Animals Religion and the EnvironmentAnimals, Religion and the Environment: The Bible’s Teachings on Protecting Animals and Nature by Lewis Regenstein
Animals: Tradition - Philosophy - Religion Article from All-Creatures.org

Part 1: Introduction

A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast. -Proverbs 12:10

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. -Luke 12:6

The Bible and our Judaic-Christian heritage clearly teach and command us to treat animals with kindness and respect. The massive abuse and suffering legally inflicted on billions of animals every year is a clear violation of the teachings of our religious faith and cannot be justified by any person of faith and decency.

The people for and by whom the Bible was written thousands of years ago were intimately familiar with wildlife and domestic animals, especially the practice of raising cattle and other animals. The Scriptures contain strict rules governing the treatment of farm animals and indeed all of God’s creatures, designed to prevent any unnecessary pain and suffering. Even the Ten Commandments provide protection for animals and forbid the working of them on the Sabbath.

Many of our modern day practices, such as factory farming, blatantly violate most or all of these Biblical laws, and is causing massive damage to people, animals, the environment, and essential natural resources such as the water we drink and the air we breathe. Any truly religious person must therefore oppose these forms of blatant cruelty inflicted on the animals under our care. Those who disagree have an argument not against animal protectionists but against the literal words of the Holy Scriptures.


Go on to: Part 2: Protecting God's Creation
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