Customer Reviews

The Dominion of Love: Animal Rights According to the Bible

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The "according to the Bible" in the subtitle made me fear that this was going to be another boring Bible study, or a pile of Bible quotes, but oh no - the book turned out to be a gem. Theologically sophisticated, yet always accesible, the book argues for ascribing rights to animals -- including the right not to be killed and eaten -- based on the primacy of love, or the dominion of love, which according to the author should be our overriding ethical and theological principle, one that is grounded in the Bible, "God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." (1 Joh 4:16).
I think many readers will be surprised, as I was, by how stong a case the author manages to make for animal rights, basing himself on the Bible.
The author's prose is excellent.
Pelle Strindlund, Sweden

The Dominion of Love:
Animal Rights According to the Bible

By Norm Phelps
Lantern Books
www.lanternbooks.com

Review by Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns

Is there any basis for animal rights in the Bible? In The Dominion of Love, Norm Phelps, the spiritual outreach director of The Fund for Animals, responds with this question: is there any basis in Hebrew and Christian scripture for human rights? His answer is yes and no. The concept of "human rights" does not actually appear in the Western religious tradition. Human Rights is a product of 18th century Enlightenment philosophy, an idea that to this day is rejected by many governments throughout the world. Rights is an "implementing mechanism," says Phelps, created to enforce the ethical teachings of love and compassion expressed by the Golden Rule-teachings that "individual conscience" has failed to implement. Now in the West, he says, we are living in the early years of an Enlightenment for the Animals. Where does the Bible fit in?

Our culture is imbued with its teachings, everything from an eye for an eye to love your enemies to love your neighbor as yourself. Phelps focuses on the concept of loving your neighbor to urge that we enlarge our understanding of who our neighbor is to include our nonhuman animal brothers and sisters. Even if the Bible does not explicitly include chickens and cows in the ancient notion of one's neighbor, there is enough in the substance of biblical teachings and scattered passages to invite such a reading and the implementation of this reading into our daily lives and protective laws. Does not Matthew 23:37 cite the mother hen as an example of protective love where it says "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings"?

Does the Bible support animal sacrifice and meateating? Yes in some parts, and with equal relish, here and there, it supports human slavery, rape, ethnic cleansing and other barbarisms we no longer countenance. "When we read in the Bible stories of God commanding or condoning the killing of animals," says Phelps, "we should remember these tales of barbarities that God is accused of ordering against human beings. . . . Why should Biblical verses that show divine approval of animal abuse set an everlasting precedent while passages showing divine approval of the murder of men, women, and children do not?"

Phelps concedes that his approach to the Bible involves picking and choosing-to an extent. But he legitimately argues that he is picking and choosing biblical passages that support the Bible's fundamental ethical call to love God, love Creation, love your Neighbor, and Be Merciful. A stumbling block is what he calls the "aristocracy theory" of creation, the idea that "man" alone is made in the image of God and is thus entitled to "reduce the rest of the earth's population to serfdom."

But even if one nurses an exalted view of humankind, to whom an All Powerful has ironically granted a host of "concessions," it doesn't follow that post-Flood morality need be one's own endpoint on Earth and a license for savagery. Rather, says Phelps, if we love creation, "we will nurture it, comfort it, care for it." The "dominion" he sees as alone hopeful consists in a conscious decision "to love God concretely by protecting and nurturing" all of our neighbors. If Judaism and Christianity do not encourage spiritual growth and a widening of human moral sympathies and obligations beyond the obscurations of history and self-centeredness, including animals "in the fullest unfolding of morality," what good do they bring?

The Dominion of Love includes valuable Appendices that identify specific biblical verses relating to the Human Treatment of Animals arranged under convenient subheadings, and Suggestions for Further Reading. These likewise are subdivided for easy follow-up together with a bibliography and highlight of books of related interest from Lantern Books.


Review by Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns (www.upc-online.org)

This book explained what I had always thought and felt but not heard in the churches or religion class. It explained in solid descriptions that compassion and love are rooted in the the Scriptures - and that is what vegetarians/vegans practice. It created common ground explaining that vegetarianism/veganism is based on teachings in the Bible. It was very easy to read - clear and concise.

Great book. I found the discussion concerning improper translations of languages has led to misunderstanding and mistaken interpretations to be very fascinating. This doesn't just apply to scriptures on animals but to other aspects. I also appreciated learning about the culture of ancient peoples. It reinforced what I had already knew to be true in my heart but was afraid to express.

The bible practices animal sacrifice and it's inherently anti-compassion, anti-animal rights, anti-women's rights. The very name of this book is anti-compassion, anti-respect. Dominion. To dominate someone, or to have dominion over them, is an act of violence. Usually the vicious fight for dominance, not gentle, powerful guardians. To try to dominate someone is to try to use aggressive force to control them. Guardian is a very powerful word, the word includes respect for animals and uses gentle as possible methods to protect them and consider their needs and desires as we would any creature we have power over - like our own children. Always the powerful should respect those they have power over, because it's just luck that you have it - and you should grieve for those that don't have it and try to give your power to others. All good to all beings. Dominance is the abuse of power. The men who love the bible like to dominate women also and they would have us connect our sexual desires only to the endless dichotomy of dominion and submission of dogs, versus the goodness and equality of love.

I think the bible is the most cruel and stupid book ever written. It's the philosophy of one hand clapping, the philosophy of Nothing - slavery is freedom, cruelty and chlid/animal sacrifice is love, love is gentle and kind, but oh no, love is actually your children being tortured to death in horrific sacrifices to the demands a "god" who is uh... likely a predator bio-tech jerk. Wake up. Phelps is probably really akin to Fred Phelps and this crap is probably paid for by the pyramid scheme of predation - the new trend is to write books about love and hide things about male or white supremacy in them, torture and abuse, horrible cruelty of all kinds, write a book about animal rights and slither in some anti-animal rights propaganda etc... I'm pretty sure this author is enemy propaganda and is attempting to ease you in that direction. Avoid Christianity, Pagan religions that ease you into animal abuse and all religion that practices male supremacy, white supremacy, animal torture or child torture and sacrifice - real animals and children suffer in these religions. There have been many children genuinely sacrificed and "martyred" in Christianity, just so some male supremacist jerks can secure more power for their greedy selves. It's not enough you've been given greater size and physical strength, in general, but also must control all governments, religions, family life - everything. Back off and learn some generosity. Voodoo also genuinely harms animals, as well as tribal religions that practice animal sacrifice, hunting rituals etc...

I think religion can be an act of aggression - and many religions are in fact just traps that are very cruel. I'd love to see a religion some day that genuinely opposes the suppression and slavery of women, child abuse, animal abuse and the worship of the creators of this bio-tech pyramid scheme of predation. I do not believe that the people who created this world are in any way good. The snake and the tree of knowledge is meant to scare you from the truth about the knowledge of good and evil, for were you to discover it, you would discover that the creators are PREDATORS WHO CREATE PREDATORS and are no different from any other child rapists, slave owners and cruel tyrants - they are evil. Oppose them and use your whole mind and heart to nourish, love, protect, guard, guide and respect all the life forms that are suffering here.