In this insightful episode, the discussion dives deep into the theme of animal rights, exploring its clashes with Christian doctrine. The speaker challenges the modern-day animal rights movement with references from the Bible, arguing that the movement raises animals to human levels while inadvertently lowering humans to animal status. By leveraging scriptural teachings, the conversation touches upon dominion, speciesism, and humanity’s stewardship role in God’s creation.
Adrian Rogers was a motivator, an encourager, and a leader of the faith. He was also passionate about presenting scriptural application to everyday life circumstances, and you’ll hear that in today’s message. Now, let’s join Adrian Rogers.
SPEAKER 02 :
Just when you think that something more crazy, more wild and weird than we’ve ever heard cannot come, it comes. AND THAT’S SOMETHING TODAY THAT WE’RE FACED WITH CALLED ANIMAL RIGHTS. NOW I WANT TO TALK TO YOU AS WE TALK ABOUT A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW ABOUT WHAT’S WRONG WITH ANIMAL RIGHTS. BUT FIRST OF ALL, LET’S JUST JUMP INTO THE WORD OF GOD. AND LET ME JUST GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING BY READING A FEW VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS, WHICH YOU KNOW IS THE BOOK OF BEGINNINGS. CHAPTER ONE AND VERSE 26, AND GOD SAID, LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE AFTER OUR LIKENESS, AND LET THEM HAVE DOMINION OVER THE FISH OF THE SEA, AND OVER THE FOUL OF THE AIR, AND OVER THE CATTLE, AND OVER ALL THE EARTH, AND OVER EVERY CREEPING THING THAT CREEPETH UPON THE EARTH.” AND THEN LOOK IN CHAPTER THREE AND VERSE 21, IF YOU WILL, AND UNTO ADAM ALSO AND TO HIS WIFE DID THE LORD GOD MAKE COATS OF SKIN AND CLOTHED THEM.” AND THEN LOOK IF YOU WILL PLEASE IN GENESIS CHAPTER NINE VERSES ONE THROUGH THREE, AND GOD BLESSED NOAH AND HIS SONS AND SAID UNTO THEM, BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY AND REPLENISH THE EARTH AND THE FEAR OF YOU AND THE DREAD OF YOU SHALL BE UPON EVERY BEAST OF THE EARTH. AND UPON EVERY FOUL OF THE AIR, AND UPON ALL THAT MOVETH UPON THE EARTH, AND UPON ALL THE FISHES OF THE SEA, INTO YOUR HAND THEY ARE DELIVERED.” NOW, IT MAY SOUND SILLY TO YOU THAT WE WOULD EVEN, UH, DISCUSS ANIMAL RIGHTS AND SAY, WHAT’S WRONG WITH ANIMAL RIGHTS? BUT IF YOU LISTEN FOR A WHILE, YOU’LL FIND OUT THAT IT IS NOT SILLY. YOU SEE, THERE ARE THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT MEN WERE NOT CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, BUT THAT WE JUST CAME OUT OF SOME PRIMORDIAL OOZE OR SLIME. THEY CAN NEVER TELL US WHERE THE OOZE AND THE SLIME CAME FROM, BUT WE SOMEHOW JUST EVOLVED OUT OF ALL OF THIS, SO WE’RE ANIMALS. BEING ANIMALS, ALL ANIMALS ARE CREATED EQUAL. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I LOVE ANIMALS. THE CREATURES OF GOD, EVERY CREATURE OF GOD. I LOVE ALL OF GOD’S CREATION, BUT WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT IS SOMETHING, FRIEND, THAT IS MORE THAN FOOLISH. IT’S LITERALLY GETTING TO BE VERY, UH, SINISTER. