Are some believers in god hypocritical when it comes to animals?

Question

All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all.

Then SOME church goers go out hunting, or casually kill spiders/insects/rats/mice etc as if they are nothing!

I know NOT ALL church goers do this.
I know NON church goers do this.
I am wanting to know how those that do go to church AND hunt/casually kill "God's" animals can justify it.

I can understand (and accept) killing for food, but thats not what I'm asking. You don't usually eat rats, mice, spiders, etc. I'm also including animals killed in the name of so called 'sport'.

Answer 1

some people have said God gave us control over animals, and that is right. however, with control comes a degree of responsibility-such as parents who care for their children. we are supposed to look after God's creatures, not murder them in cruel ways, or sport. we were left to care over them and this planet and haven't done a very good job of it. so i agree, it is highly hypocritical for church goers to kill animals for fun and sport.

Answer 2

Well, well, well, don't some people get some strange ideas. Steven G for example (I do hope he's not a kiwi I once knew :-) ), talks about becoming a vegetarian. Has he noticed I wonder that all the world's veggie countries contain millions of starving people? The animals we eat, particularly sheep, goats and cows, eat and convert grass into something nutritious. Since we can't eat grass, that helps a lot. Chemicals - well, I do agree there. It should be a capital offence for any (man made) chemicals to be introduced to the animals - approved medication excepted. Beyond that, he talks about animals not liking being taken to the slaughter but can't prove that plants don't feel the same about it (I've known many vegetables who are quite definite upon that point :-) ). The plain fact is that God (in the Abrahamic religions) gave the animals (with some exceptions) to man for his food. Who are we to argue?
As for hunting, the fox is vermin anyway. Anybody who has seen a chicken coop after a fox attack will understand that) and really, it's only use is to provide us with nice clothing. One way or another, the animal is going to be killed. hunting gets rid of the older animals, thus reducing the numbers. The young are still in the den and therefore safe. They have a few years of enjoyment until they are hunted in their turn.
So, I see nothing wrong in hunting and/or eating/wearing animals. If the world switched to total vegetarianism (even over a number of years) many would either starve or live out their days eating soya sewage or manure fed fungus. Let's forget the non-existent problem and pass the steak.

Answer 3

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'"

God provided all things on earth for man to live. We are stewards of His earth. We are to use the things we need, and manage the resources so that we don't make the earth barren.

Killing a couple deer every year is not endangering the deer population. Just as cutting down trees for paper pulp or for development isn't going to denude the earth. IF we are responsible stewards.

I think that responsible hunters can honor God by hunting only plentiful animals. Clearly, hunting something to extinction, or poaching endangered species, doesn't fall into that category. But this is done by people with and without faith.

I personally can't imagine NOT killing an insect if it were annoying me. If I can open a window and let it out, fine, but if it lands on me, I'm slapping it.

Answer 4

In the bible fish are eaten calfs are killed, animal sacrifices made, killing animals is not against the rules in Christianity.. Come to think of it God gets pretty willy nilly about killing humans in parts of the "good Book", Like killing all those first born sons to punish that king, what did they ever do???

Answer 5

You got the wrong end of the stick. God is not an animal. God said animals are for food. Get that into your head. Hamburgers. There is room for all Gods creatures - beside the mash potatoes.

Answer 6

This is another clear example of how the so called scriptures of some religious organisations, were altered and mis-interpreted to suit the requirements of its followers, who sanction the unholy practice of maintaining slaughterhouses, if you attend a slaughterhouse and witness the carnage there, you will understand that any serious person on the path of God consciousness, would immediately and totally reject this evil, primitive and totally un-necessary practice, the same applies to any form of killing for sport etc, as your question quite correctly implies, it is sinfull and abhorrent.

To make real spiritual advancement, there is no question that a vegetarian diet must be accepted, the unhealthy ingestion of dead animal flesh that is saturated with chemicals and preservatives is degrading.

The next reason for being vegetarian is to consider the amount of fear and suffering that animals experience in the slaughter industry. There are countless stories of how in fear cows cry, scream, and sometimes fall down dead while inside or even before they are taken into the slaughter house. Or how the veins of dead pigs are so big that it shows they have practically exploded from the fear the pig felt and the adrenalin that was produced while it was being led to slaughter.

This certainly causes an immense amount of violence to permeate the atmosphere, which goes out and falls back on us in some form. Furthermore, the adrenalin and fear in the animal also produces toxins which then permeate the body of these animals, which meat-eaters ingest.

People who consume such things cannot help but be effected by it. It causes tensions within them individually, which then spreads in their relations with others. Meat eating is not only unhealthy but is also unclean.

Another factor for being vegetarian is karma. As the second law of thermodynamics states, for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction. On the universal scale this is called the law of karma, meaning what goes around comes around.

This affects every individual, as well as communities and countries. As the nation sows, so shall it reap. This is something we should take very seriously, especially in our attempt to bring peace, harmony, and unity into the world. If so much violence is produced by the killing of animals, where do you think the reactions to this violence goes? It comes back to us in so many ways, such as the form of neighborhood and community crime, and on up to world wars. Violence breeds violence. Therefore, this will continue unless we know how to change

In the process of bhakti-yoga, devotion goes beyond simple vegetarianism, and food becomes a means of spiritual progress. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna says, “All that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.”

So offering what we eat to the Lord is an integral part of bhakti-yoga and makes the food blessed with spiritual potencies. Then such food is called prasadam, or the mercy of the Lord.


The Lord also describes what He accepts as offerings: “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” Thus, we can see that the Lord accepts fruits, grains, and vegetarian foods. The Lord does not accept foods like meat, fish or eggs, but only those that are pure and naturally available without harming others.

So on the spiritual path eating food that is first offered to God is the ultimate perfection of a vegetarian diet. The Vedic literature explains that the purpose of human life is reawakening the soul’s original relationship with God, and accepting prasadam is the way to help us reach that goal.

For further discussion:-Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari ([e-mail])

Source(s):
The teachings of The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita As It Is translated from Sanskrit into English by HDG A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Answer 7

God told man that he has dominion over the animals in the same way that God has dominion over man. So it shouldn't be surprising that people casually kill animals.

Answer 8

im a genuis: in my head i was able to put that statement/question to the music of thin lizzys version of whiskey in the jar. 10 points please.

ps: i kill for food. i eat what i kill, i dont kill spiders or flies not because i wouldnt eat them but because they are part of the eco system. spiders eat flies birds eat spiders, birds die maggots eat birds, birds fall to dust, plants feed of the nuitrients deers eat the grass that grows and the cycle continues. soon enough i will be maggot or worm food. its called life.

Answer 9

Whom do you suppose killed the first animal?
God.
Look it up. Genesis 3:21

Then He created quite a list of animals that were OK to eat - as well as those to be left alone.
It's in Leviticus.

Answer 10

The bible say God ;gave man dominion over the animals, meaning he can do what he wants to with them.