Why don’t Christians teach more from the Bible about animal rights?
The term “rights,” as used by some people today, is more of a political word than a biblical word. The Bible says a lot about the care of animals, but “animal rights groups” reject its central teaching that human life is more valuable than animal life. I spoke with a member of a particularly aggressive animal rights group who told me that the Bible was “wrong” to refer to animals as “beasts” or “beasts of the field.” Yet that is exactly what the Bible calls them and it means a lower life form.
That being said, animals should be treated with the utmost care. There is no question about that in the Bible. For example there is this word in Proverbs 12:10, “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast…” When a man mentioned in the Old Testament beat his donkey with a staff, he was rebuked (Numbers 22:23-33). Jesus taught that when an ox falls into a ditch, we are to help it out (Luke 14:5). Other passages tell us to provide adequate food, water, and medical attention for them (Ezekiel 32). We are even told to allow beasts of burden the opportunity to rest (Exodus 23).
Christians believe that animals were created by God, as were humans. In His Sermon On the Mount, Jesus taught that God notices even when a tiny sparrow falls to the ground. He goes on to teach that God takes care of the animal world. Yet Jesus asked this most poignant question in Matthew 6:26, “Aren’t you more valuable than they?”
The term “rights,” as used by some people today, is more of a political word than a biblical word. The Bible says a lot about the care of animals, but “animal rights groups” reject its central teaching that human life is more valuable than animal life. I spoke with a member of a particularly aggressive animal rights group who told me that the Bible was “wrong” to refer to animals as “beasts” or “beasts of the field.” Yet that is exactly what the Bible calls them and it means a lower life form.
That being said, animals should be treated with the utmost care. There is no question about that in the Bible. For example there is this word in Proverbs 12:10, “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast…” When a man mentioned in the Old Testament beat his donkey with a staff, he was rebuked (Numbers 22:23-33). Jesus taught that when an ox falls into a ditch, we are to help it out (Luke 14:5). Other passages tell us to provide adequate food, water, and medical attention for them (Ezekiel 32). We are even told to allow beasts of burden the opportunity to rest (Exodus 23).
Christians believe that animals were created by God, as were humans. In His Sermon On the Mount, Jesus taught that God notices even when a tiny sparrow falls to the ground. He goes on to teach that God takes care of the animal world. Yet Jesus asked this most poignant question in Matthew 6:26, “Aren’t you more valuable than they?”
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