Part One:  Introduction

During past decades, radical animal rights activists have elevated the value of animals to the moral equivalency of humans. They uncompromisingly insist that medical research on live animals, factory farming, and other practices that cause animals intense suffering and death should be legally forbidden. Christians, on the other hand, have historically agreed that God created animals primarily for human consumption, commercial benefits, and entertainment. As such, they believe the human race is free to use animals in practically any manner they choose with little or no concern for their welfare.

Is this common Christian position God-honoring, or is the modern, non-Christian animal rights movement more on track with what God reveals in Scripture? Is promoting animal rights a legitimate and just cause? The Bible answers these questions, and this will be the topic of my new blog series. Today, I’ll begin by setting the stage for what follows in future posts.

Professor Andrew Linzey, in his book Creatures of the Same God; Explorations in Animal Theology, asks the question, “How likely is it that a God who creates millions, if not billions, of species only cares for one of them.”  Good question, and it too will be answered in this blog series. But for now, it reminds me of a comment I heard on a nationally broadcast radio talk show. The popular host, a person with special knowledge of the Old Testament, asserted that there would be no reason for animals to exist unless God created people.

At one level, I suppose he’s correct. The Bible does say that God had the human race in mind when he created Earth (Ps.115:16). But does it follow that the only reason God created animal life is to serve humanity? If so, why did He create so many millions of animals that contribute nothing to human welfare? And why did God create so many animals that He knew would become a nuisance and even dangerous to the human race?

The fact is that nowhere in the Bible does it say that God created animals exclusively for human consumption and commercial benefits, or that we can do what we wish with animals without any consideration for their well-being.  In this blog series, I’m going to provide what I believe is a reasonable and coherent biblical argument that God had more in mind than benefiting humanity when He designed and created the myriad diverse, beautiful, and often mysterious animals that share our amazing planet. My goal is to provide insight into what constitutes a biblical perspective of “animal rights,” and the ethical responsibilities we humans have in our relationship with both wild and domesticated animals. ©

Next week’s blog will explore how the animal rights movement began in the 19^th century and who started it. It will surprise many readers—both Christians and non-Christians.