Myth #77: “But God authorized us to eat animals.”
(also heard as “But the Bible says it’s OK to eat animals.”)
I will admit that this is one of my favorite myths to dissect, for I truly Love discussing the intricacies of the Bible almost as much as I LOVE defending my animal Friends from unjust persecution – and as it just so happens, the texts of the former lend themselves very well to the cause of the latter. As such, I could have chosen to mention many things in this particular chapter …
*I could have chosen to discuss the apparent likelihood — at least according to the ancient Hebrew texts of the book of Genesis — that it was not God at all who gave humankind “dominion” over the animals and offered them to us as food; that it was actually the less-than-moral fallen angels (the “Elohim” in ancient Hebrew texts) who did so.
*I could have relied upon the principle of “Biblical primacy” and noted that the only Commandment that God Himself gave to humankind in the entire Bible — most certainly the only Commandment given to us humans before our “fall into sin” — was to live as vegan stewards of the Earth (see Genesis 1:29-30).
*I could have brought up the practical conundrum that using the Bible as a literal justification for imprisoning, abusing, killing & eating animals also mandates the same strict adherence to other Old Testament verses as well; verses that — among many other unpleasantries — advocate slavery, affirm genocide, subjugate women and condone rape.
*I could have mentioned the various Biblical portrayals of Paradise — ostensibly an environment that would be good for us all to emulate here on Earth; descriptions that show Heaven to be a place of perfect Peace where unconditional Kindness is given to all sentient beings (see Isaiah 11:6-9, Isaiah 65:17-25, Hosea 2:18, Revelation 5:13).
*I could have quoted some of the many verses that actually show God’s unconditional Love for all his animal creations (see Proverbs 12:10, Psalm 36:6-7, Psalm 145:9, Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, Jeremiah 7:5-7, Isaiah 66:2-3, Matthew 9:13).
*I could have shared that the only prayer that Jesus Christ – the ultra-nonviolent “Prince of Peace” – offers in the entire Bible has as one of its core verses the phrase “Your will be done; on Earth as it is in Heaven” – essentially calling for us to alter the course of our lives and make choices that are as merciful and as loving as those that will be made in Paul’s perfect Paradise to come – and this, to all beings without exception (see Matthew 9:13, Matthew 10:29, Matthew 23:25-27, Luke 14:5 et al for verses where Jesus speaks lovingly about animals &/or non-lovingly about animal eaters).
*And, after all of this had been said & done, I could have posed a poignant and very important question for all Christians — namely this one: Seeing as how there is clearly just as much Biblical evidence to support a vegan God of unconditional Love as there is to proclaim a non-vegan god of a far more limited Grace, why would anyone choose to champion the latter version of God – the one who shows the lesser Love?
Of course, in the interest of concision, I am not going to be delving into any of those areas here in any depth. Instead, what I am going to do is pose two simple questions – for Christians the two most important questions that can be posed related to God’s will for us and our animal cousins …
*The first question is pretty straight forward, and goes as follows: IF God created us humans to regularly eat animals, then why didn’t he give us the digestive system required to effectively do so?
*And the second question is somewhat like it – namely: IF God created the animals to be used by us humans as food, and IF God created the animals’ brains that made them self-aware and therefore terrified of confinement & abuse & death, and IF God made the animals’ bodies with so many nerve endings that they suffer immensely when murdered … then WHY are you worshiping such a god; a god who is at best fully incompetent, and at worst flagrantly inconsiderate – or even sadistically cruel?
When I personally think about it even briefly, it seems plain & obvious to me (and hopefully to many of you now as well) that — IF God did indeed create sentient animals for humans to confine, exploit, kill and consume, then this is a patently immoral god; a deity who should quite clearly not be worshiped at all … but should rather be openly & courageously opposed.
In conclusion, my Friends, regardless of each of our unique & often divergent beliefs about the nature or even the existence of God, I have faith that it is now clear that A) the God of the Christian Bible can be read & seen & known as an all-Loving Entity who clearly would never sanction the murder of innocent animal lives, and B) that IF such a God does not exist — IF God truly did purposefully and knowingly create animals sentient, to then painfully suffer at humanity’s lusty hands — then it is upon us not to worship such a capricious deity, but rather to courageously defy Him.
Amen … Let it be so.
Current status of this Myth: Remonstrated
Justification it provides for eating animals: NONE
;