, supports no-kill rescue of animals, brings pets to visit the sick and infirm and hosts a grief group for those who have lost a pet. The Church of the King in New Orleans holds monthly events for pets, and when they do, hundreds of people line up to get vaccines. Indeed, Laura Hobgood-Oster, of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and the author of Holy Dogs and Asses: Animals in the History of the Christian Tradition, argues that, ?Animals have always been central to Christianity, as well as all the world?s major religions.? Further, many Roman Catholics are taught that St. Francis of Assisi communed with the birds and spoke with a wolf; thus, on his feast day, 4 October, many churches host events in which animals are blessed by a priests or other church officials.
What are we to think about all of this? As Christians, how are we to treat the physical world, including animals? What is the value of non-human life? How much care do we as Christians need to take in relation to nature? How does God look at non-human creation? This was especially brought home to me several years ago when my daughter, then about age six, was outside systematically killing ants on the sidewalk in front of our home. I asked her what she was doing. She responded, ?Daddy, mommy does not like ants, so I am killing them.? Sensing that this was a teachable moment, I asked her, ?Joanna, do you think God is pleased with killing ants like this? Are they in mommy?s cupboards? Are they hurting us here on the walk?? She did not know how to respond at first. Our subsequent talk focused on treating God?s creatures with respect because God holds us accountable for managing His creation well. I doubt she understood all we discussed but it began a process of teaching her about stewardship of God?s creation, the subject of the rest of this Perspective.
- Inadequate Views on Human Responsibility toward Creation:
Theology is the major issue in the current debate about how to view the physical environment. There are at least three inadequate theological perspectives in the culture today.
- First is the Christian view, often associated with St. Francis of Assisi, that all aspects of God?s physical creation are equal, that there is no difference between the birds and humans. Legends about Francis have him preaching to the birds, and giving counsel to a wolf threatening a small town in Italy. But the particulars of God?s creation are not equal. Genesis 1 and 2 make it clear that humans are the crown of God?s creation. Humans are the only ones who bear His image. Jesus did not die for birds; He died for human beings.
- Second is pantheism, the view that all reality is one; All is God and God is all. The reason we do not want to cut down California Redwoods is because they are god. The reason we save the whales is because they are god. Such is the pantheistic position reflected in the views of Shirley MacLaine, the Gaia hypothesis and the entire New Age worldview. But the Bible will have none of this. The Bible does teach the presence of God everywhere (e.g., Psalm 139) but rejects that all is God. He created all things and is above and beyond His physical creation. Therefore, pantheism is simply an unacceptable position.
- Third is a commitment to a platonic dichotomy, i.e., that the spiritual world is all that is important; the material world has no value to God or to us as His disciples. The world is passing away so it does not matter whether we treat it well or abuse it. The Bible will have none of this either. Scripture details the goodness of God?s creation (e.g., Genesis 1 and 2; 1 Timothy 4:4). It is simply wrong to reject God?s physical creation as evil. Furthermore, the physical body is of such importance to God that He will one day resurrect it. Nothing speaks more powerfully about its goodness than that.
- Biblical Principles for a Proper View of Animal Life:
- A proper biblical view of the physical creation begins with a proper view of God. The challenge is to keep in balance God?s transcendence and His immanence. God?s transcendence focuses on his radical separateness from creation; He is both above and beyond His physical world. God?s immanence focuses on His presence in His physical world. To stress His immanence at the expense of His transcendence is to land in pantheism where everything is god. To stress His transcendence at the expense of his immanence is to see the physical world as insignificant and a tool for exploitation. Neither is satisfactory nor God-honoring. There needs to be a balance between both God?s transcendence and His immanence, between His intimate involvement in all aspects of his physical creation (see Psalm 139) and His radical distinction from creation. Where it is finite, limited, dependent; He is infinite, unlimited and self-sufficient (Sider, 28).
