God's Covenant with Animals: A Biblical Basis for the Humane [Paperback]

J.R. Hyland (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1930051158 | ISBN-13: 978-1930051157 | Publication Date: June 2000 | Edition: 1

From Genesis to Christ, the Bible testifies to God's love and concern for animals. The same self-centeredness that led to the violence and abuse that has marked human relations also caused the abuse and exploitation of animals. The Bible, argues the author, calls upon human beings to stop their violence and abuse of each other and all other creatures. It promises that when they do, the sorrow and the suffering that marks life on Earth will five way to the joy and peace that God ordained at the creation of the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hyland, an evangelical Christian minister active in prison ministry, migrant farmworker rights, female equality issues, and animal rights, attempts to locate animal-rights thinking in the Bible and thereby justify the animal rights movement to Bible-believing Christians. She contends that the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, and Hosea) opposed not only religious formalism but also specifically the animal sacrifice of the Temple cult. She asserts that the pre-Fall Edenic images of Genesis and the Peaceable Kingdom vision of Isaiah 11:4-9 represent God's Kingdom as it was, will be, and ought to be now. None of God's creatures is carnivorous by nature; sin brought meat-eating into Eden and caused the widespread cult of animal sacrifice. Hyland necessarily struggles against St. Paul's view of Jesus' crucifixion as an atoning sacrifice, for the sacrificial death of Jesus implicitly justifies animal sacrifices. Her tone is often preachy and hostile toward most scholars who find little concern with animal rights in scripture. These scholars, however, are correct; the Bible just does not concern itself with the humane treatment of animals. Thus, while her writing is clear, her conclusions are not compelling. Recommended for academic or large public libraries with substantial collections in religion.DJames F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

...tells the intriguing story of the progressive unfolding and understanding of God's revelation about animals. -- Richard Alan Young, author

Books like God's Covenant with Animals bring the peaceable kingdom one step closer to earth. -- Rev. Gary Kowalski

She speaks with great authority, combining scholarship and passion with a prophetic voice. -- Stephen H. Webb, author

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 126 pages
• Publisher: Lantern Books; 1 edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930051158
• ISBN-13: 978-1930051157
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God's Covenant With Animals, August 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: God's Covenant with Animals: A Biblical Basis for the Humane (Paperback)

For any Christian, God's Covenant with Animals will open passages of the Bible in new ways. Particularly striking (and somewhat disturbing) is the overview of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament and how the ripples of that terror reach us today. For anyone interested in the well being of animals, but not belonging to the Christian faith, this work will still give insight into Western thinking and philosophy on the role and treatment of animals. Ultimately, after reading God's Covenant with the Animals, no one will be able to deny that what affects any part of creation, affects the rest. The interconnectedness of life, all life, is sacred.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The health of the planet and its inhabitants are at stake!, May 20, 2002

By 

Melanie Wilson "mongoliamel" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God's Covenant with Animals: A Biblical Basis for the Humane (Paperback)

People who have obtained their opinions from the Bible have told me such things as, "Animals were put on the earth for humans to use," or "Animal don't have souls, and they don't go to heaven." It is refreshing to read Reverend J. R. Hyland's positive, well-researched book about God's love, respect and concern for animals and how they should be treated. Reverend Hyland sheds light on such atrocities as animal sacrifices and animal slaughter and how God did not want these sacrifices and meant for all animals, both nonhuman and human, to be vegetarians. He claims that carnivorous eating is in direct contradiction to the Bible. "God said unto them...have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, `Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.' (Gen. 1:28-29) "The restriction to a vegetarian diet as the only legitimate form of food was the standard to which all of earth's creatures had been held from the beginning of time. But during the millennia that had passed since then, human beings had become conditioned-and adapted-to a much lower form of life. Noah and his family, like the people among whom they lived, had become carnivorous." Reverend Hyland also shows how humans have altered the meaning of parts of the Bible. For example, he explains that "the Book of Genesis plainly states that animals, like humans, were created as nefesh chaya: living souls. (Gen. 1:21,30) Scholars have obscured this fact by translating the same words differently. When applied to Adam, nefesh chaya reads "living soul." (Gen. 2:7) But when the same term is used about animals it is translated as "living creature." (Gen. 2:19) He goes on to explain that even though there is no biblical basis for their belief many people use the excuse that animals do not have souls to condone "the most sadistic and cruel treatment of sentient beings." This is an informative book illustrating that nonhuman animals are not to be exploited, abused, and killed, but treated with respect, compassion, and kindness. Hopefully, our species will heed Reverend Ryland's wise and humane warnings-and soon!
-Reviewed by N. Glenn Perrett

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How God Teaches Us, September 5, 2005

By 

KET (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Covenant with Animals: A Biblical Basis for the Humane (Paperback)

It is such a relief to know that at least a few other human beings are tuned into to God's will for his creatures. All of his creatures, and not just the human ones. Strong biblical arguments against the human exploitation of animals.