Subject: Re: How important are humans to God? Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 02:42:42 GMT From: Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian In article <>, Daniel McLean <> wrote: > Hi Ken, > > Ken Smith wrote: [snip] >> We have very little in the Bible about animals, but what we do have >> indicates that God is concerned for their welfare. Sure, but don't read too much into them... >> Some passages which come to mind immediately are: >> (a) God's covenant with all the animals in Genesis 9:8-17; Only that God would not wipe out life completely. In the same chapter God affirms that humans may eat animals (9:3) and that humans life is particularly precious because humans are made in the image of God (9:6). >> (b) The command that animals were to rest on the sabbath: >> Exodus 20:10/Deoteronomy 5:14 I think that's more to do with not working, and sensible management of resources, than any special concern for animal life. >> (c) Assorted passages in the Psalms, e.g., Psalm 104 This affirms God as creator of all things, animate and inanimate. >> (d) The Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 6:25-30 Doesn't this say the opposite to what Daniel is getting at? That humans are far more valuable to him than animals or plants. On the other hand, there are many Bible passages affirming the special position of humans: e.g. made in the image of God; God's special care for human life (Gen 9:6); God's revulsion at human sacrifice but acceptance of animal sacrifice; Jesus came as a human; Matthew 6 (above); etc. I'd go so far as to say that the special status of humans is one of the fundamental doctrines of the Bible. If a new set of "The Fundamentals" comes out in 2015, perhaps they'd put that one in... Daniel MacLean wrote: >I guess I was more angling at the idea that the human valuation of itself may be >an over-valuation, leading to the problem of evil being conceived as more of a >problem than it really is. > >If we see humans as greatly more important than animals both to us and to God, >then we are likely to wonder why God allows certain bad things to happen to >humans or have created the earth as it is in the first place, if God loves >humans. >How do we view the animals and their plight? When an animal suffers pain or >dies, we are rarely moved and certainly not like we are about fellow humans. In >fact, we are quite happy to exterminate certain animals/insects. Is it possible >that God may view our lives in a similar fashion to how we human animal life? >That is, it may be that the human valuing of human life and projection of that >onto God is misleading. When a human dies, perhaps God's reaction is no >different to when an animal dies, even if we are more complex or intelligent >creatures. > >I certainly think that breaking down the enormous categorical separation of >human and non-human life on our earth is a step forward in living in an >ecologically sound way. Maybe ecologically sound, but ethically disastrous. It is not possible to preserve all other life: we have to eat for a start. (Was it Steve Wright who said: "What do you do with an endangered animal which only eats endangered plants?"?). So if we "[break] down the enormous categorical separation of human and non-human life on our earth", the result would *not* be the raising of the value of animal and plant life (not to any great degree anyway), but the *devaluing* of human life. We are already seeing this with some people seriously calling for the culling of human babies who do not meet certain physical criteria. Regards, Peter Ballard