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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let heaven and nature sing

Thank you to pastor Chuck Summers of Seeing Creation for allowing us to share this meaningful Advent reflection accompanied beautifully by some of Chuck's photography ...

It’s the third Sunday in Advent and since the theme for this Sunday is joy we sang “Joy to the World!” at church this morning.  This has to be one of the most familiar and popular of all Christmas hymns.  I have enjoyed singing this song since my childhood.  Even as a kid I particularly liked the part that says, “let heaven and nature sing.”  What I didn’t realize back then is that the idea of heaven and nature singing comes straight out of the Bible.

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my faith, God's animals and diet

I prematurely concluded our recent series on Christian voices for animals before sharing this heartfelt personal reflection from Canadian friend and animal advocate Anne Sturgeon ...

Having been raised in a loving Christian home, it didn’t feel like a huge step to believe in a loving, merciful God who wants to have a personal relationship with me.  What I do find difficult is being the best person I believe God expects me to be.  I keep returning to him knowing He will be there, waiting for me, prepared to forgive and ready to guide me, once again, if I choose! 

Since a child, I have been hearing and feeling God's loving, gentle, caring, compassionate, and merciful voice telling me to take care of His creation.  God frequently teaches me through my day-to-day life, and I feel that His handiwork clearly points to Him and His awesome, magnificent power.  God's Universe is so amazing and reveals His miracles every day.

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does wildlife need our management? (part 2)

Continuing Jenny Sue Hane's thought-provoking and biblically grounded post "Does Wildlife Need Our Management?" ...

There are already signs that “management” by humans might not be all it’s cracked up to be.  Unlike natural predators, we are not limited in our choice of prey by our strength and speed.  So although hunters might describe their work as “culling,” in reality they often take the highest quality animals they can find.  Traits that once improved animals’ ability to survive are now working against them by making them desirable targets for hunters, so reproductive selection begins to reduce or eliminate those traits.  Elephants without tusks have increased, kangaroos are getting smaller, and bighorn sheep are developing less impressive headgear.  Our attempts to control nature may actually reduce the genetic strength and diversity of animal populations.  Is this a sign of responsible stewardship in action?  Is this what we wanted?  (See for instance Newsweek's "It's Survival of the Weak and Scrawny.")

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does wildlife need our management?

One of our community members Jenny Sue Hane has been following the recent wolf hunting developments closely, and even organized an exemplary rally in opposition to them.  This is the first part of a thoughtful post she wrote for us on taking a genuinely Christian approach to wildlife management ...

Here in the US, where I live, state game agencies are in the business of managing wildlife.  This includes issuing a number of permits to hunters every year, even for creatures that are not typically eaten and bear many similarities to domestic companion animals.  Some of the arguments for the hunting of non-food animals focus on their supposed conflicts with people and their livestock, which may be greatly overstated.  But once those are out of the way, there is another argument that the trophy hunters fall back on: the “animals need to be managed” argument. 

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sabbath, animals included

A poignant reflection from Nancy Janisch of Conversation in Faith on how the biblical concept of sabbath, or "a period of rest" (Dictionary.com), is meant for animals as well ...

The Bible doesn’t have much to say about God’s relationship with animals.  This isn’t surprising since the Bible is part of God’s revelation to humans and thus the relationship between God and humanity is the focus of the story.  God’s revelation to animals, whatever it is, is unknown to us.  Since animals are not storytellers - at least in the way we tell stories - it seems logical that God’s revelation to animals would be different from God’s revelation to us and  appropriate for and intelligible to animals.

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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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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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Noah's Ark

When we were visiting my parents back in May, a book in my mom's children's collection grabbed my attention.  It was Noah's Ark, a mostly wordless telling of the well-known event recorded in Genesis 6-9, by Dutch-born American children's book author and illustrator Peter Spier, for which he was awared the prestigious Caldecott Medal. 

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ministers against animal cruelty

This past Spring, the Humane Society of the United States highlighted some exciting news that a group of Chicago-area pastors led by Rev. Robin Hood of Redeemed Outreach Ministries and Bishop Claude Porter of Proviso Baptist Church have formed a coalition called Ministers Against Animal Cruelty.  According to HSUS, Ministers Against Animal Cruelty will "expand animal welfare services, resources, education and communication to pet owners in their communities."

Their mission statement affirms,

“We have a theological and moral responsibility to respect, preserve and live in harmony with all animal life.

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