Question to the "God gave us dominion over animals" crowd:?!
Question to the "God gave us dominion over animals" crowd:?
I'm an atheist, so I freely admit that any kind of divine explanation for eating meat is bunk to begin with. However, there seems to be a lot of people who use this odd argument of "God gave us dominion over the animals!" to justify eating meat.
You do realize that you have dominion over your children, too, right?
Answers:
Especially since they forget the next part about god having dominion over people... It's a good thing god isn't as ruthless or shallow as human beings when it comes to carrying out "dominion."
I think people take "dominion" out of context.
To me, it's that we're superior to them.
But that's how it goes even in science.
We're superior to animals because we're more complex and more intelligent than them.
But since we're smarter than them, we need to take care of them.
That's dominion to me.
I, as a Christian, don't need to justify eating meat.
Lambs are tasty, bottom line.
Thinking about it seriously
There was one scripture that talked about foods we should and shouldn't eat and one of the guidelines was not to eat bloody meat.
Probably because red meat is unhealthy and if they got sick in the desert they didn't have the means to recover.
And when Old Testament people had to sacrifice animals, the priests were allowed to eat a piece of meat after it had been cooked.
And priests in the Old Testament Bible were anointed and holy. Who ate meat. So apparently God's okay with eating meat.
Then God went, "Don't eat scavengers. They pick up after you because you leave crap in my forests."
Which explains the no pigs thing, but doesn't have much relevance here.
And the whole dominion thing could also be to take care of them but moreso not to overharvest them into extinction.
Because that throws the biosphere out of whack, apparently.
Many many animals naturally eat meat. Humans are just one of the many animals on the Earth that eat other animals. It's as simple as that. It is not something that needs to be justified. Besides, the animals humans kill to eat are just higher up on the sliding scale of intelligence than the plants you kill and eat.
We're better than them. We're more intelligent than them.
I am a Christian I don't say anything to justify eating meat.
the people who think that are idiots
You're an atheist, right? Mind your own business and don't worry about it. Get ahead in life while the rest of us spiritual people are wasting time contemplating the afterlife. If you use your time wisely, you have a serious advantage over even the moderately religious folk.
God gave us power over animals to do what we wish with them; to eat them or not. We have a choice. It's not like He said we had to eat meat or not. It's totally personal choice.
Excellent, Excellent, Excellent point. Dominion means in the charge of, in the care of, in the rule of. What if King John had assumed authority to slaughter all the nobles that he had dominion over? It would have altered the entire course of the
Western world.
Dominion does not give anyone the right to trespass against the rights of another or to rape, mame and slaughter.
Someone will argue that farm animals have never presented
a magna carta or bill of rights, but neither has anyone's
children.
I'm starring this question and you can expect several more I'm
sure.
your worried about people eating meat but don't believe in GOD why worry about what they do they are not worried about you be Vegetarian or what ever find JESUS man you sound really lost
I am an atheist, too. hehe and am not eating meat.
You can't expect a Christian to have a valid explanation for ANYTHING. It's based on beliefs.
There is a teacup floating in the sky that presides over all of us. Why do I believe this? Well, because a person said so and then subsequent people said so, and then a book was written and other people believe it and so, therefore, it is true. (LOL)
good point bingo
i'll never eat meat again
lol
Well, a king or queen has "dominion" over their people....and back in the day it was considered divine ordination...so, I agree, anyone living under a monarchy should be sent to slaughter and all the children too! Yay!
On another note...have you ever checked out Leviticus?? Probably not, being an atheist and all...but my point is, there are lots of rules about what people can and can't eat in there (pigs being one forbidden food), but Christians pick and choose what parts of their "sacred book" they feel like followinf on any given day. Ask them about eating certani foods...they say that Jesus said the old testament doesn't count, ask them about evolution and all of the sudden the old testament matters again. Pathetic.
See why I love the Atheists! Bingo, you are very correct.
Dominion does not mean exploit. Dominion means protect.
Dear Artsy: Are you aware the the Book of Leviticus is instruction for Levite Priests? Yes. Not instructions for the average joe. No one is picking and choosing.
Agreed. And for those who say the Bible tells us what meat we can and cannot eat... it also tells us it's okay to sacrifice our firstborn children and that we should be put to death for crimes such as adultery (aka an affair) and theft. Anyone care to follow THOSE rules?
*not saying those behaviors shouldn't have consequences... obviously they deserve punishment, but I think death is a bit extreme*
>>You do realize that you have dominion over your children, too, right?<<
I applaude you for that comment! Since when is dominating equal to digesting? I'm not an atheist, not religious either, spiritual though, but what I think is that religion here is just an excuse. If god is good and kind, and if he created animals, why would he want them to suffer? Where is the logic? Btw, werent Adam and Eve vegans, which was part of being perfect? According to the Bible, consumption of meat started after the flood. I'm not christian, but even I know this.
If ppl really wanted to be good christians, they wouldnt be afraid to face the truth. You could use your religion to do good, instead of making lame excuses.
EDIT; for damo who said "Many many animals naturally eat meat."
well, many many animals are herbivores. Veganism is natural too, what is your point? Since human intestines are long like in other herbivores', what would be the logical conclusion?
LMAO re: dominion over children. Good point ... this is the kind of stuff that happens when the fundamentalists believe in a literal understanding of the Bible.
Quite frankly, I'm never clear why people who eat meat have to seek biblical justification to eating meat. I happen to like meat. I eat it. Others like only veggies .. that's fine with me.
Crissakes aren't there more important issues than whether or not we are carnivores, ominivores, or herbivores?