Jesus probably fished for the fish he was cooking over a charcoal fire in John 21:9. He baited a hook (probably causing suffering for the worm or bait fish), pulled in a few fish, took a knife, cut open their bellies and pulled out their innards, scraped the scales off while the fish wriggled around, and then threw the flesh in a pan to roast it. He probably didn’t enjoy the gutting, but that was part of fishing. He probably smiled when he saw his cork go under the water because his patience in waiting for fish to bite was rewarded. He probably smiled when he “killed” the plants to get the seasoning for the fish. He probably smiled when he ate the fish flesh because it tasted good. Jesus never sinned, nor was there any moral flaw in Him. He wasn’t a vegetarian. He recruited men to his apostles who killed animals and probably enjoyed their work of hunting fish. These guys became saints and didn’t have to renounce their hunting as pathological.
This colleague of mine’s actions aside, the questions here are **really **about hunting in general and man’s dominion over the animals of the earth as divinely instituted by God (Gen 1:28). The courts will decide if this man should be fined. However, the mass media has already crucified this man before all the evidence is out. Why? It’s precisely because they want to use this episode to shape public opinion against hunting in general and continue to promote the elevation of animals to the dignity of humans. Why? Because once man and animals are seen as being on equal footing, then it is no big leap of reason to say that man should not be governed by morality but rather by instinct alone. If our animal comrades are only governed by instinct, then so should we. A lion kills a cub - it’s just its natural instinct. It has no morality. That cub does not reflect on sentimental things before it is killed. There is no animal that seeks to “get right with God” as it staggers away from a successful bowshot. Why? Animals don’t have souls. Animals aren’t like humans. Animals were not redeemed with the blood of Christ. Animals do not have the same dignity as men. However, if we buy into the “animals are just humans with funny faces” argument, we deny the unique dignity of man. Once we are governed by instinct alone, there is no sin because there is no will nor any soul. Once there is no soul, there is no need for Christ to have redeemed us.
These are basic truths that need to be reiterated. Why? Because the world is trying to draw us away from God’s plan for us. They do it under the guise of compassion when, in reality, they are trying to undermine true religion.
We need to recognize that we are not mere animals. We are above them. One way that manifests itself is that we hunt and eat them. Hunting, by its nature, takes skill and training. Acquiring a skill takes time and dedication. Seeing a successful hunt is the end result of a lot of discipline, time and money. The kill of the animal is not pretty. No hunter rejoices in the suffering of the animal. They rejoice in the success of their training. The killing of an animal is not morally bad in and of itself. Jesus did this. The killing of animals for trophies is not a grave sin in and of itself. There may be a problem if a person enjoys gore and suffering, but very few hunters, including myself, love seeing animals suffer. In fact, we try to put the animal out of its misery as fast as possible. It’s just not part of the hunter mentality. Very few love gutting animals, very few love seeing baby animals “orphaned”. These things remind us of our own mortality and they are sobering. People who don’t hunt experience the same sobering feelings when death is presented, but they draw an erroneous conclusion when they see hunters smiling over their kills. They automatically assume it is a smile regarding the suffering. It is not.
