God’s nature

In my 18 years as a born-again Christian, I have learned firsthand that God’s very nature is love, and from that love flows tender mercy and compassion. Throughout the scriptures, we can see that God has a heart for the downtrodden, the vulnerable, the weak and oppressed – and God calls us to be merciful as well.

Unfortunately, many Christians read the verses about mercy and think only about other human beings. As a Christian and a vegan, I have come to the realization that there is a monumental collective blind spot among Christians, one that I believe God wants to address. Let us not forget that God created not only humans, but animals as well. God owns the animals, (Ps. 50:10-11) cares about the animals (Ps. 136:25) and His mercy extends to all that He created. (Ps. 145:9) I truly believe that what has been happening to animals, at the hands of humans, is heartbreaking to God.

How did we get here?

I believe that centuries of tradition and some biblical misunderstandings have brought us to this point where we have almost completely excluded animals from our circle of mercy and love. Of course, the exception to that is the lucky animals that we (in the West) decided were pets; namely dogs and cats. In these types of discussions, most Christians point to certain scriptures and say, “See? God gave us the animals to eat, so there’s no problem with it.” There are a number of unfortunate things that God permits in this fallen world. However, if we value truth above all else, sometimes we need to search our souls to see if we’re viewing an issue through the lens of our own desires and avoiding taking a deeper, more objective look at it.

Some questions we should ask are: Is this something that we have gotten wrong all this time? What is God‘s perfect will in regard to the interaction between humans and animals? What was God‘s original design and what is God’s ultimate plan?

Again, Christians are called to be merciful. We are called to treat others the way we would like to be treated. God loves the animals and expects us to treat them with mercy and respect. This is usually where most Christians will concede that cruelty is wrong. A common reply is, “As long as we’re killing them in a humane way, there’s no problem.” This leads me back to the topic of mercy. Doesn’t mercy apply to those who are under our charge? Why wouldn’t mercy apply to animals as well as humans? The Bible is very clear that God’s mercy extends to ALL that he created. (Ps. 145:9) Since God’s mercy extends to animals, why would our mercy extend only to humans?

Here’s what needs to be stated: Mercy does not mean killing someone in a less brutal way. It means choosing to not kill merely for the purpose of satisfying our tastebuds. It means doing to them what you would want done to you, if you were in their position. In the words of Pierre Troubetzkoy, why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by what is above him when he shows no mercy to those under his power?

What about Dominion?

Another response from Christians is to point to the fact that we have dominion over the animals. Yes, we have dominion, but I think it’s time to clear up some misunderstandings. The primary misunderstanding is that dominion automatically means a license to do whatever we want with God’s creation. This is easily disproven, because we had dominion in the Garden of Eden, but according to the Bible, meat eating was not permitted until many centuries later. Dominion is like a kingship. God put us in charge of the animals, but here’s a question that needs to be asked: As Christians, what kind of kings do we want to be? Merciful, caring and just? Or merciless, self-indulgent and dictatorial? Christian vegans believe that our dominion over the animals should be patterned on God’s loving dominion over us. In the words of Shlomy Goldman:

“That humans, the pinnacle of creation, are uniquely created in the image of God has deep implications, namely that our intended identity is to be like God. An integral way this is fleshed out is in our dominion over creation. Christians in the Creation Care movement have rightfully affirmed that this “dominion” is not one of exploitative subjugation but rather of responsible stewardship, characterized by compassion, mercy, and a loving concern for its flourishing, just as God exercises His dominion over us.”

How veganism changes us

Going vegan was definitely one of the best decisions I ever made. (It’s #2, second only to coming to Christ.) It is like an awakening, a whole new perspective! There are many benefits to going vegan, but here’s the most beautiful thing about it: it grows your heart and causes you to have more mercy, love and respect for all of God’s creation.

Leo Tolstoy once said, “As long as there are slaughterhouses there will be battlefields.” I agree that there is a connection between how we treat animals and how we treat others. Think about it. If we treat the very least of God’s creation with mercy and respect, how much more consideration will we have for our fellow human beings? It changes us to be more compassionate and merciful overall. This, I believe, is what God desires. He doesn’t want His creation to be at each other‘s throats.

The Garden of Eden was a place of peace and harmony, until sin came into the world. Picture a timeline. There was no flesh eating in the beginning (Gen. 1:29–30) and there will be none in the end. (Isaiah 11:6-9) Everything in between is a result of sin in this fallen world. Should we as Christians honor God’s heavenly will, or the selfish ways of this world? Let us look at what Jesus said.

Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) I think that many people recite that prayer without thinking about it. If we truly want God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, then we would stop killing and eating animals. Why? Because as stated in Genesis 1 and in the prophetic scriptures, God’s perfect will was, is, and always will be, peace and harmony among all creation; no harm, no violence, no killing, no eating eachother’s flesh. Heaven is not a place of death and suffering. It is a place of life, love, joy and peace!

Veganism is the future

We are getting closer to the day when the wolf will live with the lamb, and the peace and harmony that existed in the very beginning will be restored. A peaceful, non-meat eating world is the future. Since it is prophesied and it is the heart of our God, shouldn’t Christians be leading the way? Do we want to be on the right side of history? The violence, cruelty, suffering and utter disrespect for God’s creation that takes place every day in the animal industries is abhorrent, and as vegan activist James Aspey puts it, “our greatest collective disgrace.”

If we truly want to be merciful, then we as Christians have a choice, three times a day, to align our professed values with our actions. Christian veganism is a beautiful thing that will change your life and entire outlook on this world. Please choose mercy and love. You will not regret it!