"The Bible Says So" - by Joan Dunayer SPECIESISM, Old-Speciesist Philosophy, pages 11-12

[Kate✯GO VEGAN+NOBODY GETS HURT Ⓥ]

"The Bible Says So" - by Joan Dunayer SPECIESISM, Old-Speciesist Philosophy, pages 11-12

Many Christians believe that nonhumans exist for human use because the Bible says so. As expressed by one man, "God put us in charge over animals."

Saying that humans are entitled to dominion over nonhumans doesn't make it so. (Some sexist men likewise claim that men are entitled to dominion over women.) Humans wrote the Bible, so it isn't surprising that the Bible glorifies humans and gives them license to exploit other animals. Given that the Bible sanctions HUMAN enslavement, we hardly can expect it to censure nonhuman enslavement. In addition to being sexist, tribalistic, and otherwise biased against particular human groups, the Bible is speciesist.

Genuine arguments are based on evidence and reasoning. People who look to the Bible for their beliefs have a fundamentally irrational worldview. Christian old-speciesists have absorbed the human-aggrandizing myths that "Creation" culminated in humans, "God" made humans in "His" image, and Jesus (human and male) was divine. In Christianity, humans are more god-like than other animals. They're God's "children," whereas other animals are merely his "creatures." Extremely human-centred and hierarchical, Christian doctrine is incompatible with animal equality.

At best, old-speciesists who base their beliefs on the Bible have some sense of noblesse oblige toward nonhumans. They feel a condescending benevolence but not respect. They see other animals as inferiors in need of control or care rather than equals entitled to justice. In their paternalistic and proprietary view, God the Father gave nonhumans to his children, humans. Nonhumans are human property, the opposite of individuals with rights.

Christian old-speciesists display Christianity's bias against nonhuman animals. Like the Bible, they maintain a sharp moral divide between humans and all other animals. (They would say "humans and animals," which is logically equivalent to "blacks and humans" or "women and humans.")

Many religious speciesists deny human-nonhuman kinship. It discomfits them to think of HOMO SAPIENS as one animal species among millions and downright alarms them to see themselves as animals, primates and apes.

Nonhuman apes are more closely related to humans than to monkeys. If nonhuman apes and monkeys are primates, so are we. Biologists now classify gibbons, orangutans, bonobos, chimpanzees, AND HUMANS as apes. African nonhuman apes (gorillas, bonobos, and chimpanzees) share a more recent common ancestor with humans than with Asian nonhuman apes (gibbons, and orangutans). If gorillas and orangutans are apes, we are too. Genetically, bonobos and chimpanzees are closer to humans than to either orangutans or gorillas. They share about 96.4 percent of their genes with orangutans, 97.7 percent with Gorillas and 98.4 percent with humans. We belong in the same genus (Homo or Pan) as bonobos and chimpanzees. But old-speciesists prefer to think of humans in splendid isolation.

Having failed to evolve beyond the myths of former centuries, many old-speciesists don't believe in evolution. As expressed by one sport hunter, evolution indicates human "kindredship" with "animals," so anyone who believes in evolution could conclude that killing nonhumans "constitutes murder." He decided not to believe in evolution. That way he can have his gun and use it, too.

Anxious to maintain feelings of superiority and preserve a human monopoly on moral and legal rights, old-speciesists grossly exaggerate human uniqueness. To varying degrees, all animal species overlap physically and mentally. At the same time, each animal is unique.

[À. Neilson]

We.l said "I" !
Very well said. Thank you Friend. :0)

[l]

THE BIBLE AS WE ALL KNOW IS CRYPTIC. I THINK WE SHOULD TAKE FROM IT WHAT WE FEEL IS RIGHT FOR US INDIVIDUALLY. WHAT EVER GOD IS HE CREATED LIFE, AND HUMANS AND ANIMALS ARE ALL FROM THE SAME SORCE, WE ARE ALL PART OF HIM (GOD). YOU HURT AN ANIMAL THEN YOU ARE REALLY HURTING YOURSELF. CRUELTY IS WRONG TO ANYTHING . ITS WORSE FOR ANIMALS AS THEY CAN NOT SPEAK, WHICH BRINGS IT TO THE HUMAN TO SPEAK FOR THEM. THAT MAKES US SUPERIOR OVER THEM IN THAT WAY ONLY! WE ALL KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG FROM AN EARLY AGE THEREFORE WE UNDERSTAND THAT ITS SO VERY WRONG TO ALLOW CRUELTY TO LIVING ANIMALS. RELIGION IS MAN MADE, AGAIN , ANIMALS ARE BROUGHT INTO THIS (SACRIFICING) AND ITS RIDICULOUS AS IF THE CREATOR OF ALL LIFE WOULD WANT THAT . TO INSTILL FEAR AND PAIN INTO ANYTHING IS WICKED AND WRONG. WE HAVE TO DO ALL WE CAN TO HELP THOSE IN NEED AND ABOLISH CRUELTY WHERE EVER WE CAN.THIS WORLD IS NOT ONLY FOR US BUT FOR THE ANIMALS TOO. LIFE IS VERY SHORT, IT'S NICER TO BE KIND TO ANIMALS AND APPRECIATE THEM. THEY TO HAVE A SOUL.WE ARE ALL ON OUR OWN JOURNEY IN LIFE AND I THINK RESPECT HAS TO BE TAUGHT AND A MUST FROM AN EARLY AGE IN SCHOOLS ECT ALL OVER THE WORLD. HUNTING SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED, FUR SHOULD NEVER BE USED AND TORTURE MUST BE A CRIME.