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THERE’S AN ORGANIZATION CALLED PETA, P-E-T-A. THAT STANDS FOR PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. INGRID NEWKIRK, WHO IS THE DIRECTOR OF PETA, HAS SAID THIS, AND I QUOTE, A RAT IS A PIG, IS A DOG, IS A BOY. A RAT IS A PIG, IS A DOG, IS A BOY. THEY MAKE NO DIFFERENCE. PETER’S CHAIRMAN DECLARED, QUOTE, WE FEEL THAT ANIMALS HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS A RETARDED HUMAN CHILD. NOW, SOME OF THESE PEOPLE, UH, HAVE GOTTEN QUITE VIOLENT. IF ALL THEY DID WAS TO PUT SILLY THINGS IN BOOKS, THAT WOULD BE ONE THING. BUT, UH, ONE MAN WAS ARRESTED WHILE TRYING TO MURDER THE PRESIDENT OF A MEDICAL RESEARCH COMPANY WITH A REMOTE CONTROL BOMB. RADICAL ACTIVISTS HAVE SET FIRES TO RESEARCH LABS. FRIED CHICKEN RESTAURANTS HAVE BEEN TORCHED. FIRST STORES HAVE BEEN BURNED DOWN. WOMEN WEARING FUR COATS HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO SPRAY PAINT ATTACKS. TURKEY FARMS HAVE BEEN BURGLARIZED. MEDICAL RECORDS HAVE BEEN STOLEN. ZOO EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN ASSAULTED. BUTCHER SHOPS HAVE BEEN VANDALIZED. ARSON, PROPERTY DESTRUCTION, ATTEMPTED MURDER, BURGLARY, AND THEFT, ALL OF THESE ARE CONSIDERED ACCEPTABLE CRIMES BY THESE ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS BECAUSE A RAT IS A PIG IS A BOY. NO DIFFERENCE. UH, THE HUMANE SOCIETY NOW SAYS THAT A BREAKFAST OF BACON AND EGGS IS A BREAKFAST OF CRUELTY. THEY CALL MCDONALD’S MCDEATH. THEY SAY THAT BEEF CANNOT BE EATEN, OR COWS KILLED FOR THEIR LEATHER, OR EVEN EXPLOITED FOR MILK AND CHEESE. THE EATING OF FISH, CHICKEN, OR EVEN SNAILS IS TO BE BANNED. THEY WOULD NOT WANT YOU TO BUY A GOOSE-DOWN PILLOW, WEAR A WOOL SUIT OR A SILK BLOUSE, GEESE ARE NOT TO BE PLUCKED, SHEEP ARE NOT TO BE SHEARED, SILK WORMS ARE NOT TO BE HARVESTED, AND COCKROACHES TOO HAVE A RIGHT TO LIVE, THEY SAY, BECAUSE THEY ARE EFFICIENT LITTLE GARBAGE COLLECTORS. THEY BELIEVE THAT WEARING ANIMAL FUR IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE NAZIS WHO MADE LAMPSHADES OF HUMAN SKIN. IT’S AMAZING, BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE DEDICATED, AND YOU WONDER, HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN IN AMERICA? HOW COULD WE COME TO THIS PLACE? WELL, THAT BRINGS THE QUESTION, IS MAN JUST A CLEVER ANIMAL WHO CAN STAND ERECT, WHO HAS A THUMB JUXTAPOSED TO HIS FIVE FINGERS? A LITTLE BIGGER CRANIUM? A LITTLE MORE GRAY MATTER? IS THAT ALL? IS THERE NO INTRINSIC DIFFERENCE? YOU SEE, THEY REJECT THE IDEA THAT I READ TO YOU FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS, THAT GOD MADE MAN AND TOLD MAN TO HAVE DOMINION OVER THE WORKS OF HIS HANDS. THEIR GOAL IS TO SET ALL ANIMALS FREE FROM ALL HUMAN CONTROL AND DOMINATION. GARY FRANCIONE, A LAW PROFESSOR, WHOSE BUSINESS IS LITIGATING ANIMAL RIGHTS, WOULD NOT EVEN ALLOW AN ANIMAL TO SUFFER IF THE RESEARCH LED TO A CANCER CURE. LET ME QUOTE HIM, HERE’S A LAWYER, I DON’T BELIEVE IT IS MORALLY PERMISSIBLE TO EXPLOIT