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Pete_Holter
Guest
Hi redhen!
I don’t have anything unique to offer, but I will try, by the grace of God, to penetrate more deeply the impact and scope of the fall of man and the grace that abounds all the more in the impact and scope of the reversal taking place in the redemption.
Already discussed is the vegan status of man and beast before the fall, when God saw all that He had made, that it was very good. The Catechism states that the Sacred Text “teaches the truths revealed by God for our salvation, permitting us to recognize the inner nature, the value, and the ordering of the whole of creation to the praise of God” (Para. 337). We also learn that in “creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm,” and that “man must remain faithful to this foundation and respect the laws that the Creator has written into it” (Para. 346). Not only were man and beast very good in and of themselves, but the relationship, or the ordering, that existed between them was also very good.
We also know that all of the visible creation, the entire cosmos, was impacted by the fall, and that it is now, though redeemed, in bondage to decay and eagerly awaiting its deliverance (cf. Rom 8:21; CCC para. 1046). “The visible universe, then, is itself destined to be transformed, ‘so that the world itself, restored to its original state, facing no further obstacles, should be at the service of the just,’ sharing their glorification in the risen Jesus Christ” (CCC para. 1047). And even now the suffering of animals is in service to the just to help recall them to their original state: “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel” (Prov. 12:10).
We can see how the fall affected man’s relationship with animals, and animals with each other, by considering the state of the world at the time of the flood.
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Gen 6:11-12). I argue that the “all flesh” being referred to here is the very same “all flesh” of verse 17, that is, “all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven.” “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven” (cf. Gen. 1:30; 2:7). The flesh that had corrupted their way is the flesh that is to be destroyed. This brings in view at least one aspect of the corruption that had ensued: man and beast had fallen from God’s plan of a peaceful coexistence and had begun killing and eating each other, filling the world with violence.
We see from the loading of the ark that God had not yet regulated this corruption and was still holding man and beast to the intent of His original design. After instructing Noah how many and of what kinds of animals to take, He goes on to tell him to “take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them” (Gen 6:21). From this - the fact that all types of animals had just been delineated in the previous verses - we are made to understand that God does not consider animals food, either for humans or for other animals, at this point in history.
After the flood we see how God goes on to regulate this corruption by prohibiting man from eating “flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Gen 9:4). Let’s talk about the “blessing” that God gives to Noah at this point. I put this blessing in quotation marks because it is reminiscent of the “blessing” of Jacob over his children. If we move forward in Genesis to this event, we see that Jacob “blesses” Simeon and Levi by saying, “Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company…Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel!” (Gen. 49:6, 7) Other of his children truly are blessed. And yet the text tells us that Jacob was “blessing each with the blessing suitable to him” (Gen. 49:28). This is not what we typically think of when we hear the word “bless”. I see a similar mixed blessing being given to Noah; a negative aspect of that blessing being that the “fear and the dread of you”, that is, of man, would fall upon all the animals. This is a calamitous departure from the relations we shared in the garden, when the beasts were brought to Adam to be named and for him to see, not only that they do not correspond with him as equals, but that they are nonetheless companions with him enjoying each other’s presence in peaceful coexistence. And to this truly blessed state we shall return, for they “shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9; cf. CCC para. 1047).
God bless you!