- Second is a proper view of humans. Human beings are both interdependent with the rest of creation and unique within it, because we alone bear His image and have stewardship over the Earth. Christians frequently forget our interdependence with the rest of God?s world. Our daily existence depends on water, sun and air. There is indeed a global ecosystem. It matters how we treat the water, the trees and the other animals. If they are harmed so are we. There is this vital, interdependent relationship that comes from the creative hand of God. But the Bible also declares human uniqueness?humans are image-bearers of God. No other physical part of God?s world, including animals, can claim this. Humans also have dominion status. God declares in Genesis 1:26-30 that humans have the responsibility to rule (have dominion) over the nonhuman creation. Tragically, this dominion has frequently turned to exploitation. Humans are to serve and watch lovingly, almost worshipfully, over God?s creation. We are God?s stewards over His creation. He has the sovereignty; we have the dominion. Francis Schaeffer argues that humans have two relationships?one upward and one downward. The upward relationship accentuates the personal relationship humans might have with God, a relationship not enjoyed by the rest of the created order. The downward relationship accentuates the ?creaturely? relationship that humans share with the rest of the created order (see Genesis 2:7 and Job 34:14,15). As in most issues, the struggle is to keep the two in balance. We tend to so highlight the upward relationship to the virtual exclusion of the downward. This leads to horrific neglect or ruthless exploitation of the physical world. Or we tend to highlight the downward to the virtual exclusion of the upward. This is the gross error of the evolutionary hypothesis, which sees humans as the product of the impersonal force of natural selection, not of God?s purposeful design.
- Third, the non-human creation is of great significance to God. He created the physical world as a deliberate act. God also takes pleasure in His physical world. This is clear from the creation ordinance in Genesis 1 and 2 and from 1 Timothy 4:4: ?For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude.? See also Psalm 104:31 where we see God rejoicing in His works. The point is that if the physical world is of importance to God, then it must be to us?His creatures?as well (see also Job 39:1-2, Colossians 1:16 and Psalms 19:1-4).
It is likewise imperative that we note that God has a covenant, not only with humans but also with nonhuman creation. After the flood, God made a covenant with the physical creation: ?Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark? (Genesis 9:9-10). The physical world has dignity, worth and value quite apart from its service to humanity. Incredibly, God?s plan for redemption has a cosmic quality to it. The biblical hope that the whole created order, including the material world of bodies and rivers and trees, will be part of the kingdom confirms that the created order is good and important. Romans 8:19-23 demonstrates that at Christ?s return the groaning of creation will cease, for the creation will be transformed: ?The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God? (v. 21, NIV).
See Mark Oppenheimer in the New York Times (15 October 2011) and James P. Eckman, Biblical Ethics, pp. 89-95. PRINT PDF
Iam so blessed to have found this information. Recently at my church (The Bridge-Calvary) there was a female cat hanging around one of the ladys there starting feeding her. She had the cat spayed and named her Bridget for the church. When someone was cooking in the church kitchen they left the door open. Bridget entered and Bridget also jumped up on their donuts which were left unattended outside. The lady was instructed to stop feeding Bridget and she would go away. The two Pastors complained that Bridget should have learned to take of herself by catching birds or mice. I was so upset by this that I immediately took Bridget to my home.She had not eaten for three days and had no water. They even threw the cat food away. Now I feel that I will not go to a church that does not like animals. God’s Steward PL Stafford, any advice?
Dear Peggy;
In Psalm 145 also we can find that God loves all he has created. Anyone who is not kind to animals or our mother earth as a whole creation from God does not know God. God is love. Love is not just for human beings. If we open our hearts and eyes to the word of God, by having dominion over everything we need to know we have a grave responsibility twards all. This does not mean open season to do whatever we want with God’s creation. We must treasure and love all that God has created. I also have left a church cause some of their prayer warriors had a problem with some people that walked their dogs in the parking lot of that church. Or i’ve known pastors that go hunting with their sons and killing the poor animals and think nothing of it. Killing is killing. Is there not enough animals killed for our over eating physical bodies? Ignorant christians that do not boder to grow in love, hurt true christianity and ignore God’s word. We have to love animals and all that God has created. God loves animals too. He watches over the sparrow. Jesus was born in a stable amongst animals , so i’m sure God loves animals that had his son be born amongst them. After jesus there were no sacrifice of animals as Jews used to do and even to this day Muslems and jews do this violant act of murdering animals for our sins. So i believe for all i know Jesus also died for animals and put a stop to the nonsense of sacrificing innocent animals for our sins!!!! We either have love in our hearts for all God’s creation or we just are fooling ourselves. God bless you for taking care of the kitty and yes leave that so called church thet their pastors are such cruel people. We don’t have to go to these kind of churches to go to heaven !!!! I will never set foot in a church that is not animal and nature friendley. Thank you for caring for the kitty. God loves you . God bless you.
