The Bible’s Teachings

on Protecting Animals and Nature

32

who hates you lying under its bur-den, you shall refrain from leavinghim with it, you shall help him tolift it up” (Exodus23:4-5).

The Ten Com-mandments specifi-cally mentions thatcattle and donkeysmust not be workedon the Sabbath. Inthe twenty-thirdchapter of Exodus,several animal-pro-tection statutes aregiven by God toMoses: “Six daysyou shall do yourwork, but on the seventh day youshall rest; that your ox and yourass may have rest …” (Exodus23:12). Similarly, “the seventhday is a sabbath to the Lord yourGod; in it you shall not do anywork, you, or your son … or yourox, or your ass, or any of your cattle” (Deuteronomy 5:14).

God also commands that everyseventh year one should not sowor harvest the land, the vineyards,and the olive groves. They shouldbe allowed to “rest and lie fallow”(Exodus 23:11). God commandsthat what grows naturally in thefields left fallow in the seventhyear shall be for oneself, one’s ser-vants, one’s guests, and “for yourcattle and also for the beasts thatare in your land all its yield shallbe for food” (Leviticus 25:4-7).

Forbidding Cruelty to Animals

The Bible forbidscruelty to

domestic animals. It would be harsh toprevent the ox fromeating while work-ing, and consequent-ly Deuteronomy25:4 reads, “Youshall not muzzle an ox when it treadsout the grain.” Moreover,Deuteronomy 22:10

says, “You shall not plow with anox and an ass together.” Pairinganimals of different sizes andstrengths would place a strain on the weaker of them, or perhapson both.

Contrast these ancient lawsthat sought to reduce animal suf-fering with modern-day factoryfarming practices. Today, for exam-ple, farmers take calves raised forveal from their mothers at birth,deny the calves their mother’smilk, and deliberately deprive thecalves of iron. Farmers often keepthe calves their entire lives incrates so narrow that they cannotturn around. These circumstancesrender the calves’ muscles soft andanemic, making the flesh tenderand lightly colored. Such treat-ment is incompatible with theBible’s teachings.

Introduction

The Bible and the Judaic-Christian tradition teach

and command us to treat animalswith kindness and respect. Themassive abuse and suffering legallyinflicted on billions of animalsevery year is a clear violation ofthe teachings of our religious faithand cannot be justified by any person of faith and decency.

The people for whom the Biblewas written thousands of years agowere intimately familiar withwildlife and domestic animals,especially the practice of raisingcattle and other animals. The Biblecontains strict rules governing the

treatment of farmed animals, andindeed all of God’s creatures, whichwere designed to prevent anyunnecessary pain and suffering.

Modern day animal agricultureviolates core Christian values. Itwipes out entire populations andspecies of wildlife, confines hugenumbers of animals in miserableconditions on factory farms, dam-ages the environment, squandersscarce resources, and harms thehealth of people.

The Ten Commandments:Do Not OverworkAnimals

The Mosaic Law in the HebrewScriptures forbids overworking

animals and requires that peoplehelp stray and lost creatures. Manyinjunctions are clearly written for

the sake of the creaturesand not the owners. The Law requires that

one help animals whobelong to enemies to

whom one owes no obli-gation, as well as those

of friends. One maynot “pass by” an

animal in dis-tress: “If youmeet yourenemy’s ox orhis ass going

astray, you shallbring it back to him.

If you see the ass of one

A righteous man has regard for the life

of his beast.

Proverbs 12:10

God’s Ideal Includes Peacewith Animals

The book of Hosea (2:18) sug-gests that God would make a

pact with the animals to give themsafety from being hunted and per-secuted by abolishing the instru-ments of their destruction: “And Iwill make for you a covenant onthat day with the beasts of thefield, the birds of the air, and thecreeping things of the ground; andI will abolish the bow, the sword,and war from the land; and I willmake you lie down in safety.”

The Book of Job 5:23 describes

as an ideal a day when humankindwill be at peace with nature: “Foryou shall be in league with thestones of the field, and the beastsof the field shall be at peace withyou.”