WEAKER BEINGS EVEN IF WE DERIVE BENEFITS. NOW WE’VE HEARD OF RACISM, THERE’S A NEW TERM, SPECIESISM, SPECIESISM. THE ANIMAL LIBERATION PEOPLE SAY THAT WE ARE BIGOTED IF WE SAY THAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE, QUOTE, OTHER ANIMALS. LET ME QUOTE, IT CAN NO LONGER BE MAINTAINED BY ANYONE BUT A RELIGIOUS FANATIC THAT MAN IS THE SPECIAL DARLING OF THE UNIVERSE OR THAT OTHER ANIMALS WERE CREATED TO PROVIDE US WITH FOOD OR THAT WE HAVE DIVINE AUTHORITY OVER THEM AND DIVINE PERMISSION TO KILL THEM. NOW WHAT THAT IS, FOLKS, IS A STATEMENT THAT FLIES DIRECTLY INTO THE WORD OF GOD. THAT’S NOT JUST SOME OTHER AROUND-ABOUT PHILOSOPHY. THAT IS A CHALLENGE TO THE WORD OF GOD. MICHAEL FOX, QUOTED IN THE WASHINGTONIAN, PUT IT THIS WAY SUCCINCTLY, AND I QUOTE, THERE ARE NO CLEAR DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN US AND THE ANIMALS. ANIMALS COMMUNICATE, ANIMALS HAVE EMOTIONS, ANIMALS CAN THINK. SOME THINKERS BELIEVE THAT THE HUMAN SOUL IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE ARE IMMORTAL, AND THAT JUST BECOMES COMPLETELY ABSURD. THAT’S WHAT HE’S SAYING. IT’S ABSURD TO THINK THAT MEN HAVE IMMORTALITY AND THEREFORE THEY’RE DIFFERENT FROM ANIMALS. THAT’S WHAT THEY BELIEVE. HUMANE SOCIETY LITERATURE HAS CLAIMED FOR DECADES, AND I QUOTE, THERE IS NO RATIONAL BASIS FOR MAINTAINING A MORAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN AND OTHER ANIMALS. NOW WHAT THEY’RE TRYING TO DO IS TO RAISE ANIMALS TO THE LEVEL OF HUMANS, BUT WHAT THEY ARE SUCCEEDING IN DOING IS LOWERING HUMANS TO THE LEVEL OF ANIMALS. AND THAT HAS ALL KINDS OF RAMIFICATIONS. HERE’S A VERY INTERESTING THING. THE SCIENTISTS TODAY, I’M TALKING ABOUT THE SECULAR SCIENTISTS, MOST ALL OF THEM BELIEVE IN RESEARCH WITH ANIMALS. THEY BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN TAKE ANIMALS AND BE AS HUMANE AS POSSIBLE, BUT USE ANIMALS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN RESEARCH TO FIND A CURE FOR CANCER OR WHATEVER. AND THE SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THIS. THE ANIMAL RIGHTS PEOPLE SAY, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THAT BECAUSE AN ANIMAL IS THE SAME AS A HUMAN BEING. THE SECULAR SCIENTIST SAYS, THAT IS FOOLISH! THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS AND ANIMALS. AND THEN THEY ASK THIS EVOLUTIONARY SCIENTIST, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? AND HE CAN’T SAY. HE KNOWS THERE’S A DIFFERENCE, BUT HE DOESN’T KNOW THE WORD OF GOD. AND SO HE’S IN A QUANDARY. THERE’S AN IRONY ABOUT IT. HE KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE, BUT IF HE BELIEVES IN EVOLUTION, I WANT TO TELL YOU THE ANIMAL WRITEST HAS IT. HE’S GOT HIM. HE CAN’T ARGUE WITH HIM BECAUSE THE SCIENTISTS CANNOT SAY, I BELIEVE THAT MAN IS THE SPECIAL CREATION OF GOD. NOW SOME SCIENTISTS DO. BUT I’M TALKING ABOUT YOUR SECULAR SCIENTISTS. AND SO THEY’RE REALLY IN A QUANDARY. NOW, THAT’S ONE REASON THAT WE HAVE THIS PROBLEM. THESE PEOPLE WHO SAY THERE’S NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANIMALS