Before the last 50 years, the majority of people have believed that mankind is greater than the animals because of the ability to discern what is right and wrong. However, in the last four decades equality between man and animals has seen a large increase in support to the point where advocates of these views would even have animals join into a moral community. These groups assert that factory farming, medical research and other practices should be legally banned. There are many laws around the world that protect animals from cruelty. Yet, Christianity also makes a claim for the ethics of animal rights.
The conventional view of animal rights in Western culture is similar to that of the Greeks which holds that humans are rational creatures and therefore unique. It wasn’t until the sixteenth century when Machiavelli and Montaigne refuted the unique rationality of men and a materialistic view started to emerge. In the nineteenth century, Darwin provided a scientific basis with which this view could further progress. Based on Darwin’s work, animal rights advocates of today hold to many positions which usually protect animals from being used in any way and would have an animals rights to be equal to that of man.
The Biblical view is that God created the Earth and all living things in it, which includes the animals. He has placed them under the authority and responsibility of man in a role of stewardship over the Earth and established a covenant with every living creature. The Bible does show that God is merciful and cares for animals as well. However, because God disapproves of sin, He approved of animal sacrifices for the atonement of men since they both share a life blood. It is important to note that, as Geisler explains, Christians are widely divided on this view for reasons of philosophical presuppositions and the choice of a hermeneutical methodology.
Scripture shows that animals do not have rights like those of man. They are not to be protected above that of human life as they are not valued to the degree that man is by God. Man and animal are very different creatures where, man is made in the image of God, and an animal is not. Man has been given dominion over animals and though animals are given to man as food, we are to treat the life of animals kindly, properly, and responsibly. The Biblical guiding principle is stewardship.
Mankind has stewardship over God’s creation and was meant to care for everything in it. This includes all animal life which is to be respected and valued. God has given people the right to use animals for survival with the responsibility of exercising this privilege in both a humane and sustainable manner.
As to the value of animals, we find that they were never placed in charge of creation, nor are they responsible to God in maintaining the created order. They were not created for this purpose and do not carry the image of God from within. In Genesis 1:26, God states that we are stewards of the land and the animals:
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.”
New English Translation, Genesis 1:26.
And again in Psalms 8:5-8:
Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them? Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them, and make them a little less than the heavenly beings? You grant mankind honor and majesty; you appoint them to rule over your creation; you have placed everything under their authority, including all the sheep and cattle, as well as the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea and everything that moves through the currents of the seas.
New English Translation, Psalm 8:5-8.
In Genesis 2:19-20, Adam demonstrated the authority that God had given him by naming them and in Matthew 6:26, Jesus clearly states the value of man over the animals as well as their importance to Him:
Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are?
New English Translation, Matthew 6:26.
It is not because of our rights that we are to be good stewards of animals, rather, it is that God has entrusted us with this responsibility, to care for what is His. Proverbs 27:23 states:
Pay careful attention to the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds,
New English Translation, Proverbs 27:23.
In Genesis 9:3, we find that God has given animals to us for food and in Genesis 9:9-10, God establishes His covenant with every living creature on Earth:
“Look! I now confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you – every living creature of the earth.
New English Translation, Genesis 9:9-10.
These verses show the importance of all living creatures to God.
There are several implications to these non-Christian views which make an animals right equal to that of man. Even many Christians state that man should be vegetarians or vegans and some extend this view even further and believe animals have souls and should be included into the covenant of grace. Supporters of animal rights do not purchase items made of leather, nor would they allow people to hunt, be placed in zoos, be used in events of entertainment such as bullfighting or in a circus and allow for them to be used in medical experiments.
The truth is that from a Christian perspective, man has dominion over animals in a role of responsibility, that life is sacred and therefore belongs to God which includes animal life as well. We are obligated in our role to practice good stewardship over animals and creation. Kaiser sums up the situation with the following:
Scripture does call for a kind and generous care of the animal world, but the full healing of the created realm is not promised until the time when the Messiah returns. This is no more a loophole that allows for outrageous maltreatment of animals than the dominion of humans over the earth is an excuse for abuse of the environment. Balanced thinking and acting is required in any case.
Kaiser, Walter C., 2009. What Does The LORD Require? Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pg. 219.
He continues on that in this environment after the fall where things are out of order, that we as Christians have this hope for the animals:
We wait for our Lord to fix what the fall badly damaged, without using it as an excuse for abuse of the created order or of animals.
Kaiser, Walter C., 2009. What Does The LORD Require? Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pg. 219.
A Christian view where the animal world is treated in a kind and generous manner, responsibly by man results in a consistent and coherent position which therefore allows for the better treatment of animals and their purpose as given by God.
Biblical Studies 