Simin.
While hiking in 2009 a photo was taking of my dog on a bank of a river. It was such a great picture of her I decided to crop the pic and put it up on my computer screen. That’s when I started to noticed things about her that seemed different. little did I know that I would be drawn in to images on her that seemed biblical. slowly over a 2 yr period doors were opened to see things that I couldn’t see at first. I believe now the Holy Spirit was guiding me to these images. since then prayers have been answered immediately and I cant get enough of the bible. the whole story is on the site I was led to create and would like to share with others. Divine33mytestimony.com.
Thank You and God Bless.
Chris
You shouldn’t be calling anyone ignorant. I believe we are supposed to hunt. I think that if you are doing it for the joy of killing it is wrong but how can you say what’s in their hearts? You can’t that is God’s job please leave it to him to do. Please spread the love you speak of.
You are supposed to love animals, but that love should be compartmentalized. It should not nearly outweigh that for people! You should not have a pet in your home as a family member and it supersedes your family or other people in any way. People should not be made to be subjected to the will of your pets. You should not be subjected to your pets. If you have a pet in your home or are taking more interest in your pets than their feeding; drinking; and managing their service to you, then everybody should be your king and queen. That is not possible. Animals are your servants not family members. The problem is that this out of balance with what should be done. People’s heart are in the wrong place. What do you think God would think of this imbalance. To my understanding, Jesus makes reference to the care of animals once. But, most of his ministry was about serving God first and your neighbor second! Such a thing can be far out of balance!
Please don’t be guilty of this. 1. Worship God! 2. Properly compartmentalize people as yourself. 3. Then, what’s left is for your rest(budget yourself to get enough); personal obligations; and your pets. There should not be any imbalance, either. Homeless people should not be in any way below an animal. Personal enemies should be in any way below an animal. Your family should not be either. Please wake up from the deception. Please!
Christians often like to say, “God put animals on the Earth for us to eat” and “Jesus ate Fish. He was perfect. We were commanded to follow him, so who are we to follow differently?”
This response is for those Christians, as well as for Vegans who don’t know how to positively address these erroneous claims other than to say, “All-righty then. Have a nice day.”
What are the ramifications, however, of animal liberation activists leaving it at that?
Some organizations, like Mercy For Animals, train volunteer animal liberation activists to not bother with further discussion once people resort to religion as their authoritative “proof” that they ought to eat animals.
Their reasoning is along the lines that it’s best to save your education for people who are already open and ready to have that conversation, for instance vegetarians who want to learn more–they’re not saying that religious people are so far gone mentally that facts are not something they will respond to, but rather, once they go into the crux of their convictions, that “this dude ate animals and I worship this dude”, that they won’t respond to hearing their religion’s dogma is fallacious or any contradiction to what their religion states is true, no matter what facts, logic, observation, and evidence one brings to the table…no matter how many logical fallacies or inconsistencies within their own dogma one would like to point out. The religious person won’t hear it.
This, I concede, is true to an extent. It is true to the extent of perhaps that moment of “Now”…whether or not your discussion is causing anger in the person one is conversing with.
However, I argue that always treating religion as a “sacred cow” that can not be touched, in order to maintain good relationships with people who might hear you on “some other day” is doing very little beneficially for our planet, our health, our economy, for world hunger, for world peace, and of course, for fellow sentient life on this planet.
“Have a nice day”, which does avoid argumentation, is not an effective rebuttal. For the short term, it may be all one can do in order to keep a good relationship.
However, for the long term, Christians and other religious people who insist on harming other species as a permission of their religion, as part of the fact that “only humans have been made in God’s image”, must be made uncomfortable with the truth whether they like it or not.
These claims DO need to be addressed. Silence only benefits the perpetrator and only causes these myths to continue unabated.
So, without furher ado:
I have often been pointed to Genesis 9: 1 – 3: “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ?Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”
as if this serves as proof that human animals are meant to eat non-human animals…
Any ethics or even merely a belief system that does not teach kindness to all creatures is a sham. I do not subscribe to any belief system that gives me permission to discriminate against any sentient, pain-capable group.
As if God, who is supposed to be the epitome of Love, Mercy, Kindness, Fairness, Forgiveness, and Understanding would turn his eyes from those little ones crying–as if he made 1 species to rape, spoil and plunder billions of other fellow nations and guests, all of whom God loves (according to their own bible) on this beautiful green and blue planet we share.