AND HUMAN BEINGS. NOW THAT IS COMPOUNDED BY THE DECEPTION OF THE NEW AGE. YOU KNOW, WE USED TO THINK THAT ALL OF THE NEW AGE BUSINESS WAS JUST MERE FOOLISHNESS, A PASSING FAD THAT WOULD GO AWAY. BUT WE NOW HAVE COME INTO WHAT IS CALLED THE AGE OF AQUARIUS, OUR NEW CONSCIOUSNESS, OUR COSMIC HUMANISM, NEW GLOBALISM. SOMETIMES IT’S CALLED A WORLD ORDER. NOW WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? IT CAME FROM EASTERN RELIGIONS. HINDUISM. AND SO MANY OF THESE, UH, NEW AGES ARE REALLY INTO HINDUISM. AND IN THE HINDU RELIGION, THE EASTERN RELIGION THAT IS NOW PERVADING THE WEST, GOD IS IMPERSONAL. THEY DON’T BELIEVE IN THE YAHWEH, THE JEHOVAH, THE EL SHADAI THAT WE BELIEVE IN. THEY SPEAK OF GOD AS ENERGY, AS THE ALL-PERVADING REALITY. HINDUISM AND PANTHEISM WORK TOGETHER AND THEY DON’T BELIEVE THERE IS NO GOD, THEY BELIEVE EVERYTHING IS GOD. THE AIR WE BREATHE IS GOD, THE FLOWERS ARE GOD, THE PLANTS ARE GOD, THE TREES ARE GOD, THE SKY IS GOD, I AM GOD, YOU ARE GOD, DIRT IS GOD, YOU ARE DIRT BECAUSE YOU ARE GOD, AND DIRT IS GOD. IT’S ALL MIXED UP. SO WHEN THEY BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING IS GOD, THEN WHAT DOES THAT DO TO MORALITY? If everything is God and God is everything, there is no good or no evil because all is the same. And the idea of good and evil is only a figment that you see played out on the stage between one actor who seems to be good and another actor who seems to be bad. But behind the stage, they’re best friends. That’s what these folks believe. That’s new ageism. It’s pantheism. And what you have now in this animal rights thing, you have to understand from whence it comes. IT IS A SYNTHESIS, AN AMALGAMATION AND HOMOGENIZATION OF EVOLUTION, SECULAR HUMANISM, AND EASTERN RELIGIONS. IT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN WITH A GROUP OF COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO. NOW, THIS IS COMPOUNDED BY THOSE WHO ARE NOT INTO THE ANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, NOR ARE THEY INTO THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT. THEY ARE MATERIALISTS. THEY ARE SECULARISTS. PERIOD. I PICKED UP AN ARTICLE. HERE’S THE TITLE OF THE ARTICLE, LIFE IS SACRED, GETS US NOWHERE. AND HERE’S, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THIS ARTICLE SAID. LIFE. IS THERE LIFE ON MARS? MAYBE A MINUTE BACTERIUM. SHOULD A WOMAN HAVE ABORTED A TWIN FETUS? WELL, ON ITS WAY TO LIFE. AND WHAT ABOUT FROZEN EMBRYOS? IN THE PUBLIC MIND, AS BIG AS KITTENS, BUT ACTUALLY, A FEW CELLS A PIN HEAD SIZE. NOBODY KNOWS WHEN LIFE BEGINS. AND WHAT DO WE MEAN BY, QUOTE, LIFE, END OF QUOTE? A CELL HAS LIFE, ANY CELL, OF A CABBAGE OR A HORSE’S EAR, OR A WORM? AH, BUT THEY AREN’T HUMAN CELLS, NO. AND IT MAKES SENSE TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN OUR OWN SPECIES AND ANOTHER. OR DOES IT? SHE ASKS. INSECTS AREN’T TO US THE SAME AS SERIOUS ANIMALS. BUT EVEN THE LINE BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS ISN’T AS CLEAR-CUT AS YOU MIGHT THINK. GOING