Isaiah 11:6-9 eloquently depictshow the animal kingdom will beincluded in the blessings of peaceon earth when it is achieved: “Thewolf shall dwell with the lamb,and the leopard shall lie downwith the kid, and the calf and theyoung lion … and the lion shall eatstraw like the ox. … They shallnot hurt nor destroy in all my holymountain: for the earth shall befull of the knowledge of the Lord”.

4 5

A Righteous Man Has Regard for the Life of His Beast

Proverbs 12:10 declares, “A right-eous man has regard for the life

of his beast, but the mercy of thewicked are cruel.” This importantverse suggests a Biblical division ofpeople into two distinct types –those who are “righteous” and justare kind to their animals, and thosewho are “wicked” and are cruel tocreatures under their care.

The story of Rebekah at thewell stresses the importance ofkindness to animals as a personalattribute. In this account, thepatriarch Abraham,seeking a wife forhis son Isaac, sendshis trusted servantout to search for asuitable woman.The servant choosesRebekah after shedemonstrates a kinddisposition by draw-ing water not justfor him but also forhis camels

(Genesis 24:19).Similarly, 2 SamuelChapter 12, Goduses the sad story of the inexcus-able killing of a family’s belovedpet lamb to show King David theerror of his ways.

When Jacob called together histwelve sons – representing the

twelve tribes of Israel – to say whatfate would befall them, Simeon andLevi were castigated and chastisedfor crippling oxen, among otherthings (Genesis 49:6-7).

The Beasts of the FieldShall Be at Peace with Thee

The Book of Psalms relates thatGod’s goodness and compas-

sion are not reserved just forhumans but extend to all of God’screatures. Psalm 36:6-7 praisesGod, saying “man and beast thousavest, O Lord. How precious isthy steadfast love, O God! The

children of mentake refuge in theshadow of thywings.”

Psalm 145 reiter-ates this theme ofGod’s concern forall God’s creatures:“The Lord is goodto all, and his com-passion is over allthat he has made.… thou satisfiestthe desire of everyliving thing” (9, 16).

Similarly, God’s explanation toJonah for why God elected not todestroy Nineveh reflected God’sconcern for animals. The “greatcity” contained 120,000 people“and also much cattle” (Jonah4:11).

The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over

all that he has made.

Psalm 145:9

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Reverence for Life in the New Testament

The New Testament containsmany references favorable to

protecting animals and nature. InLuke (12:6), Jesus stresses that Godloves even the lowliest of crea-tures: “Are not five sparrows soldfor two pennies? And not one ofthem is forgotten before God.”Matthew 10:29 also reports Jesus’belief that God cares for all God’screatures, even those of little mon-etary value tous. In teachingGod’s infinitewisdom andlove formankind,Matthewquotes Jesus assaying: “Arenot two spar-rows sold for a penny? And notone of them will fall on the groundwithout your Father’s will.”

In Luke (13:15), Jesus uses theBiblical laws of humane treatmentof animals to justify healing a crip-pled woman on the Sabbath, say-ing, “Does not each of you on thesabbath untie his ox or his assfrom the manger, and lead it awayto water it?” Again in Luke, Jesussimilarly justifies healing a manon the Sabbath, saying, “Which ofyou having a son or an ox that hasfallen into a well, will not immedi-ately pull him out on a sabbath

day?” (14:5) And in the Sermon onthe Mount, Jesus speaks of “thebirds of the air”, saying that “yourheavenly Father feeds them”(Matthew 6:26).

Interestingly, the NewTestament never depicts Jesus eat-ing meat in his lifetime, not evenat the Last Supper, although ontwo occasions after his death andresurrection the Bible describes hiseating fish.

Many Christians see deep sig-nificance in the story of Jesusbeginning his life among the ani-

mals (Luke2:7). Deniedshelter andlodging by thehumans ofBethlehem inJudea, Maryand Josephwere forced touse a manger

for Jesus’ birthplace. There, Jesuswas born, presumably in the com-pany of such creatures as donkeys,oxen, cows, and sheep.