Some more biblical scripture for those who do subscribe to the bible (whichever version of the many thousands of versions–but let’s go with KJV, since that’s the most popular.). This one is my favorite:
Isaiah 66:3: “He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.”
An ox is no different physically than a cow: they are one and the same. The only difference is what humans have arbitrarily decided to assign as work to one versus another: a purpose the animal has never chosen and never will choose to do as slave labor his or herself.
Bible spoiler alert: the beginning and end of the bible are all Vegan…see:
?I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety.? ?Hosea 2:18
KJV Isaiah 65:25: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock [aka cow]: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.”
?Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.? ?Psalms 36:6
?Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.? ?Matthew 5:7
Ecclesiastes 3:19-21: “God tests them [humans] so that they may see they are like the animals. Man’s fate is like that of the animals. The same fate awaits them both. As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place. All come from dust and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth.”
In Matthew 23:37, Jesus compares his own love of Jerusalem to that of a mother hen gathering her chicks: ?How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”
At least this story of Jesus in your own biblical text acknowledges in allegory how both non-human animals and human animals love our children and how we too seek to protect our children, something that many meat-eaters apparently fail to grasp about the love non-human animals feel for their own families.
And if non-human animals feel that love…then why would anyone who also loves another, cause non-human animals who also love their families to feel that pain by separation–a pain you surely would not want inflicted upon yourself?
Why pretend that someone has to mandate to you when it will be okay to live your conscience in some next life?
Why would we not make a heaven on this Earth life here and now, when we already know it’s possible for people to live happy, healthy, long, thriving lives without causing violence to animals?
What is the argument against doing the least amount of harm? Apathy? Laziness? That non-human animals just don’t matter to God (that they’re “just prototypes before God created God’s ‘crowned creation’–humans, duh!”)–or as unsubstantiated, that they only matter to the extent that they serve a human–that animals’ lives don’t matter to themselves or that they don’t inherently exist for their own reasons?
If non-humans didn’t matter, or are inferior to humans and therefore can be murdered without second thought, then what behavior, physiology/anatomy or lack thereof would you point to in order to make this case, and why?
For every reason a person can give me, I will give them an analogous example within another species that outdoes humans.
I will give them reasons as to why our way of living may be great for us, but isn’t for other animals, and why this doesn’t make us nor them superior nor inferior.
No, “animals don’t have souls” is not a fact. Give me facts. “Because the bible says so” is not good enough as an argument–please see this article as to why it isn’t, if you have a problem with me saying this: http://bio.sunyorange.edu/updated2/creationism/not%20a%20science%20book/33%20Conclusion.htm
Why are there Ag-Gag laws in Utah (a state filled with Mormons–people supposedly all about peace, love…and of course, animal- corpse-and-their-secretions themed potlucks), a state where people videotaping slaughterhouses and whistleblowers are sent to jail–do you think leaks of this, leading people to awaken their mirror neurons from the horror of it, and doing more research into these non-reformable and inherently corrupt industries, would lead them to question their prophets’ declarations, and would have an impact on church attendance and tithes?
Why do federal animal abuse laws simultaneously exist for pets while there are none in existence for the conditions farmed animals are grown in, if non-human animals can not be victims–either they all can be victims, or they can’t be.
Why discriminate with who one loves vs. who one stabs their fork into, when pigs are smarter than 3 year old human children, are clean animals that won’t defecate or urinate near their eating or sleeping areas, have beaten monkeys and dogs in videogames, have highly acute senses, and are incredibly social and affectionate?
Why, if non-human animals “just don’t matter”, if murdering them is the same as uprooting a carrot, do people scream at stray dogs or cats (not considered a human’s property) have their throats sliced wide open, like the video of the pitbull (whom double-standard animal eaters could still say is “someone else’s property” by their own standards, seeing as the human “owner” is the one who did the slicing? He was, by the way, arrested–however, he does the same thing to animals in slaughterhouses–yet he’s not arrested for doing that.).
If non-human animals didn’t matter, animal exploiters should have no problem with slaughterhouses having glass walls. Churches would have no problem showing slaughterhouse videos during their church potluck dinners. But they never do–they have no problem showing a strawberry harvest, yet if animals matter only as much as strawberries, they should have no problem showing how animal corpses are procured during workshops and meals–be it kosher, “humane” slaughter, or otherwise. Yet they do have a huge problem with it. And this ought to cue them into their own cognitive dissonance: “I love animals, and yet I pay for their throats to be sliced wide open at a date pre-determined before their birth so I can eat their corpses”.
