Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is associated with the German reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546). It formed in 1988 through the merger of The American Lutheran Church, The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and The Lutheran Church in America. It's the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S.
Number of Members: 5 million.
Governing Body: The Churchwide Assembly, which consists of 60 percent lay and 40 percent ordained ministers, convenes every two years.
| Official Statements on Animals |
Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice, a social statement from the Church in Society
"Scripture speaks of humanity's kinship with other creatures … God's command to have dominion and subdue the Earth is not a license to dominate and exploit. Human dominion, a special responsibility, should reflect God's way of ruling as a shepherd king who takes the form of a servant, wearing a crown of thorns."
"We are called to name animals. As God names Israel and all creation as the shepherd calls by name each sheep, naming unites us in a caring relationship." P2-3
In the section, Commitments of the Church, congregations are directed to discuss the "treatment of animals in livestock production, laboratory research, and hunting." P10
I. The Church's Vision of Creation
A. God, Earth and All Creatures
We see the despoiling of the environment as nothing less than the degradation of God's gracious gift of creation.
Scripture witnesses to God as creator of the earth and all that dwells therein (Pss 24:1). The creeds, which guide our reading of Scripture, proclaim God the Father of Jesus Christ as "maker of heaven and earth," Jesus Christ as the one "through [whom] all things were made," and the Holy Spirit as "the Lord, the giver of life" (Nicene Creed).
God blesses the world and sees it as "good," even before humankind comes on the scene. All creation, not just humankind, is viewed as "very good" in God's eyes (Gen 1:31). God continues to bless the world: "When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground" (Pss 104:30). By faith we understand God to be deeply, mysteriously, and unceasingly involved in what happens in all creation. God showers care upon sparrows and lilies (Mat 6:26-30), and brings "rain on a land where no one lives, on the desert, which is empty of human life" (Job 38:26).
Central to our vision of God's profound involvement with the world is the Incarnation. In Christ, the Word is made flesh, with saving significance for an entire creation that longs for fulfillment (Rom 8:18-25). The Word still comes to us in the waters of baptism, and in, with, and under the bread and wine, fruits of the earth and the work of human hands. God consistently meets us where we live, through earthy matter.
B. Our Place in Creation
Humanity is intimately related to the rest of creation. We, like other creatures, are formed from the earth (Gen 2:7, 9, 19). Scripture speaks of humanity's kinship with other creatures (Job 38-39; Pss 104). God cares faithfully for us, and together we join in singing the "hymn of all creation" (Lutheran Book of Worship, page 61; Pss 148). We look forward to a redemption that includes all creation (Eph 1:10).
Humans, in service to God, have special roles on behalf of the whole of creation. Made in the image of God, we are called to care for the earth as God cares for the earth. God's command to have dominion and subdue the earth is not a license to dominate and exploit. Human dominion (Gen 1:28; Pss 8), a special responsibility, should reflect God's way of ruling as a shepherd king who takes the form of a servant (Phil 2:7), wearing a crown of thorns.
According to Gen 2:15, our role within creation is to serve and to keep God's garden, the earth. "To serve," often translated "to till," invites us again to envision ourselves as servants, while "to keep" invites us to take care of the earth as God keeps and cares for us (Num 6:24-26).
We are called to name the animals (Gen 2:19-20). As God names Israel and all creation (Pss 147:4; Isa 40:26, 43:1) and as the shepherd calls by name each sheep (John 10:3), naming unites us in a caring relationship. Further, we are to live within the covenant God makes with every living thing (Gen 9:12-17; Hos 2:18), and even with the day and night (Jer 33:20). We are to love the earth as God loves us.
We are called to live according to God's wisdom in creation (Prov 8), which brings together God's truth and goodness. Wisdom, God's way of governing creation, is discerned in every culture and era in various ways. In our time, science and technology can help us to discover how to live according to God's creative wisdom.
