We brought up in class today the fact that animals were technically never "expelled" from Paradise so why should they die like humans do. This idea really stuck with me and made me question so many theories and concepts. Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise and were therefore exposed to suffering and death. Animals, though, were never directly involved in their wrongdoings. But note the fact that Charles Darwin explains in "The Descent of Man" that humans and apes share a common ancestor. I suppose this would mean, assuming one believes in the theory of evolution, that animals were, in some way, expelled from Paradise, too, and that is why they do die. I know Darwin's theory came much later than the creation of man, but applying it to this notion kind of justifies why animals experience death and sickness.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I don't think it's right for animals to have to die. In paradise, there was no death. The Bible states this as fact. After Original Sin occurred, Adam and Eve expose the world to sadness and depravity. Death, was not solely a human punishment. All things, including plants and other non-human animals, also die. Animals should not have to suffer for human wrongdoing. It was not a monkey who chose to defy God, it was man! It was not a serpent who committed trickery by seducing Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, but Satan, a fallen angel, who conjured up such deception! Man and Angel, who were given free will, have the right to be punished by God. However, animals whom were before considered innocent and ignorant, were suddenly exposed to having to work for their food (hunt/gather,) kill other creatures (whether just for sport, as some lions, dolphins, and various species of birds do, or for food,) and most importantly death - either by natural causes like starvation or disease, or by becoming prey to a carnivorous beast.
I think bringing the theory of evolution into this analysis is clever. However, it also really complicates it. People could probably argue all day about what's the "truth"- religion or evolution. But when thinking about animals and their suffering, it is logical to apply evolution, as Abbey said. In a way, we can make sense of animal suffering through evolution. I'm not at all saying that animal cruelty should be justified by this theory. Animal cruelty and animal suffering are two different things to me. Suffering (in this sense, mainly sickness and death) is natural and comes from no manmade cause. As sad as it may be, suffering is a part of life and animals must therefore be subjected to it. Animal cruelty, on the other hand, is inflicted upon animals by mankind, and shouldn't be tolerated. I believe that even if evolution is true, and even if we are derived from apes, humans are still more intelligent than animals. And so, as Tereza believes, we should respect and love all animals and not use our "power" to harm them as the Communists did.
I don’t think animals are being punished for the sins of Adam and Eve. I wouldn’t say that death is necessarily a punishment either. It is not something that should be feared, especially from a religious standpoint. In Christianity, it is a common belief that after you die, you go onto a better place, heaven. Therefore, without death we would never reach that better happier place. I think the argument that animals were never expelled from paradise focuses more on their lives vs. our lives, and that animals live a more happy life because they are ignorant to the embarrassment and suffering that humans were exposed to after Adam and Eve sinned. Animals don’t live their lives fearing death, but focus more on embracing the happy aspects in life.
A lot of questions came to mind when after we had this discussion in class, as well. It wasn't animals that ate the apple and disobeyed God, so why are they treated with the same suffering that humans go through? In a way, animals were ejected from paradise along with Adam and Eve due to man's mistakes. They are still exposed to the same earthly problems that humans are; they are absolutely no longer in paradise. In addition to the story of Adam and Eve, think of the story of Noah and the flood. When God got angry with the world and how people were acting, he didn't wipe out solely the human race for behaving badly. He also wiped out all of the animals except for two of each. They were treated just as the humans were due to humans making yet another mistake that the animals had no control over.
Dealing with religion and science is a very tricky and touchy subject. Linking the two would be very difficult and will always end with a confusing scenario. As Abbey pointed out, animals die and can get sick just as humans do. The difference between the two, and the reason that we have religiously established that animals were never expelled from paradise is the opposition between human and animal nature. Animals do not sin, there are carnivores in the world who kill but they are innocent in doing so. Animals do not have morals that cause them to justify or negotiate their actions and sins. This is why religion beleives that animals were ever expelled from paradise. Humans however, understand when they are committing sin and act anyway. Animals are innocent in their actions and humans are not, they have no corruption or evil in their nature.
Post a Comment