A giant inconsistency in the animal rights movement!

I am sure many others have made this point before, but I was struck by something this morning as I was reading in -

Matt. 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Is it true that we are more valuable than the other animals? If so, then what does that mean regarding our responsibility toward the earth and other life forms? If we are not more valuable, do we have any special responsibility on earth?

Gen. 1:24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all^[ the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

²⁹ And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. ³⁰ Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. ³¹ Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Here are a few key observations from this text:

1st, we were created by God and in the image of God, something that was different from all the other living things God created.

2nd, we were given dominion over the other created things and the right to eat of them as God permits.

3rd, the unique nature/value of mankind, comes with the command that we be stewards of the earth!

Later we read a beautiful summary of this concept in -

Gen. 2:15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

So, we have a clear distinction made by God between us and the other life He created. However, with that comes a special responsibility to tend and keep the earth. He clearly has called mankind to be caretakers of the earth, and we must assume that we can do that wisely and effectively, as we seek to follow Him according to His word!

However, if we are not different from the other life forms on earth, then we have no special responsibility to manage or protect them! If God did not set us apart for that role, then we don't have it. In fact, if you were to believe in evolution, I could argue that I have a responsibility to do what is best for me and me alone! If I am stronger, and you are weaker, I should survive and you should die, if that is what my survival requires.

You might argue for some kind of responsibility to steward the earth so there would be food for other humans tomorrow, so the human race can survive, or you might say we have a special responsibility to take care of other animals, because we have a unique evolutionary place, as very intelligent beings, to do what other animals can't.

To these or any other arguments for our responsibility toward other life forms I give the same answer –

Says who?

Pita cofounder and animal rights activist Ingrid Bergman said “A rat, is a pig, is a dog, is a boy”. If you believe mankind is just another life form created through the evolutionary process, then you must agree with miss Bergman, and it follows we have no special value or obligations on earth.

So, either we believe God created us in His image to worship and serve Him as outlined in His word, including being special stewards of the earth.

Or

We could sleep just fine and let the rats, dogs, and pigs worry about other life forms if they want!

  "Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."