Pets: A Christian Perspective
In 2015, my wife and I acquired our first pets. We debated different animals—a dog, a cat, or maybe something exotic like a chinchilla. Following months of discussion, we found ourselves at the local farm supply store one rainy evening. After staring at cages for an hour, and negotiating yet more, we left with two, six-week-old, American Chinchilla bunnies.*
Brownie and Lucky have been quite an adventure. Though we’ve heard stories from many people who had rabbits when they were children, caring for such energetic pets as adults has provided a level of insight that young people often miss.
I confess that in the past I have often felt an aversion to people who seemed to exhibit inordinate love for their pets. Sixty billion dollars was spent on pets in 2015. Almost everyone has the odd neighbor on their street who is known as the “cat lady” or who buried Fido in a lavish casket. Such examples strike most of us as excessive, especially given the number of neglected, undernourished, and homeless children within our borders.
Yet the prevalence of pets in our homes and in our backyards raises many practical and intellectual questions: What does reasonable pet care look like? How much is too much? Or, more seriously, will animals be in heaven? Can they feel pain as we do? Do they have souls?[1]
In order to formulate answers to our questions about pets, we should first ground ourselves in the biblical testimony about animal life. A Christian perspective on pets begins by considering the framework provided by some key biblical passages, doctrines, and themes concerning animal life.[2]
God, Man, and Animals
Most people who read the creation account of Genesis 1-2 observe that humans are at the pinnacle of God’s creative acts on earth. While some scholars argue that the institution of the Sabbath is the culmination of the days of creation, among the creatures God made, humanity in God’s image occupies a privileged place. Better understanding this place actually helps us form a biblical perspective on animal life because so much of the misunderstanding of our fellow creatures derives from mistaken views of human life.
On one extreme, the call to “subdue and have dominion” over birds, fishes, and beasts is seen by some as a license for humans to do whatever they desire to animals with no careful moral reflection. Such a perspective undergirds practices like the overfishing of waters, force-feeding antibiotics to chickens, cockfighting, and other practices which use animals as undifferentiated beasts to advance unbridled consumer interests.
On the other extreme, humans are thought to be just another kind of animal. In the legal realm, the penalty for animal cruelty rivals mistreatment of children in severity.[3] Animals certainly enjoy more legal protections than unborn humans. Though pets are considered property under U.S. law, in some cases they have been assigned attorneys and have been listed as beneficiaries of trusts.[4] And, as noted above, many of us observe the constant creep of more and more “human-like” domestic arrangements.
The Scriptures, however, offer a foundation upon which we are able to begin forging a practical Christian perspective on pets. Genesis 1:26 does in fact affirm that human beings, unlike birds and beasts, are made in the image of God. This image appears to entail the unique capacity to represent God in holiness, rationality, and function as vice-regents over creation. Even in man’s fallen state, redemption is intended to renew and restore our ability to bear this image faithfully (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10).
Faithful image-bearing, it seems, includes our stewardship of animal life. Ethicist David Clough says that part of what it means for humans to be in God’s image is that we are the creatures best able to take a “God’s eye view of creation and make judgments about how it should be appropriately ordered.”[5]
Not surprisingly, Adam is given the charge of naming the animals God placed in Eden. Naming implies a sort of dominion, oversight, and responsibility—not entirely unlike parents naming their children. The psalmist, reflecting on the majesty of God in the earth, will later inquire,
“What is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas” (Ps. 8:4-8, ESV).
Angels, humans, and animals are all creatures, yet they have their own distinct purposes within God’s world. Animals vary in their capabilities throughout the animal kingdom, but they exist and flourish within the carefully ordered world under the care of divine image-bearers. If this is indeed the case, it would seem to make domesticated animals, that is, pets, a particular expression of that stewardship.
Creaturely Care
Whenever we peruse the Bible, we find an array of activities happening between humans and animals. The vast majority of these instances aren’t necessarily what we would call “domestic arrangements.” In Genesis 3, God permits the use of animals for clothing by His own use of animal skins to clothe Adam and Eve. By Genesis 9, animals are specifically named as food for humans. The sacrificial system came into fuller perspective by the book of Exodus, but even in the early chapters of Genesis animal sacrifices begin to be offered (e.g. 4:4).
The sacrificial system provides a lot of food for thought (pun intended) when it comes to a Christian perspective on animals. The biblical witness shows a temporal system designed, in part, to teach about the costliness of sin. Imagine shepherds having labored greatly to raise choice animals only to know that some of them would end up being slayed as an atoning sacrifice for their sins. That would engender a sense of guilt, remorse, and even sadness, though it’s also not hard to envision a growing sense of gratitude toward the animal itself.
