Video from Toronto Zoo
God & Our Dominion Over Animals
This video reminded me of the many acts of neglect and cruelty when I served as an Animal Cop for about 15 years. Why? Because this beautiful creature is hunted to near extinction, treated as a product, a harvest. We have corrupted every gift God has given us including our stewardship over his animals.
Enjoy watching this beautiful Tiger and her cub and read the following article.
"God is the creator of everything. He breathed life into animals and man, and made them living souls. We can see a manifestation of the love of God reflected in a mother caring for her new born child and tending to its every need. Likewise, as a mother bear protects her cub from danger, God is always watching over us, protecting us from evil. “The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all His creation” (Psalm 145:9). God created man and animals according to His infinite love and wisdom. “O Lord, how many are Your works! You made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of what You have made. There is the wide sea full of both large and small animals. There are too many for us to number” (Psalm 104:24-25 NLV). God values everything He created, including animals, and He wants only the best for them. In this paper I will discuss God’s love for animals...As I have stated earlier, God owns every animal and has entrusted man with a stewardship over them. Our example is Jesus, who came as a servant and humbled Himself before sinful and wicked men. He came to serve, not to be served, even though He was God. He would pay the price for man’s sin by dying on the cross. In return, God expects man to follow Jesus’ example. His Word says: “No, O people, the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what He requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Therefore, man’s attitude toward animals must be one of loving-kindness and compassion....Every day thousands of animals are systematically and mercilessly abused, tortured and exploited. Animals that have no means of defending themselves are being victimized by the ones that God called to care for them.
Animals are God’s creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God’s sight....Christians whose eyes are fixed on the awfulness of crucifixion are in a special position to understand the awfulness of innocent suffering. The Cross of Christ is God’s absolute identification with the weak, the powerless, and the vulnerable, but most of all with unprotected, undefended, innocent suffering (Linzey, All Creation Liberation).
The current plight of animals is heart-breaking to me. Instead of being respected and protected by man, animals are being subjected to cruelty, suffering and oppression. And their suffering is rapidly increasing and is being largely ignored.
What should move our very hearts and sicken us,… is the realization that animals are morally innocent, that they have done no harm. Next they have no power whatever of resisting; it is the cowardice and tyranny of which they are victims which makes their suffering so especially touching... there is something so very dreadful, something so dreadful, so satanic, in tormenting those who have never harmed us and who cannot defend themselves, who are utterly in our power …” from the article: GOD’S LOVE FOR ANIMALS By: Lisa Barnaby Animals: Tradition - Philosophy
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