ON AS IF ALL LIFE HAS A RIGHT TO SURVIVE US AS LONG AS POSSIBLE OBSCURES TO THE MIGHTY USEFULNESS OF DEATH. NOW I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO THIS PHILOSOPHY NOW. THE MIGHTY USEFULNESS OF DEATH. MICE AND DEER ARE GENTLE VEGETARIANS. HOW SAD THEN THAT THEIR WICKED ENEMIES EAT THEM. YET WHEN THE WEAKER HEARTY BEASTS ARE NO LONGER PICKED OFF, OWEING TO A LACK OF TIGERS, THE STRAIN DECLINES. FIELD MICE OUTGROW THEIR FOOD WHEN THE FALCONS LEAVE THEM ALONE. BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE OUR DECISIONS ANY EASIER. IT MAKES THEM HARDER BECAUSE, LISTEN TO THIS NOW, THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTE RULES. NOW LISTEN, NOT EVEN MY SPECIES RIGHT OR WRONG. WE HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS, AGONIZING DECISIONS ABOUT WHICH HABITATS WHICH ANIMALS MUST BE PRESERVED AND WHICH PEOPLE.” WHICH ANIMALS, WHICH HABITATS, AND WHICH PEOPLE ARE TO BE PRESERVED. LISTEN TO THIS, FROM TINY FETUSES THAT SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT BE KEPT GOING, TO THE OLD WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE ALLOWED TO GO ON IN PEACE. DO YOU SEE WHERE THEY’RE COMING? DO YOU SEE WHAT SHE’S SAYING? OH, WHAT, WHAT IS LIFE? SAYING THAT LIFE IS SACRED. SHE SAID, THAT DOESN’T ANSWER THE QUESTION. AND THEN SHE CONCLUDES THIS ARTICLE BY SAYING, BUT IT IS TIME THAT WE REALIZE THAT SAYING LIFE IS SACRED GETS US NOWHERE. IT IS THE BEGINNING OF THE ARGUMENT, NOT THE CONCLUSION. NOW THAT’S SECULARISM, PURE AND SIMPLE. SO WE’VE GOT TO MAKE AGONIZING DECISIONS NOT ONLY AS TO WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL LIFE WE’LL SURVIVE, BUT WHICH BABIES WILL LIVE AND WHICH OLDER PEOPLE WILL LIVE. SO WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY TO YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS THIS, THAT WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IS MERELY FOOLISH. THEY DO NOT HAVE THE BASIC CORE OF CHRISTIAN BELIEF, BIBLICAL JUDEO-CHRISTIAN ETHICS THAT WE HAVE, BELIEVING THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD. WE HAVE LOST A GENERATION, AND NOW THE COURTS, THE COLLEGES, THE INSTITUTIONS, THE UNIVERSITIES, DO NOT COME FROM THE SAME BASE THAT WE COME FROM. NOW, LET ME JUST POINT OUT TWO OR THREE THINGS TO FIX YOUR MINDS AND GET THEM STRAIGHT AS WE TALK ABOUT THIS QUESTION, WHAT’S WRONG WITH ANIMAL RIGHTS? FIRST THING I WANT YOU TO NOTICE IS THE CREATION OF MAN AND THE ANIMALS. GO BACK TO GENESIS CHAPTER ONE, AND GOD SAID, LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS, AND LET THEM HAVE DOMINION OVER THE FISH OF THE SEA, AND OVER THE FOUL OF THE AIR, AND OVER THE CATTLE, AND OVER ALL THE EARTH, AND OVER EVERY CREEPING THING THAT CREEPETH UPON THE EARTH.” NOW NOTICE VERSE 27, AND SO GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE. IN THE IMAGE OF GOD CREATED HE HIM. MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM. NOW FOLKS, WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE EARLY PAGES OF GOD’S WORD. HOW