When PETA Director of Outreach Ashley Byrne sat down with Sean Hannity to discuss retiring Punxsutawney Phil from frightening Groundhog Day events, the host stated that Animal Rights is incompatible with his idea of Christianity, saying, “I believe God gave us dominion over the animals, and I believe they were put on this earth for our use”. His false conception of “dominion” is a common and destructive misinterpretation of the word that is frequently used to justify unbiblical, industrial-scale abuse of animals around the globe.
In his book Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy, author Matthew Scully–a former speechwriter to President George W. Bush–shares his views on the true meaning of Biblical dominion. For example, while Genesis 1:26–28 is often cited to justify using animals for human ends, Scully offers an alternative perspective: “The term dominion carries no insult to our fellow creatures. We were all sent forth into the world with different gifts and attributes.”
Scully clarifies that God’s true meaning of dominion differs significantly from Hannity’s misinterpretation of scripture. In these passages from Genesis, creation is described as God originally intended it to be—peaceful, loving, and harmonious. In Genesis 1:29, He created all living beings to be vegan and nourished by “every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it”. In Genesis 1:26, we learn that God made humans in His image and likeness, meaning we are created to reflect His kind and loving nature as good stewards of creation. And we have fallen tragically short of this profound duty to God.
Through human disobedience to God’s created order and a total disregard for the real meaning of “dominion”, the world has been wrecked by unnatural devastation and death. When we abandon our Biblical place as the kind stewards of creation, animals suffer the consequences
As we learned in Genesis, we were created in God’s image and likeness to reflect His kindness to all of creation. God has dominion over us, yet He leads us with His perfect paternal love. Since “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Psalm 145:9), how can we continue to abuse and exploit those we have been called to serve?
