I’m not sure arguing for animal welfare on a strict scriptural basis really works. I wish the Bible spoke clearly about the moral worth of animals, but I don’t think it does.
Many of the examples don’t show genuine care for animals to me. They seem to be about keeping society functioning (e.g. a working ox must not be muzzled but allowed to eat, the ox fallen into a pit), using animals to point to the all-encompassingness of a rule (e.g. even the ox and donkey rest on the Sabbath), and others use animals as illustration in parables (e.g. the lost sheep).
Some passages also point the other way. Almost all animals die in the flood because of human sin. The old testament sometimes commands the complete destruction of livestock along with people in condemned cities. In Luke 8, Jesus does not seem to treat pigs with mercy.
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
My guess is that if you want to make a case for animal welfare from a christian perspective, it works better to argue for it ‘in spirit’, acknowledging that animal welfare wasn’t really a priority in biblical times.
I’m not sure arguing for animal welfare on a strict scriptural basis really works. I wish the Bible spoke clearly about the moral worth of animals, but I don’t think it does.
Many of the examples don’t show genuine care for animals to me. They seem to be about keeping society functioning (e.g. a working ox must not be muzzled but allowed to eat, the ox fallen into a pit), using animals to point to the all-encompassingness of a rule (e.g. even the ox and donkey rest on the Sabbath), and others use animals as illustration in parables (e.g. the lost sheep).
Some passages also point the other way. Almost all animals die in the flood because of human sin. The old testament sometimes commands the complete destruction of livestock along with people in condemned cities. In Luke 8, Jesus does not seem to treat pigs with mercy.
My guess is that if you want to make a case for animal welfare from a christian perspective, it works better to argue for it ‘in spirit’, acknowledging that animal welfare wasn’t really a priority in biblical times.