DID EVERYTHING GET HERE? THERE ARE ONLY THREE POSSIBLE ANSWERS. ONE IS GODLESS EVOLUTION. WE STARTED OUT AS PRIMITIVE PROTOZOA AND THEN BECAME UNSEGMENTED WORMS, AND THEN BECAME A FISH, AND THEN AN AMPHIBIAN, THEN A REPTILE, AND THEN A BIRD, THEN A MAMMAL, AND THEN A MAN. YOU BELIEVE THAT, GO AHEAD. I REJECT IT FOR LOGICAL REASONS AS WELL AS THEOLOGICAL REASONS. I REJECT IT FOR MORAL REASONS, BUT GODLESS EVOLUTION. THAT’S ONE ANSWER. THE OTHER IS THEISTIC EVOLUTION. PEOPLE SAY, WELL, IT’S NOT GODLESS EVOLUTION. GOD DID IT. GOD MADE IT THAT WAY. WELL, FRIENDS, YOU CAN’T RIDE ONE HORSE IN TWO DIRECTIONS. THAT WILL NOT FIT THE BIBLE. THERE’S NO WAY THAT YOU CAN MAKE IT FIT THE BIBLE. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE THEOLOGICALLY, PHILOSOPHICALLY AND LOGICALLY. TO READ THIS BIBLE AND BELIEVE IN WHAT SOME CALL THEISTIC EVOLUTION. THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE IS THAT GOD CREATED MAN AND WOMAN JUST EXACTLY AS GOD’S WORD SAYS. I BELIEVE THAT. I’VE BEEN AMAZED HOW ANXIOUS MAN IS TO MAKE A MONKEY OF HIMSELF. ALL RIGHT, SO YOU SEE, AH, THE CREATION OF MAN AND THE ANIMALS. NOW HERE’S THE SECOND THING I WANT YOU TO SEE. IS THE COMPARISON OF MAN AND THE ANIMALS. MAN IS LIKE AN ANIMAL, BUT HE IS NOT AN ANIMAL. NOW SOME THINK BECAUSE WE COMPARE WITH THE ANIMALS THAT THEREFORE WE ARE ANIMALS. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE’S A SIMILARITY IN DESIGN. MEN AND ANIMALS ARE DESIGNED, UH, SOMEWHAT ALIKE. I TOOK A COURSE IN COLLEGE IN HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IN THAT LABORATORY WAS TO DISSECT A PIG. IT HAD BEEN SOAKED IN FORMALDEHYDE. SO YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU HAD A SURGEON FOR A PASTOR. BUT BECAUSE THE PIG HAS A VERY SIMPLE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, SEE THE VARIOUS PARTS. YOU, YOU FIND THE HEART, THE LIVER, THE LUNGS, THE STOMACH, THESE PARTS OF THE PIG, JUST TO HELP UNDERSTAND THE VERY ELEMENTARY THINGS. MEN AND ANIMALS HAVE A BASIC DESIGN, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN, THEREFORE, THAT MAN EVOLVED FROM THE ANIMALS. ALL BUILDINGS HAVE A BASIC DESIGN. A DOG HOUSE HAS A FLOOR, WALLS, AND A CEILING. A mansion has floors, walls, and a ceiling. So since a doghouse has floors, walls, and a ceiling, and a mansion has a floor, walls, and a ceiling, isn’t that proof positive that the mansion evolved from the doghouse? Because you can see the similarity in design. No. All that means is the same architect designed them both. That’s all that means. Because both of them would live in the same house. VICINITY, PLANET EARTH. NOW, NOT ONLY ARE MEN AND ANIMALS SIMILAR IN DESIGN, BUT THEY ARE SIMILAR IN DIET. UH, WE EAT THE SAME THING. LOOK IN VERSES 29 THROUGH 30, UH, THIS SAME CHAPTER, 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, AND THE WORD MEAT HERE SIMPLY MEANS FOOD. HE’S NOT TALKING IN THIS PLACE ABOUT ANIMAL FLESH, LATER ON HE WILL. AND TO EVERY BEAST OF THE EARTH, AND TO EVERY FOUL OF THE AIR, AND TO EVERYTHING THAT CREEPETH