God’s purpose of creating the animals
Did God create the animals for companionship or food for humanity? God created the heavens and the earth, the waters and the lights, the animals and the human kind. And God saw that it was good. God placed Adam and Eve, the very first two human beings, in a paradise named Eden. Eden was full of plants, seeds, trees, and animals. However, a major conflict has arisen among people on whether the animals were created for companionship or food for humans? The Bible seems to be extremely contradictory about this specific topic by providing supportive biblical texts for both sides of the argument. Vegetarians use biblical texts to support their vegetarianism but, there is in fact more evidence supporting that God created animals for food rather than companionship.
One of the main questions vegetarians tend to ask non-vegetarians is “Why would God want humans to destroy his other creations?” Yet the Bible states “Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image,
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according to our likeliness; and let them have dominion over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth” . God clearly says to let humans take dominion over every animal of the earth. In the English dictionary, dominion means “the power or right of governing and controlling; rule; sovereign authority.” The power in which one has the right to govern and rule over a property or territory. In contrast to this, Pope Francis claims that by dominion the Bible meant to “till and keep,” meaning “tilling” for cultivating and “keeping” for taking care of our given land. Pope Francis basically changed the meaning of dominion in his encyclical according to his very own view. If we get a little deeper into what Pope Francis intended with his reference, we can assume that he meant not to take one of Genesis 1:26 words literally or seriously. Now, in addition to this, as a result of this interpretation, should we not take any of the biblical texts seriously? Should we also predict that the whole Genesis book is false? Furthermore, many vegetarian people argue that God made animals for human companionship due to this specific biblical text: “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner” So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name” It is awkward to think about how Adam gave identity to his very own food.
Although the biblical text above does, in fact, support vegetarians, the Bible later says that Adam did not seem to find animals as ideal partners. Hence, God created Eve. One thing that Jury Barad highlighted according to Umberto Cassuto’s observation is that “It would be impossible for Adam to know better than the all-knowing creator that animals were not appropriate partners.” I suppose God understands the whole concept of human necessities more than humanity
itself. Moreover, when Adam and Eve sinned and realized they were naked, they immediately covered themselves with leaves. Before they left Eden, “the LORD God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.” According to Genesis, God not only created animals for food but God also basically viewed animals as material by using their skins to produce garments for humans. Presently, many religious people eat meat regularly claiming that God made animals for humans to eat. “They insist that this is God’s sole purpose for creating animals.” Furthermore, Jesus gave fish to the people for them to eat during his time on earth. It would be absolutely sinful of Jesus to give humans animals for food if God had not created them for food. Jesus, the son of God, never sinned. Also, in the covenant with Noah, God evidently authorizes Noah to eat animals. ”Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” In Conclusion, I have shown and proven that animals were meant for humans to eat. Regardless of all the debatable data and contradicted biblical texts, the evidence supporting that animals were created by God for humans to take dominion, overcomes. Those who think that animals were made for companionship to men should make a deeper observation by comparing and contrasting humans with animals. Animal’s physical appearance indicates that they were made to attack. Animals can indeed hurt humans with their natural weapons. Also, human thinking overcomes animals. Perhaps, God gave us our intelligence to control all the “moving things living upon the earth.”
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis1:1.) God’s perfect wisdom created everything. In Genesis 1 and 2 we can see that God has loving and gentile nature when He created the earth and heavens. God created man in his image and we are the only creation that God breathed in the breath of life for human beings (Genesis 2:7). God did not do this for any of other creations but only for humans. The Bible has many scriptures that tell us how creative God is. Genesis 1;26 states “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. 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 created all of this for us to have fellowship with him.
Another of the many popular beliefs was that every living thing put on Earth by god was for human use. He gave humans control over his creatures. All of them had certain roles, as food, medicine, etc. For example, cows were put on Earth to supply people with meat and milk, and wheat was there to supply bread. Everything on Earth was useful to humans.
In the first chapter of the Holy Bible, Genesis, God creates the world. In this creation he creates man on the same day, yet man stands divine like at the peak of the creatures. Rousseau, in the Second Discourse, recalls that when he was a beast he ate mainly fruits and nuts. Eventually, he rose to his human status and began to eat meat. One must face the idea that animal meat, not fruits and nuts, is "the human food." Kass later on discusses how vegetarians seem to alter the balance of nature and fails to distinguish between man and animal by only eating vegetables, fruits and nuts. According to Genesis, the early ancestors were originally strict frugivores (fruit pickers), but when God restarts the human race again with Noah, he then shows the hierarchy of humans and animals. He then brings humans to the point that they are to eat animal flesh in order to balance the nature of the world. Human beings, although being praised for being superior, are animals both in their nature and in their origins. According to Aristotle, the soul, though thought by humans to be the only creatures to obtain it, is more that consciousness and is acquired in all animals even plants. Even in Genesis, God thought that animals and humans should be similar in this fact in order to be his companions. Though Genesis discusses creation of the "humanity" of the human being, Leviticus brings forth the dietary laws in which humans must obey when looking for divinity.
