At a time when an anti-christian bias is a politically correct
prejudice, it has become politically INcorrect to claim the superiority of one
religion over another. This is based on the belief that all religions lead their
adherents to the same spiritual goal. But whether or not this is true, those who
care about animals should know that compared to the sacred scriptures of many
other cultures, the Bible offers the best support for those working for the
rights and welfare of nonhuman beings.
It offers this support in three critical areas: In the story
of how animals were created; in the report of why they were created; and in an
account of their ultimate destiny. There are sacred writings of various
religions that do not deal with these issues in regard to either humans or
animals, but the Koran does. And its teachings differ greatly from biblical
accounts.
The Bible reports that God formed Adam from the dust of the
earth, the connotation being that of a potter forming a vessel.
The Koran gives the same report about Adam but says that the
animating force which made this vessel a living being was a "small seed," i.e.,
a drop of sperm, but does not specify where it came from. Neither does it give
an account of how animals came to be living entities. But the Bible does give
such an account and reports that the animating force for both human and animal
beings was the same: a soul breathed into them by God which caused them to
become "living souls" (1)
And when it comes to the question of "why" God/Allah created
animals, there is no similarity at all between what the Bible says and what the
Koran says. The Bible clearly states that Adam, alone in the Garden of Eden,
became very lonely. He needed companions to alleviate his loneliness, so God
created the animals. "And the Lord God said 'It is not good that the man should
be alone; I will make an help meet for him.' And out of the ground the Lord God
formed every beast." (2)
Obviously, during the time that men and animals were
companions they were not killing and eating each other. Devouring the flesh of
other species, or of your own kind, is not conducive to friendly relations. It
was only as the world became increasingly violent that both humans and animals
became carnivorous. "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on earth had become
and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil, all the
time...So the Lord said I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face
of the earth...for I am grieved that I made them. (Genesis 6:5,7)
That world was washed away by a great flood. It was a world
whose inhabitants had become so violent they had begun to kill other creatures
and eat their flesh. This carnivorism was a refusal to keep the Divine command
that restricted both humans and animals to herbivorism. (3)
The biblical account of flesh-eating as the rejection of God's
mandate is in direct conflict with the Koran which teaches that Allah created
animals, specifically, as food for humans. "[Allah] gives you to drink of what
[cattle] have within their bodies...and they are food for you" Surah 23:22
"{Allah] created the cattle for you; and of them you have warm
clothing and of them you do eat. ....And He it is Who made the sea subservient
that you may eat fresh flesh from it and bring forth from it ornaments which you
wear...Surah 16:5; 16:14.
Another Surah relates that Allah created two kinds of water,
fresh water and sea water, for the same reason: to provide food for people.
"from each of them you eat fresh flesh and bring forth ornaments which you
wear." Surah 35.12
In these scriptures, the Koran presents human carnivorism as
something Allah ordained rather than the debased state of being described by the
Bible. There is no place in the Koran in which animals are described as other
than utilitarian creatures who were created for humans to eat, wear, use as
beasts of burden, and/or ornaments with which to decorate their bodies.
Of course, in actual practice it makes no difference that the
Koran sanctions this use and abuse of animals and the Bible presents it as
sinful--the result of a refusal to abide by God's decree. And it certainly does
not matter to the animals whether the people who kill, consume, and subject them
to countless other cruelties are Moslems or Christians. But it should matter to
those animal activists who are working to eradicate the cruelties rampant in our
Western culture. And especially those who do this work in the United States,
where a high percentage of people claim the Bible as the foundation of their
religious beliefs and moral behavior.
The fact that so many Christians claim biblical support for
their immoral treatment of animals does not make it so. When such claims are
challenged it becomes obvious that they are based on generations of self-serving
interpretations that contradict the Bible and were concocted to allow the
continuing exploitation of animals.
Not only does the Bible provide an ongoing account of God's
concern for animals and a divine plan for the peaceful co-existence of humans
and animals, it also tells of a heavenly existence shared by both. (4)
These passages of scripture are ignored by those whose
prejudice against other species has led them to vehemently deny the possibility
of such an afterlife. But their denial does not change the fact that the Bible
supports a heavenly existence for animals. An existence in which "God shall wipe
away all tears, and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, neither shall there be any more pain: For the former things are passed
away" (Revelation 21:4).
The Koran offers no such promise. In fact, the former things
continue to exist in Paradise, including the eating of flesh.
What constitutes a Garden of Paradise for Moslems is a
continuing hell for animals. Served by those who are eternally young and
surrounded by beautiful houris, the Moslem Paradise is one in which men "On
decorated thrones, reclining on them, facing one another" are served goblets of
pure drink "and fruits such as they choose, And the flesh of fowl such as they
desire." Surah 56:.15-21
The Koran is consistent in its overview of animals when it
teaches that in Paradise animals exist to satisfy human appetites. This is an
appropriate fate for creatures whose only purpose on earth was also to be used
by humans. Because the Koran does not allow for any spiritual relatedness
between Allah and animals or between humans and animals, there is no happy
ending for these unfortunate creatures either in this world, or in the next.
The Bible is also consistent in its overview. It teaches that
the animals who were created as human companions also share a spiritual bond
with them and with their Creator. And the soul which God breathed into them
allows an eternal inheritance in a place that exists beyond the pain and
suffering of a world in which the darkness of human folly blocks out the light
of God's goodness.
Those who think all religious teachings are the same and are
impediments to the rights and welfare of animals might reconsider their
position. People of faith, as well as non-believers, need to equip themselves
with information that refutes the claims of those who say the Bible sanctions
either their carnivorism or other cruelties to animals.
Those who are interested in doing this can check out three
pertinent articles on this website: The Biblical Basis of Vegetarianism; God's
Covenant With All Creatures; Animal And Human Companions. If these articles are
helpful, any or all of them can be obtained in booklet form by sending one,
first class stamp to: Humane Religion, P.O. Box 25354, Sarasota, FL 34277.
===================================
(1) Hebrew "neh'-phesh" in Genesis 1:20,21,30; Genesis 2:7,19.
(2) The Hebrew word for "help," used here in Genesis 2:18 is
the same word that is used when referring to God as being a help to people when
they are in difficult circumstances (e.g., Psalm 70:5).
(3) Genesis 1:29,30.For a detailed account see this website
article "The Biblical Basis of Vegetarianism."
(4) Revelation 4:1-10; 7:11, among others.
Copyright 2005 Humane Religion
HUMANE RELIGION