UPON THE EARTH WHEREIN THERE IS LIFE, I HAVE GIVEN EVERY GREEN HERB FOR MEAT, AND IT WAS SO. SO MEN AND ANIMALS HAVE SIMILAR DIETS. SOME MEN AND SOME ANIMALS EAT BASICALLY THE SAME THING. NOW, DOES THAT MEAN, THEREFORE, THAT MAN EVOLVED FROM ANIMALS BECAUSE WE HAVE A SIMILAR DIET? A MOTORCYCLE AND A LIMOUSINE BOTH HAVE CARBURATORS. SO ANYBODY CAN SEE THAT THE LIMOUSINE EVOLVED FROM THE MOTORCYCLE, IS THAT RIGHT? NO. THEY JUST BURN THE SAME FUEL. THERE’S ANOTHER SIMILARITY, NOT ONLY IN DESIGN AND DIET, BUT IN DEATH. BOTH MEN AND ANIMALS DIE. AND GOD SAID TO ADAM IN GENESIS CHAPTER TWO VERSE 17, IF YOU DISOBEY ME, YOU’LL SURELY DIE. AND THE ANIMALS DIE. MEN DIE AND ANIMALS DIE. AND THE WRITER OF ECCLESIASTES, THE GREAT SOLOMON SAID IN ECCLESIASTES THREE VERSES 19 THROUGH 20, THAT WHICH BEFALLETH THE SONS OF MEN BEFALLETH BEASTS. EVEN ONE THING BEFALLETH THEM, AS ONE DIETH, SO DIETH THE OTHER. THE MAN DIES, THE ANIMAL DIES. YEA, THEY ALL HAVE ONE BREATH. SO TO THE MAN HATH NO PREEMINENCE ABOVE A BEAST, FOR ALL IS VANITY.” NOW YOU CERTAINLY HAVE TO TAKE THAT TEXT IN CONTEXT. HE’S NOT SAYING THAT A MAN IS NO BETTER THAN A BEAST, BUT HE’S SAYING WHEN IT COMES TO DYING, A MAN HAS NO PREEMINENCE OVER A BEAST. WE ARE CREATURES, THEY DIE, WE DIE. A similarity in design, a similarity in diet, a similarity in death. So we think of the creation of man and the animals. We think of the comparison of man and the animals. But let us think of the contrast MAN AND THE ANIMALS. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? WELL, NUMBER ONE, MAN IS BORN AND GIVEN A CAPACITY, A CRAVING FOR GOD, A CRAVING FOR DEITY. IN CHAPTER ONE AND VERSE 26, AND GOD SAID, LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE. AND GOD IS SPIRIT. PLANTS HAVE A BODY. BUT THEY DON’T HAVE A SOUL. ANIMALS HAVE A SOUL, BUT ONLY MAN HAS A SPIRIT. ONLY MAN HAS A SPIRIT. MAN MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD BECAUSE THE BIBLE SAYS GOD IS SPIRIT, AND THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. AND THE BIBLE SAYS THAT GOD BREATHED INTO MAN’S NOSTRILS THE BREATH, THE SPIRIT OF LIFE. AND THAT MAKES MAN DIFFERENT FROM THE ANIMALS. WITH OUR BODIES, WE KNOW THE WORLD BENEATH US. WITH OUR SOULS, WE KNOW THE WORLD AROUND US. BUT WITH OUR SPIRITS, WE KNOW THE WORLD ABOVE US. AND MAN IS CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. AND THIS IMAGE IS NOT PHYSICAL. IT’S THE SPIRITUAL IMAGE OF GOD. PUT THIS VERSE DOWN, COLOSSIANS 3 AND VERSE 10. PAUL IS TALKING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE GET SAVED. AND HE SAYS, AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE, AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM THAT CREATED HIM. WHEN YOU GET SAVED, GOD PUTS THAT IMAGE BACK IN YOU. UH, YOU SEE, THAT’S THE IMAGE OF GOD THAT’S IN US. THIS MAKES US A MORAL CREATURE, MAKES US DIFFERENT FROM THE ANIMALS. EPHESIANS 4 AND VERSE 24, PUT THAT DOWN. AND THAT YOU PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS. ANIMALS DON’T KNOW RIGHTEOUSNESS. ANIMALS DON’T