AND THE SECOND IS LIKE UNTO IT

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

                                                                        ~  Matthew 22:36-40 (KJV)

But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

                                                           ~  Luke 10:29 (NAS)

            I don’t think it stirs much controversy to say that we cannot claim to love God if we do not love our neighbor, or to say that loving our neighbor does not mean that we have nice, warm feelings about that neighbor or even that we think highly of him or her; rather it is to say that we are willing to reach out to help when that person is in need or that – at the barest minimum – we refrain from treating him or her with cruelty.  It is to say that we have a responsibility for that person’s well-being. 

            Scripture, both the old and new testaments, makes clear that this is a central tenant of the Judeo-Christian faith.  Christ calls it the second great commandment, likens it to loving God, and says that on it (and on loving God) depend the rest of the scriptures.  Because we can’t really get around this requirement, since ancient times we have instead been trying to ease its burden by limiting the definition of “neighbor.” 

Jesus with the Pharisees - Gustav Dore

ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING

The Doctrine of Creation in David Clough’s On Animals, Vol. 1

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!

                                                        ~ Hymn, based on a poem by St. Francis

            What is the purpose of creation?  Where do humans fit into that purpose?  And where do other animals fit?  Are other animals – and the rest of the non-human creation – created solely for human benefit, or is something larger at work?  What separates humans from other animals?  What does it mean to be created in the image of God?

These are some of the questions David Clough seeks to tackle in Part 1 of his book, On Animals, Volume 1: Systematic Theology.  Last time, I looked at Clough’s introduction, which urges theologians to take the question of animal welfare seriously because it is one that touches on nearly every aspect of what it means to be Christian and because our relationship with animals has changed dramatically and nearly without question in recent decades.  It is time, he argues, to pull back the curtain, to pay attention to what we are doing and why, and to ask whether it is compatible with what we say we believe.  In order to do that, we need to consider the place of animals in fundamental Christian doctrines.   One of those fundamental doctrines is the doctrine of creation, which Clough addresses in Part One of his book.  This post will start at the beginning and ask, what is the purpose of creation? 

Photo credit: David Wye

LOVE BUILDS UP:

1 Corinthians 8

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.

                                                                                    1 Cor 8:1

            Last time, I considered the harm that working in high speed slaughterhouses and factory farms causes to humans in light of 1 Corinthian 8, in which Paul admonishes us always to act in love, being careful not to cause others to fall into sin.  With this post, I want to take a closer look at that passage from Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth to see what it might have to tell us about loving our neighbors – with two feet and four – and about proclaiming the gospel. 

In 1 Corinthians 8 Paul begins his response to a question from the Corinthian church regarding whether it is permissible to eat food sacrificed to idols.  Paul’s full response is lengthy and carefully structured, comprising 8:1 - 11:1, but in Chapter 8 he lays the foundation for his argument with a central Pauline theme: in discerning appropriate behavior, the Corinthians are to consider what will build up the community and draw people to Christ.  Although today we tend to dismiss this passage as irrelevant in a culture that does not sacrifice meat or other food in the temples of the Greco-Roman pantheon, the lesson of this passage is as relevant today as it ever was.  

Ancient Corinth, photo by Ploync, cc via Wikicommons

MINORITY REPORT –PART ONE: ANIMALS AND THE SAINTS

“The saints are exceedingly loving and gentle to mankind, and even to brute beasts ... Surely we ought to show them [animals] great kindness and gentleness for many reasons, but, above all, because they are of the same origin as ourselves.” 

                                                                         ~ St. John Chrysostom 

            The Christian tradition, on the whole, has not been kind to animals.  As we have seen, the dominant voice in the history of the tradition has held that animals were created for the benefit of humans.  Therefore, as Augustine explained in The City of God, animals are “subjected to us to kill or keep alive for our uses,” or as Aquinas expressed it in his Summa Theologica, “charity does not extend to irrational creatures.”[1]  This viewpoint has had devastating consequences for animals and, I would argue, for humans.  It is a viewpoint that is alive and well today as our culture uses and abuses billions of animals every year for human convenience and entertainment. 

            But there has always been another voice in the Christian tradition, a voice pleading for compassion for our fellow creatures, a voice that recognizes our obligations to animals.  In this post, I want to take a brief look at the earliest part of that tradition, considering how stories of the lives of the saints recognize the connection between compassion for animals and holiness.  In coming posts, I’ll look at some of the writings of John Wesley, Humphrey Primatt, and social reformers like William Wilberforce, whose faith compelled them to plead for – and act with - mercy and compassion toward our fellow creatures.  

Saint Blaise.with animals