Humans vs Animals

I saw this combination of questions recently by one of my friends, and it seemed so straight forward I thought I should take the time to write out at least a short response based on scripture that I believe addresses the questions.

• Why is it that some people seem to care more about animals than humans?

• And why is it that some people seem to care more about humans than animals?

• Is the hierarchy here justified and why?

• Where do vegans fit into this?

What I will say first to these questions is that if you come from a literal (grammatical-historical method) interpretation of the Bible, these questions are all quite easy to answer. If you believe almost anything else, the question seems impossible to answer from any true logical standpoint.

Especially if you do not believe in a God at all and that humans are simply highly evolved animals, you can come up with whatever deciding factor you want for what morality and opinions people should have based on their conscience, etc. I don’t believe that you will ever be able to convince another person of your own thoughts. After all, at the end of the day, if there is no God, you are just another animal with another opinion.

Question one:

• Why is it that some people seem to care more about animals than humans?

“because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” Romans 1:25

In the first chapter of Romans, Paul talks about how people will reject God and after that, anything becomes sensible to them. “God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” Things that people assumed were unthinkable became a reality. Elevating animals over human life, though a seemingly small issue. It is still part of the process of man worshiping something over God. Why is this such a big deal? I will explain in the other questions

Question 2:

• And why is it that some people seem to care more about humans than animals?

This is normal behavior and at its simplest roots, it’s because humans have an eternal soul that can be saved. Animals do not.

God created humans in His likeness Genesis 1:26a: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” He created humans to be like him. He already had created many other creatures at this point. In fact, he created every creature before he created man. Man and woman were his final creation. None of the other animals does he say were created in his image.

This is really the only distinction that it gives between the other animals God created and man. If it isn’t for them being created in His own likeness, they really are pretty much the same. But because we as humans are created in His image, we have characteristics that resemble Him. Our conscience being one of them. Along with intellect, community, creation, etc. being other abilities that other animals may have in part, but not as humans have it.

It is natural to care about humans more than animals because no matter how special an animal may be, it is not a creature created in the likeness of God. It is not an image-bearer of God.

Question 3:

• Is the hierarchy here justified and why?

Genesis 1:26b: “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God gave man dominion over all the creatures in the world. This includes all animals. When God first created the world, however, there was no death because it was a perfect world, so man lived in harmony with the other animals God created. This perfect harmony was destroyed when Adam and Eve sinned and death entered the world. All of a sudden, perfect harmony was destroyed, and perfect relationships, both between Adam and Eve, and also the animals, was destroyed.

The first physical death we see in scripture is actually through God making skins for Adam and Eve to wear (Genesis 3:21). It’s difficult to have skins without a dead animal.

Clearly, God sets Adam and Eve over the world he created, and they are not to abuse the world or the things in it, but they are also not to make the world their idol. 1 John 2:17 “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

However, there was still a restriction on eating animals in the very beginning…I mean, can you imagine going from having this perfect harmony with animals and then all of a sudden start to eat them?

Being able to eat animals came after the flood. God tells Noah: Genesis 9:3: “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”

God gave at this point gives dominion to Noah, not to rule over the earth as a tyrant, but also not to be timid about the creation that God had given them. Whether that be the plants, the animals, the pretty views…anything.

Question 4:

• Where do vegans fit into this?

Vegan’s, just like the rest of mankind, have dominion over the world. However, if they choose they want to live in the world without eating or using animals, there is certainly no fault in that. I would caution against this stance from any sort of a biblical “high ground” because of what was already discussed about dominion, and also this passage from the new testament that is a story of Peter who has been told his whole life what is okay to eat and what is not:

Acts 10:12-16 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

God has made available to us pretty much all things. We then have the choice of what we will prioritize or use.

At the heart of the original questions, there seems to be a lack of understanding of “hierarchy.” Because if you believe we are all animals, hierarchy is something hard to take any firm stance. It is yet another example of what I believe the world overcomplicating issues that have already been simplified for us in scripture.

What will you spend your time prioritizing? The eternal souls all around you, or the animal you just got?