wonderbird

from Dean Ohlman of The Wonder of Creation ...  

God alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.  He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.  He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. (Job 9:8-10, NIV)

The first time I remember seeing it, I could hardly believe my eyes—truly.  It was on a visit to Yellowstone about 5 years after the great fires of 1988. 

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God's compassion for animals

A fundamental post, rich with biblical references to God's concern for animals, from Dean Ohlman of The Wonder of Creation ...

One of the many key indications of the reliability of the Bible is its addressing the broad span of the reality of life on earth.  I’m only vaguely knowledgeable of the scriptures of other religions, but I think it’s safe to say that the Bible is unparalleled in its “heart” for animals—from their origin to their destiny.  They were created by God before mankind (Gen. 1), they were put under man’s authority and responsibility (Gen. 1:20-30; Psalm 8:4-8), they were saved from destruction in the flood (Gen. 7:6-10), and they are remembered by their Creator who covenanted with them that they would continue under His protection and in His care (Gen. 9:8-16).

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more Christian voices for animals

Over the past month we've shared a variety of poignant reflections on animals and our calling to steward to them as followers of Christ, including posts on our relationship to wildlife ("The Interloper" by Ben Witherington and "Does Wildlife Need Our Management?" from Jenny Sue Hane), the diversity of God's creatures ("Embracing Diversity" by Chuck Summers) and our frequent failure to know and appreciate them ("Naming Again all the Animals" from Lowell Bliss), a historic evangelical voice against animal cruelty and a contemporary one for including animals in our understanding of rest ("Sabbath, Animals Included" by Nancy Janisch), even some thoughts on Thanksgiving and turkeys.

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would Jesus shoot a ten-point buck?

Dean Ohlman, whose post "The Birdslayer" we shared a few days ago, shares some additional perspective and valuable guidelines for our brothers and sisters in Christ who continue to hunt in good conscience before God ...

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth.  He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD” (Genesis 10:8-9).

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.  The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth and 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.  Everything that lives and moves will be food for you.  Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.  "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.  And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting.  I will demand an accounting from every animal" (Genesis 9:1-5, both passages Today's New International Version).

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the birdslayer

Dean Ohlman of RBC Ministries and The Wonder of Creation shares a poignant reflection on 'wanton' hunting as a child, and coming to respect the lives of wild creatures as an adult and grandfather ...

The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:19-22, NIV)

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hunting and animal welfare

A while back, Rusty Pritchard of the creation care group Flourish sent me a few questions on hunting and fishing for a writing project he was working on.  Since the Fall hunting season is underway, and we're going to share some posts on the topic, I asked if I could develop our Q&A to help introduce a subject which Christian sportsmen and animal advocates often disagree on.  Rusty graciously agreed ...

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do animals have souls?

As promised in our introduction to the question of whether animals have souls, following is a re-post of Dean Ohlman's thoughtful and balanced reflection from The Wonder of Creation.  "Do Animals Have Souls?" was originally shared following two posts ("Losing a Good, Good Dog" and "A Pet Grief Observed") which in part wrestled with the haunting uncertainty of whether we'll be reunited with the animals we've loved and lost in heaven.  Dean presents a very biblically grounded take on the question, with some perhaps surprising possibilities ...

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faq #12, do you believe animals have souls?

We're starting our second-to-last FAQ blog series this week with a question which many of us have wrestled with in a deeply personal way.  If you've ever loved a companion animal, or even admired another animal from any distance, and you share in the Christian hope of heaven, you can't help but wonder if you'll have a chance to see those animals again.  In fact, many of us find ourselves longing for that to be the case, we miss them so much, and can't imagine their unique personalities and the special relationship we had with them being lost forever.

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Good Friday for all creation

Earlier this week I was looking for a hymn which might point to the implications of Good Friday for ourselves and all of creation, and came across this lesser-known but poignant classic penned by English theologian and hymnist Isaac Watts (1674-1748).  "Nature with Open Volume Stands" was set to music by Georg Joseph, which you can hear a taste of at NetHymnal:

Nature with open volume stands,
To spread her Maker’s praise abroad;
And every labor of His hands
Shows something worthy of a God.

But in the grace that rescued man
His brightest form of glory shines;
Here, on the cross, ’tis fairest drawn,
In precious blood and crimson lines.

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God's natural systems

A poignant contribution to our series on creation care and creature care from good friend Dean Ohlman of RBC Ministries and The Wonder of Creation ...

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
   they flow between the hills;
they give drink to every beast of the field;
   the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
   they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
   the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

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