Jesus’ appreciation for animalsis demonstrated by the repeatedanalogies and references to ani-mals that he used in his teachings.He referred to his followers, andthose who worship God, as sheep,and he compared God’s care forJerusalem with a hen’s concern forher brood. Often in his teachings,Jesus compared himself to suchanimals as the lamb and the dove,known for their innocence, meek-

ness, and docility.He often represent-ed animals as beingunder God’s provi-dence, and Jesus’repeated statementsto practice love,mercy, and compas-sion are consistentwith, and indeedfundamental to, thehumane and preser-vation ethic.

The Bible’s ConservationMessage

The obligation of humans torespect and protect the natural

environment is a theme thatappears throughout the Bible.Frequently, the mandate directlyrelates to the problems we facetoday – cruelty to farmed animals,destruction of wildlife and habitat,and pollution of the land, water,and air.

Perhaps the world’s first anti-pollution law is found inDeuteronomy (23:13-15), whichforbids contaminating the landwith human waste. In the booksof Jeremiah (9:9-11) and Habakkuk(2:17), God warns against destroy-ing nature and wildlife. InJeremiah, God describes “weepingand wailing for the mountains, anda lamentation for the pastures ofthe wilderness, because they arelaid waste so that no one passes

through, and thelowing of cattle isnot heard; for boththe birds of the airand the beasts ofthe field are gone”(9:10). Similarly,Habakkuk predicts“… the destructionof the beasts willterrify you, for theblood of men andviolence to the

earth, to cities and all who dwelltherein” (2:17). In both cases,destroying the land – much as weare doing today to farmland andthe wilderness – brings misery.

The Bible accords special rever-ence for trees and forests, and oneof the first things the Israeliteswere commanded to do when they“came into” the Promised Landwas to plant trees and allow themto mature before eating their fruits(Leviticus 19:23).

The Mosaic Law contains aremarkable nature-protection regu-lation that forbids the destructionof fruit-bearing trees when wagingwar against a city (Deuteronomy20:19). Elsewhere the Mosaic Lawsets forth strict and detailed rulesregarding caring for trees. Forexample, Leviticus (19:23-25)orders that fruit trees be left wildand unpicked for the first fewyears in order to give themstrength and increase their yield.

Throughout the Bible, in stress-ing the reverence humans should

I desire mercy and not sacrifice.

Matthew 9:13, 12:7

8 9

In the Book of Deuteronomy(8:7-9), Moses describes thePromised Land as an ecologicalparadise, noting its rich and beau-tiful environment and its “foun-tains and springs, flowing forth invalleys and hills …” Moses stress-es to theIsraelites thesanctity of theland: “a landwhich the Lordyour God caresfor, the eyes ofthe Lord yourGod are alwaysupon it, from thebeginning of theyear to the end ofthe year”(Deuteronomy 11:12).

God’s love of the land for itsown sake, not just for humans’benefit, is apparent when Godspeaks to Job from the whirlwind,telling him how God does “bringrain on a land where no man is, onthe desert in which there is noman; to satisfy the waste and deso-late land, and to make the groundput forth grass” (Job 38:26-27).

The Book of Job tells us thathumans must live in harmonywith nature and seek to learn fromits wise and mysterious ways: “Butask the beasts, and they will teachyou; the birds of the air, and theywill tell you; or the plants of theearth, and they will teach you; andthe fish of the sea will declare toyou. Who among all these does not

know that the hand of the Lordhas done this?” (Job 12:7-9).

Human-StewardshipResponsibilities

Not onlydoes the

Bible stressthat naturereflectsGod’s gloryand great-ness, but theScripturesassert thathumans havebeen given a

special responsibility to protectand care for the natural environ-ment. Yet ironically, this Biblicalmandate has often been used as alicense to despoil and destroyinstead of an obligation to protectand preserve.

Probably no passage in the Biblehas been so misunderstood andmisinterpreted as Genesis 1:26,where God gives humankind“dominion” over nature and ani-mals. This has often been mistak-enly interpreted as a synonym forownership, giving humans theright to treat nature and animalsas they see fit. However, sincethere was no violence in theGarden of Eden and since Goddescribed all of Creation as “verygood,” it is much more reasonableto regard human “dominion” as a

have toward the land, theScriptures impart a strong conser-vation message, warning againstover utilizing and wearing out nat-ural resources. In Leviticus (25:4),God commands that: “in the sev-enth year there shall be a sabbathof solemn rest for the land, a sab-bath rest for the Lord; you shallnot sow your field or prune yourvineyard.”

