We are made in the image and likeness of God, therefore we behave like the animals who are not made in the image of God. ??? We lurk in the bushes to kill them (the animals), then cut off their heads to hang on our wall, and boast about our “prowess.” God is compassion, love, and mercy. Should we not seek to be the same?
I don’t think our attitude towards animals should be leveled with how we treat men, it’s comparing two different creatures. It’s a little dangerous even to compare One that has an immortal soul over others that are just material. I don’t think we should get caught up in worrying about the animals reflecting our compassion. If a compassionate person treats their fellow man with love for God’s sake, it ultimately carries over with his heart and attitude towards animals.
Your suggestive post is a case of judging a person’s heart based on their individual habits, and possibly coming to an incorrect conclusion. Be wary of this. For instance, I remember one of my local parish priests would joke–very nice humble guy, he joked to congregants during a digression about how he’d hunt these birds for fun, and he said he was asked, “But Father, how can you hunt these birds, you’re a priest?” and he said “Easy” and started miming how he hunts them. To their laughter.
I liked how he was honest and forthright about his pastime. And changed my view on sport hunters somewhat.
Ultimately, yes hunting for sport abundantly appears a bit cruel for others, but we don’t know if the hunter also is appreciating humanely his use for them, either. People have less problem when people put fish on their walls, but when it comes to larger animals, then they start judging the hunters?
My issue is with folks who regard animals as commodities, and express zero compassion, and even enjoy killing animals.
While I don’t prefer hunting for myself…I don’t agree about people disregarding animals…if it’s necessary to use animals for our benefit, I see no problem with humans doing that. If they are just being unnecessarily destructive in said use, then yes I may have one-- but I don’t think the use of animals or disregard for them in their “ends” necessarily equates with that
reflecting a man’s compassion. A person may “show” zero compassion. But, So what? You still don’t know their heart.
We have to remember
we have dominion over animals, and they
are of use to us.
When I see people objecting to our use of animals for medicines, subsistence, and the excessive emphasis on an animals well being at the risk of OUR OWN lives and survival, THAT’S when I have a problem. We are living and healthier today because of our use of animals as commodities.
I’ll give you examples and whether one thinks this is righteous:
Now, it’s okay, to defend animals, in the case of Michael Vick. But is it okay to judge person who was indifferent, who didn’t really cry over the loss of say, 20 baby seals? Because the didn’t react to the news the same way if humans were the ones massacred?
That’s why I think there is trouble when one starts to focus too much on the plight of animals. They are beautiful creatures, but they are something that can cause one to lose sight of priorities, and God’s intentions for man’s well being.
Another example, it is just plain stupid for people to go and risk their lives for a random stray dog, at the peril and endangerment of their own life. I think that is stupid. It’s not compassionate, it’s not God’s will. It’s just negligent and reckless. True story (this was in the news), two parents drowned trying to wade in a river to save a random dog, leaving their child in the carriage an orphan.
Another instance, I think it would be stupid for a person to judge
me, if I didn’t object to a policy that needed to protect humans, at the expense of competitor animals. Conversely, there was a law that passed this past year, that would impact farmers financially, because hippies wanted Egg Producing Chickens to have larger free range ‘living quarters’ instead of cages. That law passed, while parental notice of abortion did not pass in California. That’s how stupid I think people can get when concerning moral priorities. Like these public hollywood hypocrites villify hunters while voting pro-choice every time and not wincing about infanticide.
When push comes to shove and I see animal rights attitudes superceding the rights of humans? I get angry. Our concern for animals should NEVER be at the expense of human well being.
Yes, we should defend animals from excessive cruelty and mistreatment for their intended purposes, but we should also remember how God and his followers in the Old Testament sacrificed animals all the time, and the very instance of when God substituted a ram, in place of Isaac, was an example of
our priority OVER animals not at the level. Another example, Jesus fully man and fully God,
with no hesitation–used a herd of swine for the sake of a possessed man’s well being, the pigs not only
suffered they had to be inhabited by a bunch of jerk demons over the cliff!
People who have disregard for animals and their suffering, often have disregard for their fellow man as well.
Rather, people who have excessive regard for animals, often may not have regard for their fellow man!
If a man is compassionate to his fellow man, then his attitude towards animals won’t lead him to turn into Michael Vick. But as I’ve pointed out, the reverse is not true. A person can save a million chickens from getting cramps in their knees, but when asked to vote on the well-being of an unborn baby; they’re nowhere to be found.
So such concerns are misplaced.
I think there’s a sense of blinding oneself to truth, in concern for how we treat animals. So be wary. It’s almost a retroactive knee jerk of re-raising the Golden Calf.
be civilised as opposed to the law of the jungle:thumbsup: