JewishVeg.org
September 2017
Jewish Veg has teamed with the Faith Outreach Division of the Humane Society of the United States to help you answer the most common objections that Christians and Jews raise when you tell them you're vegan or almost vegan.
See below and read God gave humans "dominion" over the animals. End of story. AND Animals were created to be eaten. to start learning how to respond with confidence and authority.
God gave humans "dominion" over the animals. End of story.
Genesis 1:26, the famous “dominion” verse, is simply and singularly the
most misinterpreted, misunderstood verse in the entire Bible/Torah.
While the verse has been pulled out of context to justify every form of
exploitation and abuse of animals, the reality is that “dominion,” or
“yirdu” in Hebrew, means something very different.
Genesis 1:26, the famous “dominion” verse, is simply and singularly the
most misinterpreted, misunderstood verse in the entire Bible/Torah.
While the verse has been pulled out of context to justify every form of
exploitation and abuse of animals, the reality is that “dominion,” or
“yirdu” in Hebrew, means something very different.
Animals were created to be eaten.
It is clear from the Biblical account of Creation that animals were not
created to be a source of food for humans. The Biblical injunction of a
plant-based, or vegan, diet is found in Genesis 1:29, as part of the
Creation story itself.
Taking the life of an animal for food was not part of God’s plan.
Interestingly, the word for “animal” in both Biblical and Modern Hebrew is
“baalei chayim,” which literally translates to “owner of life.” So, in the
Biblical understanding, to kill an animal for food is to take something that
doesn’t belong to us.
Animals are presented as companions and helpers to Adam in Genesis 2:18.
And animals are repeatedly portrayed in the Bible as objects of God’s
concern and mercy, just as people are.
Genesis 9 states no fewer than five times that animals are part of a
covenant with God, right alongside human beings.
For instance, in the Book of Jonah (4:11), God spares the city of Nineveh,
citing Divine concern for both the human and animal inhabitants. Similarly,
the Book of Psalms (36:6) describes God as saving humans and animals alike.
The Book of Job (38-41) vividly describes elements of Creation that God made
for animals. For example, God rhetorically asks Job, “Who let the wild
donkey go free? Who untied his ropes? The donkey’s house I made in the
wilderness. The salt-land is his dwelling place.”
While the Bible gave human beings permission to use animals for labor, the
restrictions and limitations are numerous. To cite just a few, animals must
be given a day of rest on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:10), you cannot muzzle an
ox when he’s treading corn (Deuteronomy 25:4), and you must even help your
enemy’s donkey if the animal is struggling under his load (Exodus 23:5).