Martin Luther and animals

Dave Kelly, director of worship at King of Kings Church in Omaha, Nebraska, continues our look at historic and contemporary Christian voices for animals with some pointed criticism of factory farming's treatment of God's creatures, wrapped around some powerful statements from a legendary figure of the Protestant Reformation ...

I have written several blogs on the mistreatment of animals.  Indeed, I think the way we treat animals is often a reflection of how we are doing as a race.  Sadly, it seems that we are not doing so good.  The horrors of factory farming continue, where animals (especially pigs and chickens) are reared in horrible, factory-like conditions, where they see no daylight for an entire (extremely shortened) life-span, and where complete disregard for their welfare is commonplace.  Where animals who feel pain and have compassion on their own kind are treated as units for profit.

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wild animals as sermon illustrations

Updated on October 19, 2010 by Ben DeVries

A week or two back, Stephanie Feldstein of Change.org asked if I'd heard of an evangelical church in Florida which was using wild animals as live illustrations in sermons, and if I could comment on it from a Christian animal care perspective.  I hadn't, but it turns out pastor Troy Gramling and Flamingo Road Church based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida were in fact doing so in a sermon series titled WILD!  The series looks at animals of the Bible and the spiritual truths they illuminate, and so far a live lion, exotic snake and monkey have been brought on stage, as well as other big cats which have been stuffed and mounted.

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John Stott on humans and animals

The Gospel Coalition has made available for download a sermon titled "Humans and Animals" from the venerable and hugely influential Christian voice John Stott.  Stott, born in 1921, is a British pastor, theologian and prolific author who founded the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion in the early 1960's.  Billy Graham himself pays tribute to Stott as one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2005, an article which increases my respect for Stott's contributions to world evangelism and missions, and his personal humility just as well.

In "Humans and Animals," Stott acknowledges the differences between humans and animals biblically understood, and also our dominion over them, even our permission to use them for human needs which that dominion grants.  And while many Christian leaders have traditionally taken the discussion no further, I greatly admire Stott's adamant call to a respectful appreciation and compassionate stewardship of the animals God has wonderfully created and graciously called us to care for on His behalf. 

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between the Creator and the creation

The following reflection from Dean Ohlman and The Wonder of Creation, 'Tweeners,' is a helpful bookend to the first few installments in our FAQ series (Is caring for animals a valid concern?, But don't we have other priorities as Christians? and What about conflicts between animal and human welfare?), and a thoughtful contribution to some recent community discussions about distinctions between humans and animals ...

God blessed [man] and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28, all passages NIV)

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God's covenant with Noah and every living creature

Two not one sparrow friends and contributors happened to each post meaningful reflections in recent months on Noah's ark and what the biblical story means for animals, beyond the two-by-two brought on board we tend to think of.  I'll preview both, but I hope you can read the rest at their respective blogs.

From Scott Williams of Creation Hope's "Rainbows & Promises":

This idea that the whole ark story was only about God saving mankind pervaded throughout my life.  We like to talk about the 2×2’s in Sunday school because it shows God’s power and, frankly, kids think animals are cute.  So we put them up on the flannelboard and play up the cuddly and exotic animals.  Good thing God had this afterthought to bring them along because I’m just not sure I could be a vegetarian. ...

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aren't people more important than animals?

Our regular contributor Dean Ohlman of RBC Ministries and The Wonder of Creation posed the following question at SustainLane's Creation Care community as part of his series "Questions Evangelicals Ask About the Environment," with a rousing response:

Isn’t it more important to care for people than to care for creation?  (or “Aren’t people more important than animals?”)

For Christians there is no question that people are more valuable to God than animals.  Jesus clearly states this in His Sermon on the Mount: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matt. 6:26).  This question, however, is often asked in an attempt to make creation care appear to be non-biblical.  Proper earth stewardship rarely involves choices between the needs of people and the needs of the remainder of the creation.  This is because the health and life of people and animals both depend upon a sound ecosystem.  We have learned, for instance, that animal extinctions are often the first signs of a distressed environment—an environment that will ultimately become unhealthy even for people (like dead coal-mine canaries signaled miners about the presence of odorless, but lethal, methane gas). 

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five questions for Stephen Vantassel

Following are five questions I posed to Stephen Vantassel, introduced yesterday, which he agreed to answer in a public dialogue.  I'll be answering some questions he addressed to me tomorrow.  Stephen is a wildlife damage management expert and harvesting proponent who is also an evangelical theologian and licensed preacher.  The questions are based in large part on his book Dominion Over Wildlife? An Environmental Theology of Human-Wildlife Relations:

question 1...  In your book you recognize God’s calling for us to steward His creation, and to recognize the dignity and value of his creatures, which I appreciate.  But I’m wondering about your use of the terminology of “shepherdism” to describe your view of stewardship:

Shepherdism believes that humans ought to use their power to responsibly care for the earth and mitigate the imbalances that inevitably occur due to human activity. Shepherdism rejects the idea that use equals abuse. What is good for animals is conceived as applying first to the continuation of the species rather than to the future of any individual animal. (pg. 178)

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the spirit and the creature

Yesterday we looked at the special relationship of the Son to creation, and today we have an opportunity to look at the Holy Spirit's profound connection to creation and creatures, courtesy of Dean Ohlman ...

How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious,  teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up;  when you open your hand,  they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified;  when you take away their breath,  they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit,  they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;  may the LORD rejoice in his works (Psalm 104:24-31, emphasis added, NIV).

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creation is through Christ and for Christ

We often speak of God's relationship to animals, whether God the Father or God as Trinity, on not one sparrow.  But we haven't as often payed attention to the special relationship which the other two members of the Trinity have to animals, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Gratefully, we have the opportunity to do so today and tomorrow, beginning with a stirring post from Lauren Merritt on creation being "through Christ and for Christ," followed by a noteworthy reflection from Dean Ohlman tomorrow on "The Spirit and the Creature" ...

Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to pay the debt for our sins, played an intimate role in the creation of the world.  I often forget that Christ has job descriptions beyond being my Savior – though what a glorious one that is!  While he saves and comforts and intercedes for us before God, he is also the power through which all of creation, which was created in the beginning through him, is continually held together.  I gathered some thoughts and scripture to help me appreciate the amazing work of God and Christ together in making this world.

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solar cells, baby seals and God's infinite care

As we continue to ask the question, "Is caring for animals a valid Christian concern?," Lauren Merritt provides another biblically grounded and poignant response ...  

For those who say, “animals are put here to serve and be useful to man” – I don’t argue, but neither do I completely agree.  We daily encounter the milk of a dairy cow, the eggs of a chicken and the meat of a beef cow.  We’ve read Genesis 1, which clearly tells us to have dominion and to subdue the earth.  But how can we define this dominion?  Is it such that any unused animal is a useless existence?

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