Animal Cruelty

It has been argued that animals do not have souls. During the years that philosophers like Kant lived, this argument was used to justify torturing animals and allowed scientists to perform heinous experiments on them. This continues to be a debate, though not so open.

When Adam was created, God gave him reign over the animals. This obviously gave mankind dominance over non-human animals. However, animal played a significant role in the bible. It was the blood of animals that was sacrificed to the Lord so that the Isrealites could receive forgiveness for their sins before Jesus came and died on the cross. God even gave a donkey the ability to speak to a man in order to get His point across. When the Lord flooded the Eath, he told Noah to save a male and female of every type of animal. This must at least imply that animals are important. More significantly, God created animals, which gives them importance independent of their use for humans.

An argument that has been posed in against animal cruelty is that animals whimper/cry when they are being hurt. However, during times when animals' rights weren't being protected, scientists claimed that the cries of an animal were simply a spring that was hit during the experiments. Animals were said to be machines and we do not have to treat machines with any type of morality.

While I believe that we have a God given right to use animals for food, clothing, and ethical experiments, I am strongly against abusing animals. If animals are only a means to an end for humans, then let us consider the idea that it has been observed that people who torture/abuse animals are more likely to hurt other humans. Some of the most well known killers, like Ted Bundy, tortured animals. This type of behavior initiates aggressive, disturbing, and dangerous behavior.

We have a responsibility to take care of our environment. If we fail to take care of our animals, our society will fade quickly. We would not be able to survive without the blessing of non-human animals that God has given us.