The Bible, Christianity, & Animals

Christian behavior is shaped by the Bible, but it is also shaped by culture, habit, and convenience. It is conventional and normative for communities to push God’s creatures outside of our moral circle—even outside of our sphere of vision, so that we often do not see or understand what animals experience in laboratories or on farms. Christian ideals are distinct from these worldly tendencies, and this creates a gap between teaching and practice. Culture, habit, and convenience are not the ways of Jesus, who modeled a life of love and attentive care to the needs of those conventionally overlooked.

Core Christian ethics provide a clear understanding of the responsibilities of humankind: Animals are not ours—they are God’s; Christians are called to serve God by tenderly caring for all that has been made. Jesus showed us how to serve God, how to tenderly and responsibly care for those harmed by neglect and indifference, how to courageously minister to the needs of those excluded from the moral circle of the larger society. While worldly ways often hold sway in mainstream society, core Christian ethics are clear and consistent: Through our Creator, we owe animals mercy and the good works of tender care.

When humankind “uses” animals, especially for food, experimentation, sport, or clothing, this almost always means harming God’s creatures, but Christianity is a religion of love rooted in the example of tender care provided by Jesus. If we “use” baby chicks or little bunnies in our Easter displays, for example, the lives of chicks and bunnies, and the bond between the mother and her young, are harmed because they are too fragile to be handled and passed from one person to another, and because they are too young to be away from their mothers. When we use animals in our feasts or for sport, the wellbeing and lives of God’s creatures are almost always put at risk, and Jesus has shown us how to live lives of love and tender care for those others commonly overlook.

When church practices do not align with core biblical ethics, especially the life and teachings of Jesus, they invite review and then modification or replacement as needed. For example, bullfighting has been associated with the church for centuries, but deliberately wounding and condemning a bull to a prolonged death is at odds with core Christian ethics: Jesus taught mercy, love, and good works, not ritual slaying of bulls for entertainment. Any tradition that causes or invites harm to God’s creatures is inconsistent with core Christian teachings. When traditions conflict with core ethics, they invite faithful reconsideration. We can create new practices that, over time, become honored traditions—honored traditions that are consistent with Scripture and better represent Christianity.