tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654455663519806899.post1098700589190955389..comments2023-11-09T02:43:59.293-08:00Comments on Christian Medical Comment: Jesus Christ was unashamedly speciesistPeter Saundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222354018504253042noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654455663519806899.post-69008738809736347452013-11-11T21:58:22.850-08:002013-11-11T21:58:22.850-08:00"The compassionate, sensitive heart for anima..."The compassionate, sensitive heart for animals is inseparable from the proclamation of the Christian gospel," writes Reverend Andrew Linzey, an Anglican priest and the foremost theologian in the field of animal-human relations, in Love the Animals. "We have lived so long with the gospel stories of Jesus that we frequently fail to see how his life and ministry identified with animals at almost every point.<br /><br />"His birth, if tradition is to be believed, takes place in the home of sheep and oxen. His ministry begins, according to St. Mark, in the wilderness 'with the wild beasts' (1:13). His triumphal entry into Jerusalem involves riding on a 'humble' ass (Matthew 21). According to Jesus, it is lawful to 'do good' on the Sabbath, which includes the rescuing of an animal fallen into a pit (Matthew 12). Even the sparrows, literally sold for a few pennies in his day, are not 'forgotten before God.' God's providence extends to the entire created order, and the glory of Solomon and all his works cannot be compared to that of the lilies of the field (Luke 12:27).<br /><br />"God so cares for His creation that even 'foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' (Luke 9:58) It is 'the merciful' who are 'blessed' in God's sight and what we do to 'the least' of all we do to him. (Matthew 5:7, 25:45-46) Jesus literally overturns the already questionable practice of animal sacrifice. Those who sell pigeons have their tables overturned and are put out of the Temple (Mark 11:15-16). It is the scribe who sees the spiritual bankruptcy of animal sacrifice and the supremacy of sacrificial love that Jesus commends as being 'not far from the Kingdom of God.' (Mark 12:32-34)<br /><br />"It is a loving heart which is required by God, and not the needless bloodletting of God's creatures," concludes Reverend Linzey. "We can see the same prophetic and radical challenge to tradition in Jesus' remarks about the 'good shepherd' who, unlike many in his day, 'lays down his life for the sheep.' (John 10:11)"Vasu Murtihttp://www.vasumurti.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654455663519806899.post-85961734652056714612013-11-11T21:56:06.408-08:002013-11-11T21:56:06.408-08:00Jesus taught his disciples to pray for the coming ...Jesus taught his disciples to pray for the coming of God's kingdom (Matthew 6:9-10), the kingdom of peace, in which the entire world is restored to a vegetarian paradise (Genesis 1:29; Isaiah 11:6-9). Recalling Psalm 37:11, he blessed the meek, saying they would inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5) The kingdom of God belongs to the gentle and kind (Matthew 5:7-9) Christians are to "Be merciful, just as your Father is also merciful." (Luke 6:36) Those who take up the sword must perish by the sword. (Matthew 26:52) <br /><br />Jesus repeatedly spoke of God's tender care for the nonhuman creation (Matthew 6:26-30, 10:29-31; Luke 12:6-7, 24-28). Jesus taught that God desires "mercy and not sacrifice." (Matthew 9:10-13, 12:6-7; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 5:29-32) The epistle to the Hebrews 10:5-10 suggests that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the prophets (which Paul, and not Jesus, regarded as "so much garbage"), but only the institution of animal sacrifice, as does Jesus' cleansing the Temple of those who were buying and selling animals for sacrifice and his overturning the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple. (Matthew 21:12-14; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:14-17) <br /><br />Jesus not only repeatedly upheld Mosaic Law (Matthew 5:17-19; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 16:17), he justified his healing on the Sabbath by referring to commandments calling for the humane treatment of animals. <br /><br />When teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, Jesus healed a woman who had been ill for eighteen years. He justified his healing work on the Sabbath by referring to biblical passages calling for the humane treatment of animals as well as their rest on the Sabbath. "So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham...be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" Jesus asked. (Luke 13:10-16)<br /><br />On another occasion, Jesus again referred to Torah teaching on "tsa'ar ba'alei chayim" or compassion for animals to justify healing on the Sabbath. "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" (Luke 14:1-5)<br /><br />Jesus compared saving sinners who had gone astray from God's kingdom to rescuing lost sheep. He recalled a Jewish legend about Moses' compassion as a shepherd for his flock. <br /><br />"For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? Who among you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?<br /><br />"And when he has found it," Jesus continued, "he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'<br /><br />"I say to you, likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance...there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Matthew 18:11-13; Luke 15:3-7,10)Vasu Murtihttp://www.vasumurti.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654455663519806899.post-69516110421030278212013-11-09T09:20:48.119-08:002013-11-09T09:20:48.119-08:00For those who reject the idea of a creator God and...For those who reject the idea of a creator God and humanity made in his image (Let me be clear that I DO believe in these) there is still no logical argument for treating other species as equal to humans. If we are nothing more than a product of evolution, then the only thing that matters is the continuation of our species in general and our specific genes in particular. So the health of humans, and our food supply, has to be more important than the lives of badgers. <br /><br />If the proponents of this view that we are nothing more than evolved animals followed their own argument to its logical conclusion, the most important humans are those who share the most DNA with me - starting with the immediate family, but extending according to the theory of the "selfish gene" to others most genetically similar to me - eg my own ethnic group. And those who are no longer able to reproduce or contribute to the well being and propagation of my gene pool have no value at all. <br /><br />Thank God that most "rationalist" atheists are not quite as rational as they like to believe.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17193840510591876503noreply@blogger.com