I was raised on a large family farm in the coastal plain of South Carolina. Though we did not raise every sort of livestock, we saw our fair share of cows, pigs, goats, chickens, and more. Invariably knowing something of our animals’ destinies figured into the type of attitude we developed toward them.[6]
What I have largely found among those who raise animals, especially Christians, is the belief that animals should not be needlessly harmed.[7] This thinking stems from a line of prominent Christian figures who wrote and spoke about the care of animals, including John Wesley, William Wilberforce, and C.S. Lewis. Wilberforce the abolitionist actually helped found the “first organized animal welfare movement in England in 1824, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.”[8]
While there are myriad opinions about the proper use and treatment of animals throughout history among Christians, we should find a balanced perspective that doesn’t assign animals a dignity reserved for God’s image-bearers alone. We’re, as Jesus said, worth more than many sparrows. Yet we can also affirm with Jesus that not one sparrow is forgotten by God. Indeed, He cares even for them! (Lk. 12:6-7)
Lessons from Our Furry Friends
Both Scripture and experience help us learn about and from animals. The Bible records the encounters of human beings with animals that God used to speak (Balaam’s donkey). It directs the reader’s attention to the industriousness of ants. It holds forth two very different animals—lions and lambs—as ideal ways to think about the saving work of God. Christians cannot ignore these and countless other biblical animal scenes, pictures, and analogies.
This learning opportunity can potentially be maximized in the context of pet ownership. I’ve often wondered why my wife and I derive so much delight from seeing Brownie and Lucky leap, binky,[9] and stomp their feet. Is this a misplaced affection or a sign of a delightful human response to God’s handiwork?
Having pets, at its best, can foster within Christians (1) a delight in God as we see the curious and unique things animals can do; (2) a concern for God’s creatures whenever we attend to their particular needs; (3) a gratitude for God giving us all forms of companions in this world; and (4) a patience from when we are challenged when our pets’ needs don’t always conform to our schedules.
As mentioned above, C.S. Lewis wrote some on animals. At the center of his reflections is the notion that Scripture will not satisfy all of our intellectual curiosities, including those about animals. I agree, yet I am confident Scripture is sufficient even for these matters. I, for one, cannot find biblical warrant for animals being in heaven.[10] However, the Bible ends in a new heavens and a new earth. If we believe that somehow Eden is regained in the new creation, then perhaps we will indeed encounter some animals, especially a lion and a lamb.
____________________
*The original edition of this essay referred to the rabbits as being of the “Dutch” breed. However, we have since learned from experts in lagamorpha (the Order rabbits belong to) that our’s are actually are of the American Chinchilla breed.
[1] The forthcoming film A Dog’s Purpose perhaps illustrates the serious issues invoked by our love of pets. This film is about a dog who discovers the meaning of its own existence through showing his interaction with humans over several lifetimes. The film opens on January 27 and is adapted from a best-selling novel with the same name.
[2] I will simply note that most theological reflection on animals is, sadly, not to be found in conservative evangelical scholarship. This is not to say that there aren’t some worthwhile sources for insight. Several somewhat recent papal encyclicals such as Caritas in Veritate (“Truth in Love”) and Laudato Si (“Praise Be to You”) have been the source of the most theological attention to this topic. Among Protestants, C.S. Lewis would be the most significant figure to reflect on animal life in the last few generations. Such reflection can be found in The Problem of Pain (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), 86-118. One encouraging development was the release of a document in 2015 entitled “Every Living Thing: An Evangelical Statement on Responsible Care for Animals.” It outlines a biblically-based framework for thinking responsibly about the treatment of animals.
[3] To illustrate, all fifty states have felony animal cruelty laws, and punishments in animal abuse cases are up to ten years in prison or $125,000 in fines in some states.
[4] See Amy Wang, “A divorcing couple asked a judge to treat their dogs like children. Here is his reply,” The Washington Post; https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/12/21/a-divorcing-couple-asked-a-judge-to-treat-their-dogs-like-children-here-was-his-reply/?utm_term=.0ea35fccff84; accessed 22 December 2016 Internet.
[5] David Clough, “How to Respect Other Animals,” in Christian Ethics Engages Peter Singer (University of Oxford Conference, May 2011); cited in Charles Camosy, For Love of Animals: Christian Ethics, Common Action (Cincinnati: Franciscan Media, 2013).
[6] Certainly for those who raise animals primarily for their own consumption, slaying an animal you have recently petted forms a unique sensibility.
[7] Camosy makes a provocative connection between animal treatment and Christian discipleship. He notes that we would agree that we should to resist the allure of sexual desire, gluttony, and consumerism. Yet we should also note, “Resisting our culture’s addiction to unjust use of nonhuman animals for food and clothing—like resisting other kinds of injustice—requires countercultural commitment, determination, and strength” (Camosy, 77). I should qualify this to say that Camosy is in fact a vegetarian; thus he would go further on this point than I think is biblically required.
[8] Mark Rodgers, “Why Evangelicals Should Care about Animals,” On Faith; http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2015/10/05/why-evangelicals-should-care-about animals/37898; accessed 15 October 2015; Internet. The RSPCA still exists today and is the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in the world.
[9] This is one of the better YouTube videos I could locate which gives a sense of what this odd, bunny-movement is. It is something of a cross between a twitch and flip. Hard to define and catch on video, but a riot to watch. Rabbits appear to do it when they are excited. Ours do it mostly before feeding time, or when they have been let out of their pen after a having been shut up for some time.
[10] I don’t believe that animal immortality can be biblically defended, since that requires certain things to be true about the animal souls, consciousness, and morality, which Scripture doesn’t teach.
Recent Comments