To start, it is completely possible to help both man and animal. The greatest thing you can do for animals is just grabbing vegan things at the store instead of animal flesh things. How does this distract from helping man? In fact since veganism helps causes such as world hunger and the environment, it helps man as well.
It seems a lot of the defense of Christians against animal rights is that we somehow take away from what we do for man. I have to ask them, what exactly do
they do for man? And not to specifically tell me, because our service should be between us and God, but to search their heart. If they truly believe we should fight world hunger, or abortion, or whatever - what do they do? Send in 5$ a month to mochaclub.com? Vote for pro-lifers? Thats it? Anything else? Whens the last time they went out and fed starving people?
Now I wouldn't say all of this to someones face, as it can be said a lot nicer, but it's a perspective thing. People are so quick to judge how little we do, because our efforts are towards animals, that they don't see how little they actually are doing to fight anything.
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19 dogs and cats, 38 animals in laboratories, 256 hunted animals, 1,902 cows, pigs, and other farmed animals, and a whopping 17,123 chickens die every minute in the United States alone. This averages out, that for every person that lives on an omnivorous diet in the United States directly contributes to the deaths of 93 animals per year. Of course the inverse of this is also true, and every person that abstains from flesh meat directly lowers the amount of farmed animals killed by 93 animals per year.
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While we are permitted to eat the flesh of cows, chickens, fish, and also pigs, dolphins, and cats and dogs, doing so may not be beneficial. The pains of hunger around the world could help be alleviated by a vegan diet, because "The amount of grains fed to US livestock is sufficient to feed about 840 million people who follow a plant-based diet"(12) A third of the starving population in the world could be fed on what the United States feeds to livestock raised for slaughter alone. And the resources required are ". . . more than 11 times greater than that for grain protein production . .. [while only returning] about 1.4 times the biological value . . . "(13) This is on top of the health benefits that a vegan diet offers, and the ethical benefits. Perhaps when Paul says ""Everything is permissible" but not everything is beneficial. . .".(14) it could be applied to the consumption of animal flesh.
So you see, being vegan DOES help humanity as well, just as a "side effect".
Don't throw away the love of God because of the blindness of some people. We were given dominion over all of creation. This is true.
But how should we rule in our dominion? As tyrants with an iron fist? Or should we look to Christ as an example of how he ruled us? I believe with all my heart that mankind is called to rule over creation in the same way God rules over us - with love. Shouldn't we mirror the image of God?
God rules the "lesser" with love, and so we should rule our "lesser" with love.
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Isaac of Nineveh". . . was placid and kind and humble, and his speech was meek. He ate only three loafs of bread a week, with small vegetables; he never tasted what was cooked." (15)His love for all creation was exemplified in his writing on what a merciful heart should look like:
And what is a merciful heart? It is the hearts burning for the sake of the entire creation, for men, for birds, for animals, for demons and for every created thing; and by the recollection and sight of them the eyes of a merciful man pour forth abundant tears. From the strong and vehement mercy which grips his heart and from his great compassion, his heart is \thumbled and he cannot bear to hear or see any injury or slight sorrow in creation. For this reason he continually offers up tearful prayer, even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the truth and for those who harm him, that they be protected and receive mercy. And in like manner he even prays for the family of reptiles because of the great compassion that burns in his heart without measure in the likeness of God.(Homily 8)
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Isaac of Nineveh, in the 600's, before the onset of the mass slaughter of beasts of todays world, went as far as saying we should cry and pray for the animals - for all that suffer in creation. That when one's being is filled with the Holy Spirit, and compassion flows out with no limit, that man will weep and pray that all who suffer receive mercy. Such a thought is humbling in this age where the desires of the world rule in the church.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church said,
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I believe in my heart that faith in Jesus Christ can and will lead us an exclusive concern for the well-being of other human beings to the broader\tconcern for the well-being of the birds in our backyards, the fish in our rivers,\tand every living creature on the face of the earth
Animals do have souls.
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Gen 1:29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.
The Hebrew word used to describe this "breath of life" is the exact same Hebrew word used when describing when God". . . breathed into [man's] nostrils the breath of life".(9) If this "breath of life" is what we equate to a soul, then wouldn't both man and animal have this? Scripture seems to be in agreement with this concept, for\t\t
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Ecc 3:18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.
Ecc 3:19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
Ecc 3:21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?
I don't know how it can get much simpler then that -
Never think that because the church, while looking as the mirror of the world, says that animals are nothing more then mere objects means that the heart of the gospel speaks of such a great love that envelops all of Gods kingdom.
You have been given a spiritual gift, the gift of compassion. This is such a wonderful gift. If you allow God to temper and refine you, and develop your gifts, He can and will continue to use you as a beacon of love and compassion to both man, and animal, and all creation.
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btw,
I recommend getting the book
Dominion of Love
I don't really agree with 100% of the things he says, but the author lays a pretty convincing argument for the compassion of God being extended to all creation. It's a pretty good read.
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Over all, pray for God's whispering voice in all this. Allow Him to show you and reveal to you more and more of His all extending love. Pray that your father can see that God's compassion has no limit.
As I studied, and study, the word of God more and more, and the benefits of veganism more and more, the more they intermingle and connect. I am fully convinced that an omnivorous diet in first world countries while biblically permitted is in no way beneficial, for either man or animal.
Extending the compassion of God to the animal kingdom has brought me better perspective and brought me more comfort then I could have had while eating their flesh. There is such an awesome joy in treating our subjects with love. My prayer is that all Christians may one day treat their subjects the same way that God treats His subjects - with undying love.
Have faith, for in your love you prevent 93 animals from torture and death, you assist in the alleviation of world hunger, and allow yourself to be fully engulfed in His love - by sharing it with all.
Be a lantern in the darkness. And never, never, never, NEVER let people bring you down by saying you can and will never do enough.
As a single insignificant match can ignite a forest in flame, a single person can ignite the forest of dark hearts that is the world.
You have the lantern of God in your heart, shine it among men, for His glory, and for the sake of all creation.
Walk in peace. And share His love with all.