God's treatment towards his creations is highlighted with contempt and disappointment many times throughout Genesis. In the beginning God creates Adam and his many companions, giving his creations free reign over the Garden of Eden, and in return asking them to not eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge, later on however it is one of God's own creations, the serpent, who coerces man and woman to break God's word and eat from the tree of knowledge. Surely enough all parties are punished, with man and woman banished from the Garden and forced to toil upon the land for sustenance (New Oxford Annotated Bible, Gen. 2.7-3.19). The story of the Garden of Eden serves to demonstrate two major reoccurring themes in Genesis, God's creations failing his convictions, and his subsequent punishin...
...erence in the world, but I have found that even one person not eating meat saves thousands of animals and hundreds of acres of rainforest, and prevents an immeasurable amount of environmental degradation. Besides, according to Milton, Adam and Eve were vegetarians!
“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind” (Genesis 9: 5-7). If God created man in his image, what does eating a fellow human being suggest? We would certainly agree that it is wrong to eat the image of God. Unlike vices like murder or lying, cannibalism is hard to justify even when you’re deserted on an island with a few others with no food in sight. However, to believe that cannibalism is wrong or unnatural in every case might make us ignorant of what it can tell us about the breadth of human culture or about the balance between revenge and justice. Either way, our stance on cannibalism depends on our understanding of what it represents and the role it plays, as reflected
In the beginning, God created a perfect world without sin, pain, or agony. God created this world so some of His creation would have a home and a place to serve him. However, this model of a flawless utopia became corrupted very quickly. God’s prized creation, humans, disobeyed the only command that their Father had set in place: not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and
Vegetarians are uncomfortable with how humans treat animals. Animals are cruelly butchered to meet the high demand and taste for meat in the market. Furthermore, meat-consumers argue that meat based foods are cheaper than plant based foods. According to Christians, man was given the power to dominate over all creatures in the world. Therefore, man has the right to use animals for food (Singer and Mason, 2007). However, it is unjustified for man to treat animals as he wishes because he has the power to rule over animals. This owes to the reality that it is unclear whether man has the right to slaughter animals (haphazardly), but it is clear that humans have a duty to take care of animals. In objection, killing animals is equal to killing fellow humans because both humans and animals have a right to life. Instead of brutally slaying animals, people should consume their products, which...
As believed, vegetarianism was originally founded in ancient India and was generally formed on ethical and moral issues. There were two religions that first accepted vegetarianism: Hinduism made the cow a sacred animal, something to be respected and admired, and over time, these ideals evolved from mere ideas to commonplace social practices. Ahimsa is the principle that...
Today people are concerned with what they eat in order to lose or maintain their weight. What people do not know is how their food is obtained, how veganism is beneficial to their health and what the food industry thinks of vegans. Veganism is the avoidance of any animal products particularly food. Veganism confronts the issues of animal welfare as well as dietary concerns for humans. It is an effective method to live a healthy and humane lifestyle.
Many people don’t believe think anything of what they eat or how it got there. But the harsh truth is the meat that you eat was once a living, breathing creature that had feeling and emotions. Maybe next time you order a steak or chicken nuggets you should think about the animals that went through extreme pain and conditions for you to eat. Not only is it inhumane to put animals through such pain, not eating meat and having a vegetarian lifestyle can have huge benefits to animals, the environment, and your health.
God gave man dominion over the animals. When God saw His creation, animals, he saw that it was good. However, when he saw Mankind, He saw that it was very good. Erickson says that “The image of God distinguishes humans from all other creatures; it is what makes us human” (p. 172). God made us in His image which gives us value. For example, when a cat gets run over by a car and dies, it is sad. But, when a person gets run over by a car, it is a tragedy. Why does human life have more value than animal life? God gave us value! God also gave us the ability to use logic and reason. Has an ape ever built a car? Has a leopard ever played chess? Of course not! God gave humans reason, not animals. We are dominant over the animals. Jesus displayed a love for humans throughout the new testament. It says in Mathew 9:35-36, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion
Psalm 145:9 “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he made.” The religious text is a Christian statement that supports the work C.A.R.E is attempting to achieve, with this statement it displays that the lord views all that he created as equal. Another situation in which animal exploitation goes against Christianity values and ethics includes Genesis1:29,30, which states Gods instructions to Adam and Eve to eat only fruit and seeds, "I have given you all plants that bear seed: they shall be your food". This text from the Bible provides evidence from the Christian religious view to preventing animal
In Genesis 1:29, God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” From the beginning God has given us food for life. Plants, meats, trees, and fruits are offered to us as a means of sustenance from the very same God who made them long ago.
Numerous people believe that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy for the reason that one is not consuming enough protein since there is a decrease in the consumption of meat. However, meat is not the only source of protein. Nuts and grains contain great amounts of protein, and by eating these in the place of meat, one not only gets protein, but avoids the harmful carbohydrates and fats that are in animal meats. Consuming supplements can also help gain nutrients if the diet is not providing enough. There are countless amounts of nutritional supplements that one can purchase, including fish oil and omega 3s. These can be fairly cheap if purchased at the right place, and easily give bodies the nutrients they crave to function.