We already know non-Vegans know the difference between right and wrong, because they’re not allowing others to do those harmful things to them in this life–they’re not signing up on a cannibal’s list to become someone’s meal, they’re not giving themselves to lions, they’re not signing up to be killed at someone else’s discretion for organ harvesting (based on the perpetrators’ terms and execution dates determined by them, and not the victims–if you’re fine with what happens to non-human animals happening to you, then you don’t get to say goodbye, how you live, what you eat, whether you want to be impregnated and go through childbirth or not, or plan your own purpose for yourself).
Some more questions for you to consider:
If God wanted you to eat animals, why would He/She create in him or her the ability to feel pain and fear? What kind of a sadistic individual would that make Him/Her?
If God, who is all loving, kind, powerful, fair, merciful, forgiving and who is supposed to be the Saviour over everyone, is the opposite of Satan…then how would Satan’s treatment of animals differ from God’s meaning of Stewardship?
Have you ever asked yourself: what exactly is a perfect animal?
Why is a “perfect” animal being defined in the bible as one that is unmarred with blemishes (how shallow! Is that the criterion for which Jesus was defined as perfect too–by his looks? And since his beauty was described in Isaiah 53:2 as ?He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him… as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not”, why then are such opposite criterion being used for one vs. the other?) and therefore worthy of being used as a sacrifice in place of Jesus until Jesus came (and whose bodies were then conveniently eaten afterwards by the people)?
My own theory is that people’s conscience was still working then, but they wanted to eat fellow animals and still call themselves righteous, so they made the “sacrifices” out as if it were paying homage to God–a God who of course they could say condoned it. And of course, no blemishes because people thought they would be healthier that way.
Today, if Christians were to say they were sacrificing animals to God and then ate the bodies afterwards, you would surely stare in reason at the absurdity that they’re doing it for someone else instead of their own selfish perceptions that it’s somehow “doing their body good”.
So today, instead of saying they eat meat as a sacrifice to God, people just pray for God’s blessings over the murdered bodies that it will cause their bodies health (after depriving others of theirs): a blessing of an act they can not, in their own good conscience, give themselves.
Really–when is the last time you saw a Christian saying a prayer for God to “please bless this apple that it will nourish and strengthen my body” after grabbing an apple from the fridge? It would be ridiculous, right? Because they already know the apple (hopefully organic) is good for them.
They might silently savor the apple and feel grateful for their blessings, for their prosperity, for their good health, and perhaps even feel gratitude for God allowing them to make wise choices, and might voice how delicious, sweet, fresh, and crisp the apple is to others and that they feel grateful for it, yet I have yet to hear a Christian pray over an apple or another fruit or handful of nuts, or even guacamole, spinach, freshly squeezed juice from their juicer, or Vegan lasagna for God to give God’s blessing to their choice (I have also yet to hear a Christian say, over a delicious Vegan meal: “please bless the hands that prepared it.”).
Yet, they “miraculously” feel compelled to pray in request for someone else’s magic blessing when animal products (dairy, eggs, animal flesh) are involved. Why is that, do you think?
Praying for peace while paying for violence…what did “God’s Word” (the bible) allegedly say about that, again?
“What I want is mercy, not sacrifice.” (Hos. 6:6)
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me?” sayeth the Lord. “I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs or of he-goats…bring no more vain oblations…. Your new moon and your appointed feasts my soul hateth;…and when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.” (Isa. 1:11-16)
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Yea, though you offer me burnt-offerings and your meal offerings, I will not accept them neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy song; and let Me not hear the melody of thy psalteries. But let justice well up as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:21-4)
The bible is wrought with verses that both condone the murder of innocent animals and animal mercy/protection: so why choose to follow the verses that condone violence?
However, the bible is also fraught with examples of how the God described in the bible supposedly commanded or condoned his most “righteous” servants to commit or institute all manner of discriminatory atrocities against those who happen to be born into a different category than the perpetrator was.
These injustices include slavery, sex slaves, racism, agism, sexism, heterosexism, nationalism/jingoism, speciesism, incest, murder of innocent men, women and children (“Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.” 137:9), murder of innocent animals (whose bodies were then conveniently eaten by the priests afterwards) and xenocide. One can’t make this stuff up: it’s all there and in numerous “scriptures”.
