Ecology and Animal Rights continued....
ANIMALS
There is a statement in the book of Genesis showing that
animals too contain a 'living soul'. We often overlook this. They were accorded by God at
creation the right to make use of the planet's resources for food, just as much
as Adam and Eve were, and they deserve therefore to be treated with respect and
compassion.
Peace in the animal world is also one of the marks of the
Messiah's millennial reign, but does the Bible present all creatures as of equal
worth in God's sight? The plain answer has to be no. Jesus explicitly places
man higher than the sparrows at the pinnacle of his ethical teaching,and the Psalms
stress the subjection of animals to humans.
There is no theological ground for vegetarianism then,
although increasing numbers of people are refusing to eat meat in protest at
the brutality of some modern farming methods.
|
