Randy Wray’s Blog

Thanks everyone for your thoughts from yesterday. Here are some of my thoughts (in no particular order) on this subject keeping in mind that I could be wrong!

We should speak more publicly in our assemblies regarding proper stewardship of God’s creation. I’m guessing this would even extend to our practices in other areas.

Cruelty to animals should never be tolerated. I agree with Thomas Aquinas that cruelty to animals often leads to cruelty to humans.

I believe that human beings are the crowning glory of God’s creation. Like the Sabbath, I believe that animals were made for human beings. God did not make human beings for animals.

Animals were given as companions, meat of animals was given for food, skins of animals were given for clothes. A suitable helper for man was not found within the animal kingdom thus woman was created.

Man was given authority and dominion to rule over the animals but never to be cruel.

I believe that God, alone, is to be worshiped and not his Creation. This is, in my opinion, part of the context of Romans chapter 1.

I don’t believe our pets will be in heaven. Though I am quite okay if they are. Animals do not have spirits or souls. The Bible teaches that we will be changed to enter into heaven from physical to spiritual. The perishable to the imperishable. If God does the same things for animals I can’t find it in the Bible.

Within the animal kingdom, God created and designated some clean and unclean. There is clear evidence that God created animals for various purposes even for sacrifices.

I worry that the discussion of “animal rights” and notions of a “moral standing” of animals are in themselves seeds of new age, eastern philosophies of veiled animal worship.

I strongly believe that have a responsibility as Christians to honor and treat animals humanely. However, it is an abdication of our responsibility to humanity when the needs of animals are placed above the needs of people. There is something wrong when a society has harsher, stricter penalties for mis-treating an animal than it does for mis-treating a human being. We have laws which protect the eggs of “endangered species” animals and no laws which protect un-born babies.

It is not wrong to have a heart or concern for “all of God’s creatures great and small” this is a sign of spiritual sensitivity and compassion for those beneath us. God does care for even the smallest of birds (Matthew 6:26) but the point is how much more God cares for people.

I don’t know how to respond to factory farming. It’s inhumane, it’s cruel, it’s the ugly side of dominion. I respect those who take stands to boycott places which rely upon these institutions for product. Whether or not one person can make a difference is not really the issue. I believe the issue is staying true to your convictions and coming before God with a clean conscience.

I don’t know how to respond to “sport” hunting because I am not a hunter. I do have a personal interest in the fishing side of the discussion because I love to fish. I practice catch-and-release and am happy to eat my Salmon from the great waters of Costco.

You could probably make a case that the disciples who were fisherman used the latest available technology to catch large quantities of fish - even divine intervention.

As far as Jesus being a vegetarian today? He ate fish and lamb with his followers.

I have friends who have such a heart for and a way with pets. This is a good example for us all.

It’s okay to have a pet. To love our pets and treat our pets with kindness and affection is the good side of dominion. They play a valuable role in our hearts and in our families. I agree with those of you who have said we need to remain balanced. Interesting how most of our problems in life result from excess and lack – in other words - imbalance.

Thanks for wading through this with me. I know it has been a messy series of disconnected thoughts. And as I said in the beginning, I could be wrong.

I’m on my way to look for a car, perhaps my next post should relate to the moral standing of car dealerships?