by Vesa Hautala

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Human utilisation of animals in the Bible

This post is the third part of a series about animals in the Bible from an effective altruist perspective. This part deals with the numerous examples in the Bible of human use of animals either for food or other purposes. The way these are presented by the writers provides evidence about the moral status of animals in the Biblical texts. You can read the first and second parts of the series here.

Eating animals, animal farming and fishing

Eating animal products is portrayed as morally unproblematic throughout the Bible. The righteous Old Testament patriarchs eat meat, and Jesus eats fish and lamb with his disciples in the Gospels. Depictions of animal farming, fishing and hunting are also presented without ethical concerns. On two occasions Jesus helps his disciples to catch fish. This further strengthens the conclusion based on Gen. 9 that eating animals is not in itself morally wrong, even if the process involves suffering on the part of the animals.

However, we must take into account that circumstances in the ancient Near East, where the Bible was written, and the context of the vast majority of Christians through history, were vastly different from those in modern developed countries. Most notably, people’s level of nutrition was generally much worse, and eating animal products rich in protein, fat and other nutrients would have been much more defensible when compared to developed countries today. Meat consumption per capita was also significantly lower, such that only the rich could afford to eat meat regularly. Animal farming in Biblical times was also probably lacked many of the aspects of modern factory farming that may cause intense suffering for animals.

Animal sacrifice

In the Old Testament, God commands animal sacrifice. This implies that God deemed that animal sacrifices achieve a good that outweighs the suffering and death of the animals involved. Sacrifices had an important role in salvation history pointing to Jesus’ sacrifice and in some sense mediating forgiveness of sins, so their value was great. However, it is worth noting that sacrificed animals probably did not suffer significantly more than if they were slaughtered for food, possibly even less due to special treatment afforded to sacrificial animals. Nonetheless, animal sacrifice implies that human benefit, in this case, moral and spiritual, can outweigh the needs and desires of animals. Animal sacrifice also reinforces the distinction between humans and animals, as animal sacrifices are commanded in the Torah, but human sacrifices are forbidden as an abomination.

Animals killed in warfare

On multiple occasions, the Bible mentions animals as collateral damage in warfare, and sometimes killing them in war is commanded by God. (Josh 11:6,9; 1 Sam. 15:3; 2 Sam. 8:4; 1 Chron. 18:4) There is no indication of moral disapproval of killing or maiming animals as part of warfare in the Bible. However, it seems somewhat superfluous to contemplate the possible moral worth of animals in these situations where the killing of human beings presents much harder questions.

One of the most difficult Bible passages from an animal welfare perspective is Jesus casting demons out to 2000 pigs, which then drown. (Matt. 8:28–32, Mark 5:1–13, Luke 8:26–33) This is a very exceptional case involving elements outside normal human experience, so we should be careful in making far-reaching conclusions. Still, it clearly confirms the principle that humans are worth more than animals.

Conclusions

Based on the parts of Scripture analysed above, humans have more moral value than animals in the Bible. This conclusion is also plainly stated by Jesus in the Gospels: “you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:31) and “how much more valuable is a human being than a sheep!” (Matt. 12:12) The utilisation of animals for human benefit is also implied to be morally permissible in and of itself. Certain human benefits may justify causing suffering to animals or killing them. Eating animals or animal products is not considered immoral by the Biblical writers. However, this does not mean animals have no value whatsoever. It is clear from other Biblical passages that animals have some moral worth and their welfare matters.

What remains unclear based on explicit Biblical passages is what the ratio of value of animal to human life is. It is also unclear on what the difference of value is based: a greater capacity for suffering and happiness, rationality, or some other consideration, is not explicitly stated.

The difference between life in the ancient Near East and modern developed countries should be taken into account when considering application of the texts. The last part of this series will explore the question of how the Biblical examples and instructions apply in today’s world.