I highly recommend seeing the Skeptics Annotated Bible for the numerous “God-approved” injustices, absurdities, and scientific falsehoods: http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/abs/long.htm
Whenever someone tells me they get their morals from the bible, I feel worried because you never know what heinous acts they will do next, seeing as the bible says God commanded or approved most every single unethical act one can imagine.
Speciesism, along with all of these other aforementioned discriminations, all have at its root the Superiority myth, which says, “Because I happen to have been born into a different category than you, I therefore have the right to exploit you.” These discriminations have never been justified at any point in history and never will be.
An excellent documentary debunking the Human Superiority myth (and exposes the lie that humans have used from antiquity that God made man in his image, rather than the truth: that men have made God in their own image.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqT82oGeax0
I implore those who cause, consume or condone eating animals and/or their secretions to watch the documentary Earthlings from start to finish without pause and without turning away. This shows Standard Industry Practice of how humans use animals in all major industries (all not prosecutable because it’s claimed to be Standard Industry Practice.).
If it’s not good enough for your eyes…then why do you think it’s good enough for your stomach?
Please stand witness to the atrocities that you are paying for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJD4iGOgVp0
Thank you for this fabulous article! I agree with many of the comments, and am an animal lover myself, in fact, that is an understatement. I have dedicated myself to saving wild animals for more than half of my life. What I have found in my work is that not only do people fear wild animals, but they largely do not even consider wildlife. There is such a disconnect between people and wildlife, that as a biologist, it terrifies me! I certainly understand the idea of compartmentalizing beliefs about animals and separating them from that of humans, as animals are not human, clearly, but does it make them any less important in our world? Here is the MAIN thing that 99.9% of humans miss,…without animals, there is no environment for which people can use to survive. Period. This is simple biology. Without bees, plants are not pollinated and do not grow. Without the fish in the streams, there is no fertilizer for the plants to grow that oxygenate the water for other animals to survive. Those are the other animals that humans count on to eat, the fish that Jesus teaches man to catch. Without the breaking down of fish feces, and the biological processes that happen when this breakdown occurs, waters grow stagnant and unsuitable for fish to live in, or for humans to drink. Whether animals were put on earth to eat or not is NOT the import of this conversation. Without animals, there IS no environment!! There is no food. No plants. Nothing. We, as humans, forget this. Each animal has a place in the food web, and therefore, the web of life, the top of which sits man. It is all interconnected, and to negate this because and animal is not a human is a dangerous path. The web of life is what provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. All of this is brought to us by each individual wild life working diligently to repair the damage we, as humans, do to our planet without question or thought. This is well documented, not just oppinion. Look, for example, at the study of the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone park. Humans killed the wolves because we were afraid of them and/or wanted their valuable pelts. With no predation, the hoovestock population explodes and eats all of the young trees, and the forests begin to die. No forest, no trees to create the oxygen we breathe. (On a lesser scale, of course). No trees means erosion of the river beds and surrounding lands, and the park begins to die, causing massive fires. No trees means all wildlife that uses trees to survive either die or move to another area causing overpopulation of certain species in new areas. People get scared, more animals die. The effect of these animals dying has their own effect on “it’s area” in our environment. The reintroduction of wolves puts the hoovestock population back into check, and the forest, rivers, and wildlife populations recover and thrive like never before since humans arrived on the scene. We are all taught this in the 5th grade, but maybe we are not taught the seriousness of the devastation that simple fear or greed can cause? Respect for ALL God’s creations is mandatory. Compartmentalizing it makes me think we are not to connect it to humans, which would be a TRAGIC mistake. We exist because God created animals to steward the environment that allows for humans to successfully survive on this planet, and they deserve the respect that the job they do warrants. Instead, most humans look at them with disdain, disgust and often with fear. What a shame when the overall creation of a lesser being creating a world in which humans can not only survive, but thrive is a miracle in and of itself. Is it not our job, then, to protect those who provide for us?? To protect and to care for each individual animal with its individual place in the web, not just the species, as most wildlife departments focus on. Just food for thought, so to speak. Job 12:7-10 states:
7 ?But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.
You should not kill any living creature, its quite simple, its God like and its scientific like also.
think about it, if you do it will haunt you inside, up untill you die.