[À. Neilson]

Hi Kate, i always thought that we were all 'creatures'. (Human and Non-Human Beings) I never knew that being called a creature was considered less important by some. uh-oh I even call myself a Creature or Living Being. i hope i did not offend anybody by that,but who knows.I thought it was a beautiful word..well unless some negative adjective was also attached to it of course
Also on the arguement that some people give, saying that the Bible tells us we can kill all the animals we want, because of one excuse or another..well i just say to them that it also says in the New Testament that Christ (Jesus) was said to have thrown his only known temper-tantrum when they tried to sell Doves in a Temple for sacrifice, so to me that meant that he did not think that dead animals were a pleasing offering to God afterall. But in the Old Testament Cain & Able's gifts were supposedly judged in such a way that the crop sacrifice was considered poor compared to the daed animal offering, (go figure-even as a child i thought they got it backwards or something) but in the 'Bible' Christ also said he came to overthrow the old ways and teach them more loving ways of God, so i do not even see why Christians have to keep listening to the Old Testament anyway. It probably never should have been included as much as it was, by those who decided what writings to keep and attach to the New Testament. (There is much spooky evil cruelty in it!) But now perhaps this is getting into religious discussion, a whole 'nother can of worms...
I do not think believing in Evolution and in a Creator are mutually exclusive because 'One's best Creations must have a mind of their own'! :o) If i am a Created 'Creature' i can still evolve. :o)
So it does not matter if it is from 'Mother Nature', 'Great Spirit' or 'God' or only from my Mother that i am born and have creative mind of my own, i still know that i have a Soul, but even as a child i knew that 'animals' had Souls too. :o) People thought i was crazy, because they say that i did not get that idea from the Bible. I never cared that they disagreed, because i just intuitively knew it. It made them angry only because it made them question their idea that it was o.k. to treat animals only like objects that could move. Though i agree that reasoning and evidence are important, i also believe intuitive-reasoning can be valuable too.

Joan wrote: "People who look to the Bible for their beliefs have a fundamentally irrational worldview."

When i read that, i was thinking "Yes, i have noticed that with many religions"
Perhaps the key word to my mind, is 'fundamental' ! From personal observation, i have found that people who are overly 'fundamentalist' in any 'Religion' or 'Path' or 'Life-Style' or other self or group-defined 'Label' which defined by overly moralistic kinds rules and codes specific to their 'group' can come into danger of becoming irrationally adversarial or over-controlling even if that group is.. oh say, for Hedonism for example...it can become like meet the new boss, same as the old boss. LOL..But if the important thing that binds people together is to treat other Beings as lovingly as possible or at least to live & let live if they can not do that, then wouldn't they at least agree that being intentionally cruel to any living being is not a positive alternative for anybody?

Of course i am not 'God' , but it is hard to believe that a good God wants such torture, murders or 'blood sacrifices' caused in their name for any ritual or sacrifice! What loving Spirit would?

In closing, i cast my vote for what it is worth, that no Bible nor Torah or other religious book has the right to tell me God wants me to kill animals for 'him' . I do not believe that saying to kill animals for a god, is really from a God but that it is from men.

p.s. Kate, thank you for posting Joan's article. Very thought provoking. :o)

[DEN FRIEND]

I agree, truly disgusting black panther. The difference is that this "feast" slaughter is done in the open and is easy to record and condemn as uncivilised and uneccessary. The most vile torture and exploitation of animals goes on in shiny, white, clean walled laboratories and is administered by civilised people wearing white coats!

[blackpanther]

the video shows poor lambs, exported from Australia, for that horrible religious "feast"
how awful!!!!!!

[blackpanther]

"People who look to the Bible for their beliefs have a fundamentally irrational worldview." HOW TRUE!
that's why I'm an atheist! why should a god (or another divinity) tell us what to think and do?
man can perfectly live without gods!........

In France, christians eat turkey and foie gras for christmas, and moslems kill poor lambs in terrible sufferings for their "aid el kebir" feast........and after that, they go to church and pray their god to go to heaven! I trully hope if hell does exist, that they will all go there directly!
for example, see this:

[Kate✯GO VEGAN+NOBODY GETS HURT Ⓥ]

Hello DEN FRIEND. Thanks for your comment. I agree.

[DEN FRIEND]

Very interesting Kate.