Such caring, serving, keeping, loving, and living by wisdom sum up what is meant by acting as God's stewards of the earth. God's gift of responsibility for the earth dignifies humanity without debasing the rest of creation. We depend upon God, who places us in a web of life with one another and with all creation.
| Historical References on Animals |
Martin Luther on Animals:
Like most theologians of his day (and ours), Martin Luther (1483-1546) saw humans as superior to other animals because unlike all other animals, humans were made in the image of God and have reason. For instance, in his lectures on Genesis, Luther wrote: "In the remaining creatures, God is recognized by His footprints; but in the human being, especially in Adam, He is truly recognized" since humans were "not created like the rest of the animals but according to God's image." And, in the same lectures, Luther observed that "The human being is endowed with reason, which has the advantage over all the animals."
Yet, Luther saw other than human animals as being divine, since they, too, were created by the word of God. Furthermore, he describes animals as praising God better than humans, and having more compassion for their fellow animals than humans do for other humans. Luther even believed there would be dogs in heaven. Perhaps for all these reasons, Luther thought that even though God told Noah that humans could eat animals after the flood, there was not reason that we had to--and, in fact, we should not, since animals were created primarily as another way for us to praise God.
Luther on animals as being divine because they reveal the hand of the Creator:
"The sun warms; but it would bring nothing into being unless God said by His divine power: 'Let a mouse come out of the decay.' Therefore the mouse, too, is a divine creature. . . . [F]or its kind it has a very beautiful form--such pretty feet and such delicate hair that it is clear that it was created by the word of God with a definite plan in view. Therefore here, too, we admire God's creation and workmanship. The same thing may be said about flies." (Luther's Lectures on Genesis, Chapters 1-5).
Luther on animals as praising God better than humans:
"All animals live in contentment and serve God, loving and praising Him. Only the evil, villainous eye of man is never satisfied, nor can it ever be really satisfied because of its ingratitude and pride. It always wants the best place at the feast as the chief guest (Luke 14:8); it is not willing to honor God, but would rather be honored by God." (Luther's Sermons on the Sermon on the Mount).
Luther on animals as having more compassion for their fellows than humans:
"Wild beasts and irrational animals keep this law. When a pig is slaughtered or captured and other pigs see this, we observe that the other pigs clamor and grunt as if in compassion. Chickens and geese and all wild animals do the same thing; when they see one of their own kind in trouble, they quite naturally grieve with it and are sad, and if they can, they help it. Only man, who after all is rational, does not spring to the aid of his suffering neighbor in time of need and has no pity on him. What a shame and scandal!" (Luther's Sermons I).
Luther on dogs in heaven:
In his lectures on Genesis, Luther writes, "animals...live only their animal life, without hope of eternal life" (Lectures on Genesis, Chapters 1-5). Yet Luther loved his canine companion Tölpel very much, and did not believe that so faithful a friend could be excluded from heaven. Asked whether he expected to find dogs in heaven, Luther replied, "Certainly, for there the earth will not be without form and void. Peter said that the last day would be the restitution of all things. God will create a new heaven and a new earth and new Tölpels with hide of gold and fur of silver. God will be all in all; and snakes, now poisonous because of original sin, will then be so harmless that we shall be able to play with them." (Table Talk of Martin Luther, DCCXCVII)
Luther on why we shouldn't eat animals:
"It follows not, that because God created all things, we must eat of all things. Fruits were created chiefly as food for people and for beasts; the latter were created to the end we should laud and praise God." (Table Talk of Martin Luther, CXXXI)
Further resources:
Bainton, Roland H. 1957. "Luther on Birds, Dogs, and Babies: Gleanings from the 'Table Talk,'" pp. 3-12 in Luther Today: Martin Luther Lectures, Vol. 1. Decorah, Iowa: Luther College Press.
Ickert, Scott. 1988. "Luther and Animals: Subject to Adam's Fall?" pp. 90-99 in Andrew Linzey and Dorothy Yamamoto, eds., Animals on the Agenda: Questions about Animals for Theology and Ethics. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
