Dogs aren’t the only self-domesticated species. We may be one ourselves …
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I get annoyed when I hear Young Earth Creationists describe the whole earth as the Garden of Eden. That is not what I see in the text even if I were to be “literal.” It seems they are woodenly literalistic one minute and then they are all over the place with assumptions the next minute.
Yes, welcome to our little party, Jacob.
(Of course, all NTs are especially welcome on the forum, being the very best kind of thinkers. 
)
The best kind of thinkers, and modest about it too!
It’s that typical unvarnished honesty coming out.
I agree. There are too many verses that counter the idea of violent dominion. Animals were pronounced good before the creation of man, and therefore have worth apart from man. And man was put in the garden to till it and keep it (not trample it). And so forth. Animals even have a patron saint, Saint Francis. And on his feast day, some churches have a Blessing of the Animals.
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@Reggie_O_Donoghue, I think it is very wise to use your best insight into morality to test the Scriptures before accepting them. To accept a written word…whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or whatever, against your better judgement, would be mistaken… Your recent insight into the interpretations appears to me to be correct, but each of us has to give an account of what we know and understand to the best of our ability. It seems to me that only God knows the heart. God bless.
Maybe you can elaborate about how and why a higher lawgiver is necessary; and if so, how that one operates. Thanks.
I’m not sure if animals have intrinsic moral value per say, but the earth does, and animals are vital to keeping ecosystems flourishing.
The question does remain, what role do animals play in God’s cosmic temple? And how are we to balance the fact that we are allowed to eat meat, with the fact that we are to preserve God’s holy temple, presumably including the animals? My own view is that we ‘desecrate’ the temple by driving animals into extinction.
But even so, there is no clear commandment to look after ‘animals’ in the Bible, only the earth.
Take a look at Jeremiah 12. There, the fate of the land, animals, and birds are all tied together, and all of that is tied to human stewardship and justice.
1 You are always righteous, Lord,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 You have planted them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.
3 Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!
4 How long will the land lie parched
and the grass in every field be withered?
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.
Moreover, the people are saying,
“He will not see what happens to us.”
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Which now raises a question. How are we to balance the human right to eat meat with the command for stewardship?
I wouldn’t call it a “right,” but a concession. We are not commanded to eat meat. We are given permission to eat meat.
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How do we reconcile that then?
It’s not part of the original mandate. Just follow the flow of the story. Genesis 4-5 sketch a picture of the advance of sin, followed by God’s universal judgment on sin, which is described in terms of the earth being filled with violence and blood. Notice, again, that the fate of “all flesh” is tied together. Animals and birds suffer because of human violence and evil. Following the flood, God makes a covenant with all living creatures, not just Noah. This covenant is a concession to human sinfulness, not a solution.
You know much more than I do about this. However, historically, meat has been very important for the poor. It is energy and nutrient richer than vegetable and grains. Striking that out entirely, including bushmeat and the occasional chicken and eggs, would be very much of a risk for a large portion of the world’s population who are already chronically malnourished and on a knife’s edge from starvation. In addition, the ancient Israelites (until they settled in Israel, at least) were nomads who inhabited a semidesert area of the ANE. They depended on animals for much of their livelihood. It’s still surprisingly important across the world. As the BBC states, “around one-third of the world’s land is composed of arid and semi-arid rangeland that can only support animal agriculture.” Currently, nomads like the Fulani, Sami (Lapplanders), and others compose millions that would have to leave this vast area and change their ways of life to farming or city dwelling if they were to give up meat consumption. While that may conceivably happen some day, it’s a pretty difficult thing to accomplish. Thanks for this interesting Bible study. What would happen if the world suddenly went vegetarian? - BBC Future
Even in farming communities, meat is important. I remember playing with two African kids in our subsistence farming community who yelled “thank you, God!” when we found a couple of wild hedgehogs. They planned on eating them to supplement their diet. I am ashamed to say that I kept them from eating them.
Anyway, that’s a thought. I’m sure you can teach us more.
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The control of fire by H. erectus about 1 million years ago actually was a major component in the evolution of the human brain. The modern human brain uses 20% of our total energy while comprising only 2% of our body mass. Since cooked meats are more easily digestible than raw, this made far more calories available for the brain. This is known as the “expensive tissue hypothesis,” an early (1995) attempt to explain why humans developed larger brains.
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But the violent language in Genesis 1 suggests that there was animal death before the fall.
Yes, of course there was. I’m not suggesting that human sin was the cause of animal death. I’m suggesting that humans have filled the earth with violence, and the animal kingdom suffers as a result. Human sinfulness was not part of the original mandate. We perverted the purpose that God intended, and all of creation suffers as a result.
Remember that every step in the food chain represents a 90% energy loss. The antibiotics fed to food animals is causing superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, putting us all in danger. And meat production contributes to global warming. Low-lying areas are already vulnerable to flooding caused by global warming, and the poor have no place to go. Well, they can become refugees, and we’ve seen how evangelicals welcome them with open arms. An end to tobacco farming and even opium production would also negatively impact a lot of farmers.
btw, it seems that the “Lone Star” tick bite is causing red meat allergies. Who woulda thunk it?