Also Leviticus (26:3-6) describesGod’s appreciation for the land bypromising the Israelites that, if theyobey God’s commandments, theland will reward them: “If you walkin my statutes and observe my com-mandments and dothem, then I willgive you your rainsin their season, andthe land shall yieldits increase, and thetrees of the fieldshall yield their fruit.… And I will givepeace in the land …”

God’s Love for Nature

Throughout theBook of

Genesis, God lookswith special favor on “the swarmsof living creatures.” God createdthem, blessed them, and com-manded them to “be fruitful andmultiply,” repeatedly characteriz-ing their creation as “good.”

Some Biblical scholars see sig-nificance in the fact that God pro-nounced each thing God created –the whales, birds, cattle, “every-thing that creeps upon theground,” and the other “beasts ofthe earth” – as “good” in itself(Genesis 1:21, 25). And when Godreviewed the entire Creation, Goddeclared it “very good” (Genesis1:31), perhaps because God hadcreated a universe of harmony.

Psalm 104 eloquently sums upthe theme of God’s concern forCreation, praising God for provid-ing for all of God’s creatures. Itnotes how we all depend on the

ecological systemthat God has estab-lished, proclaiming:“O Lord, how mani-fold are thy works!In wisdom hastthou made them all;the earth is full ofthy creatures.Yonder is the sea,great and wide,which teems withthings innumerable,living things bothsmall and great. …thou openest thyhand, they are filledwith good things. …

thou sendest forth thy Spirit, theyare created; and thou renewest theface of the ground. May the gloryof the Lord endure for ever, maythe Lord rejoice in his works …”(Psalm 104:24-31).

For every beast of the forestis mine, and the cattleupon a thousand hills.

I know all the fowls of themountains: and the wild

beasts of the field are mine.

Psalm 50:10-11 (KJV)

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sacred responsibility to be goodstewards of the natural world. Inaddition to caring for and protect-ing the earth, Genesis 1:28 com-mands humankind to “replenishthe earth.”

In contrast to those who holdthat the earth belongs to humans,in Leviticus (25:23), God pro-claims, “the land is mine; for youare strangers and sojourners withme.” Similarly, the Twenty-fourthPsalm relates that the worldbelongs not to humankind but toGod: “The earth is the Lord’s andthe fullness thereof, the world, andthey who dwell therein … “ Also,Deuteronomy 10:14 proclaims,“Behold, to the Lord your Godbelong heaven and the heaven ofheavens, the earth with all that isin it …” All living things belong toGod, and God declares in Psalm50:10-11, “For every beast of theforest is mine, the cattle on athousand hills. I know all thefowls of the mountains: and thewild beasts of the field are mine”(KJV).

Into Your Hand Are They Delivered

The Bible containsnumerous strictures

against wanton or cruelkilling of wildlife anddomestic animals.Ecclesiastes (3:19-21)asserts that humans are

vain to believe that their destiniesdiffer from those of animals: “Forthe fate of the sons of men and thefate of beasts is the same; as onedies, so dies the other. They allhave the same breath, and man hasno advantage over the beasts; forall is vanity. All go to one place;all are from dust, and all turn todust again. Who knows whetherthe spirit of man goes upward andthe spirit of the beast goes down tothe earth?”

In numerous places in theBible, God acts toward humansand animals in an equitable way.When God saved Noah and hisfamily from destruction, Godtreated the animals in a similarmanner: “And God rememberedNoah and every living thing, andall the cattle that were with himin the ark” (Genesis 8:1).

Genesis 9:8-10 relates that,after the waters of the great floodreceded, God promised a floodwould never again destroy theearth. God made this covenant notonly with Noah and his descen-dants but also with “every livingcreature that is with you, the fowl,the cattle, and every beast of theearth with you; of all that go out

of the ark, even every beast of theearth.” Indeed, God makes no dis-tinction between people and ani-mals in establishing God’scovenant “between me and theearth” (Genesis 9:12-17).

