Episode 227 - Animals and Christian Ethics

“God gave animals to humans for food.” “Jesus ate fish.” “Jesus helped fishermen catch fish.” “God loved animal sacrifice.” These are just a few Biblical arguments that many Christians make to justify humanity’s current utter domination of animals. But how do they jibe with what the Bible really says? How do our behaviors harmonize with the Christian ethics of love, mercy, peace, service and humility? How should we apply any of this to today’s world? Rev. Carol and philosophy and religion professor emeritus Dr. Lisa Kemmerer cover all this and more in this engaging episode. Dr. Kemmerer is Internationally known for works focused on animals, the environment, and disempowered human beings. She is the author of over a dozen books and founded and directs the educational, information-sharing non-profit, Tapestry. Her latest book, Animals and Christianity, was written to empower Christians to talk to one another and encourage people to start conversations with their Christian friends and family. It is the focus of this conversation. Here is a summary:

· The fallacies in biblical arguments and the importance of reading scripture

· Love is not limited; it is not a zero-sum game

· The human factor - oppression of slaughterhouse workers and the spiritual implications of their work

· The corrective attempts of the Prophets to turn people back to God’s original intention

· What we really need to sacrifice

· The importance of context in moral arguments (i.e. today’s fishing is nothing like fishing in biblical times)

· The excuse of sin

· The story of the snake and Balaam’s donkey and what they tell us about animals and historical misinterpretations

Dr. Kemmerer’s websites:

Animalsandreligion.org

Non-profit Tapestry - http://tapestryofpeace.org/

Lisakemmerer.com