Many peopleregard God’s givingNoah permission toeat animals as vali-dating humankind’sentitlement to treatanimals as we please.However, killing andeating animals camewith a curse – where-as previously peopleand animals hadlived in harmony,now “the fear of youand the dread of youshall be upon everybeast of the earth …” (Genesis9:2). Enmity with God’s animalsis a great price to pay for the gusta-tory satisfaction of eating them.And there is another curse – thefat, cholesterol, and harmful chem-icals and other substances thatpromote heart disease, diabetes,certain cancers, and other degener-ative diseases that kill or disablemillions of Americans each year.

Animal Sacrifices

Some people ask how the ritualsacrifices of animals described

in Leviticus can be reconciled with

the thesis that God cares deeplyabout animals. The ostensible pur-pose of the sacrifices was to atonefor sin, so it is reasonable to regardanimal sacrifices as a necessary

step away from thepractice of humansacrifice (Numbers31:30, 40) on theroad to abolition ofall sacrifice.

The laterprophets, includingIsaiah, Hosea,Amos, Micah, andJeremiah, con-demned animalsacrifice. For exam-ple, Isaiah (1:11-13)describes how Godtold the Israelitesto bring no moresacrifices since

they were “an abomination.” InIsaiah 66:2-3, God compared thekilling of an animal with the mur-der of a human: “He who slaugh-ters an ox is like him who kills aman …”

Similarly, Hosea wrote, “For Idesire steadfast love and not sacri-fice, the knowledge of God, ratherthan burnt offerings” (6:6). InJeremiah, God declared “Yourburnt offerings are not acceptable,nor your sacrifices pleasing to me”(6:20). Jeremiah also related forGod, “For in the day that I broughtthem out of the land of Egypt, I didnot speak to your fathers or com-mand them concerning burnt offer-

What does the Lord requireof you but to do justice,and to love kindness, and to walk humbly

with your god?

Micah 6:8

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are based onthe principlethat animalsare part ofGod’s cre-ation towardwhich manbears respon-sibility.Laws andother indica-tions in the… Biblemake it clearnot only thatcruelty toanimals isforbidden but also that compassionand mercy to them are demanded ofman by God. … In later rabbinic lit-erature … great prominence is alsogiven to demonstrating God’s mercyto animals, and to the importance ofnot causing them pain.”

Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a med-ical missionary and Nobel PeacePrize recipient, wrote that humanswere “compelled by the command-ment of love … proclaimed byJesus” to respect all forms of life.He taught that one should avoid“carelessly cutting off the head ofa single flower growing on the edgeof the road, for in doing so (wouldbe to) injure life without beingforced to do so by necessity.”Schweitzer wrote eloquently of theneed to show reverence for allforms of life: “A man’s religion isof little value unless even seem-ingly insignificant creatures bene-

fit from it. A truly religious mandoes not ask how far this or thatdeserves sympathy … to him, lifeas such is sacred.”

Another leading Christian the-ologian, Rev. Norman VincentPeale, has stated, “I do not believea person can be a true Christianand at the same time deliberatelyengage in cruel or inconsideratetreatment of animals.”

The Rev. Dr. Billy Graham hasnoted, “The Bible teaches that weare not to abuse or punish animalsin a cruel way. God has createdthem, and while mankind is givendominion over the animals, we arenot to treat them cruelly.”

Rev. Lloyd Putman has warnedagainst practicing “religiousmyopia,” saying that “we have asmall religion if it has no room forthe rest of God’s creatures.” Thefamous English theologian

ings and sacrifices” (7:22).King David wrote, “Sacrifice

and offering thou dost not desire”(Psalm 40:6). Amos, speaking forGod, related that God stronglycondemns sacrifices: “I hate, Idespise your feasts, … Even thoughyou offer me your burnt offeringsand cereal offerings, I will notaccept them” (5:21-22).

Micah similarly described Godrejecting sacrifices: “With whatshall I come before the Lord, andbow myself before God on high?Shall I come before him withburnt offerings, with calves a yearold? Will the Lordbe pleased withthousands of rams,with ten thousandsof rivers oil? Shall Igive my first-bornfor my transgres-sion, the fruit of mybody for the sin ofmy soul?’ He hasshowed you, O man,what is good; andwhat does the Lordrequire of you but todo justice, and tolove kindness, andto walk humblywith your God ? ”(6:6-8).

Jesus’ ministryreflected the teachings of the laterprophets, and Matthew relates thattwice Jesus echoed Hosea, saying,“I desire mercy and not sacrifice”(9:13, 12:7). In the Temple, Jesus

drove out the merchants sellinganimals for sacrifice, those chang-ing money for the purchase of ani-mals, and the animals themselves(John 2:15).

Religion and Protection of Animals

These conservation and humaneprecepts of the Scriptures were

well understood by the early lead-ers of Judaism and the ChristianChurch. For the first thousandyears or so, numerous stories and

legends depict theChristian saints ashaving close andfriendly relation-ships with wild anddomestic creatures,including suchrevered saints asGiles, Jerome,Benedict, Meinrad,Columba, Cuthbert,Patrick, and hun-dreds of others. Thebest known, ofcourse, is thepatron saint of ani-mals, Francis ofAssisi.

Similarly,Judaism has a long

tradition of reverence for animalsand nature based on Biblical teach-ings. The Jewish Encyclopedianotes, “Moral and legal rules con-cerning the treatment of animals

And God said, “Behold, I give you every plant

yielding seed which is uponthe face of all the earth,and every tree with seed

in its fruit; you shall have them for food.”

Genesis 1:29

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miscarriages, andbirth defects.

Huge amounts ofwater, energy, andgrain are being used,and largely wasted,raising cattle, pigs,chickens and otheranimals. These ani-mals emit enormousamounts of gasesthat cause or exacer-bate global warmingand depletion of theplanet’s stratosphericozone layer that pro-tects all life on earth from deadlyradiation.

The growing environmental cri-sis has become one of the greatpolitical issues of our day. Whatmany people fail to realize is thatit is also a moral and spiritual

issue, sincehumankind is overwhelming theearth’s ability tosupport not justwildlife but humanlife as well. Whatgreater sin canthere be than todestroy future gen-erations’ ability tolive on our planet?

Fortunately, thesolution to manyof these problemsmay be found in

the doctrines of the Bible. Ifadhered to, these teachings, whichpromote a reverence for the earthand its creatures, might preventmany of the threats to the environ-ment and could ensure a securefuture for humanity.

Cardinal John Henry Newman(1801- 1890) once wrote that “cru-elty to animals is as if a man didnot love God.”

Pope John Paul II has statedthat Christians have a moral obli-gation to protect the environment,saying in a homily that “respectfor natural resources of our planet”must be a part of everyone’s con-science. He has also said that “Torepair … and to prevent … damageinflicted on nature” is a “gravemoral obligation.”

In the final analysis, perhapsthe strongest argument for kind-ness to animals can be made onthe grounds of equity. How, somehave asked, can people ask formercy from above unless they aremerciful to those at their mercy?

The Devastation Causedby Factory Farming

The authors of the Bible couldhardly have foreseen the suf-

fering and devastation of animalscaused by modern-day society,which clearly violate the spirit andletter of the Biblical laws. In facto-ry farming, for example, crowdingtogether billions of animals inthousands of such facilities iscausing massive damage to theenvironment. Manure, chemicalpesticides, and fertilizers are pol-luting our rivers, lakes, streams,aquifers, and other drinking watersources, killing off fish andwildlife, and causing tragic humanhealth problems such as cancer,

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?

And not one of them is forgotten

before God.

Luke 12:6

O Lord, how manifold are thy works!

In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures.

Psalm 104:24

Prepared by Lewis Regenstein, president of the Interfaith Councilfor the Protection of Animals andNature (ICPAN), an affiliate of TheHumane Society of the UnitedStates. The HSUS (www.hsus.org)provides many resources forhumane living.

©2006 ICPANregenstein@mindspring.com

Front and back cover paintings by Ed King, Spotsylvania, VA.

Thanks to: HSUS, Center for Respect of Life and Environment,Dawnwatch.com, ChristianVegetarian Association, StephenKaufman, M.D., Rev. LindaMcDaniel, and Helga Jervis.