KNOW HOLINESS, BUT HE SAYS HERE THAT AFTER GOD IS CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. I MEAN, HE’S TALKING ABOUT OUR CREATION. WE’RE CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND OUR NEW CREATION BRINGS US HOLINESS. MAN IS THE ONLY ANIMAL THAT CAN BLUSH. HE’S THE ONLY ONE THAT NEEDS TO. MAN’S THE ONLY ANIMAL THAT CAN LAUGH. MAN IS THE ONLY ANIMAL THAT CAN SUFFER. I DIDN’T SAY HE CAN FEEL PAIN. AND WHEN I’M SAYING ANIMAL, I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT MAN BEING AN ANIMAL LIKE THE OTHER ANIMALS. MAN IS THE ONLY CREATURE. YOU SEE, ANIMALS CAN FEEL PAIN AND HUMAN BEINGS CAN FEEL PAIN. AND WHETHER YOU ARE A HUMAN BEING OR AN ANIMAL, YOU’RE GOING TO FEEL PAIN BEFORE YOU GET OUT OF HERE. BUT HUMAN BEINGS HAVE A CAPACITY TO SUFFER. FOR ANGUISH, BECAUSE THEY ARE MADE DIFFERENTLY FROM ALL OF THESE OTHER CREATURES. AND SO WHAT IS THE CONTRAST? MAN HAS A CRAVING FOR DEITY. MAN HAS A CAPABILITY FOR DOMINION. MAN IS MEANT TO RULE. MAN WAS, IS, AND SHALL BE IN A GREATER WAY IN DOMINION OVER THE CREATURES. PUT THIS VERSE DOWN, PSALM EIGHT, VERSES SIX THROUGH EIGHT, THE PSALMIST IS MUSING ABOUT MAN, AND HE SAYS, THOU MADE’ST HIM TO HAVE DOMINION OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS. THOU HAS PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET, ALL SHEEP AND OXEN, YEA, AND THE BEAST OF THE FIELD, THE FOUL OF THE AIR, AND THE FISH OF THE SEA, AND WHATSEVER PASSETH THROUGH THE PATHS OF THE SEA. GOD GAVE MAN DOMINION. ADAM LOST THAT DOMINION, BUT THE LAST ADAM, THE LORD JESUS, DID NOT LOSE IT. YOU NOTICED JESUS WHEN HE WAS HERE ON EARTH. JESUS HAD DOMINION OVER THE BEAST OF THE FIELD. HE SAID, YOU GO GET A WILD SYRIAN DONKEY WHEREON NEVER A MAN IS SET. I’M GOING TO RIDE HIM INTO THE CITY OF JERUSALEM. I SUGGEST YOU NOT TRY THAT. TRY TO RIDE A DONKEY NEVER BEEN RIDDEN BEFORE. JESUS DID. HE HAD DOMINION. JESUS HAD DOMINION OVER THE FOWLS OF THE AIR. HE TOLD SIMON PETER, BEFORE THE ROOSTER CROWS, YOU’LL DENY ME THREE TIMES. I WANT YOU TO TRY TO MAKE ONE CROW OR KEEP ONE FROM CROWING. YOU CAN’T DO IT. JESUS DID. HE HAD DOMINION OVER THE FOWLS OF THE AIR. JESUS HAD DOMINION OVER THE FISH OF THE SEA. WHEN TIME TO PAY HIS TAXES, HE SAID, YOU GO THROW A HOOK IN THE SEA AND CATCH A FISH, AND IN THAT FISH’S MOUTH WILL BE A COIN. NOW JESUS GUIDED THAT FISH LIKE A GUIDED MISSILE TO SOME COIN FALLING OUT OF SOME FISHERMAN’S POCKET SOMEWHERE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA OF GALILEE AND THEN GUIDED THAT FISH WITH HIS SPIRITUAL RADAR RIGHT TO THAT HOOK. HE HAD DOMINION OVER ALL OF THESE THINGS. THAT’S THE DOMINION THAT THE LAST ADAM REGAINED THAT THE FIRST ADAM WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE AND THE FIRST ADAM LOST. BUT YOU SEE, MAN, MAN HAS A CRAVING FOR DEITY. MAN HAS A CAPABILITY OF DOMINION AND MAN HAS A CAPACITY FOR DEPRAVITY. YOU SEE, ANIMALS CAN’T SIN BECAUSE ANIMALS ARE CREATURES OF CHEMISTRY. BUT MAN HAS MORE THAN THAT. MAN HAS THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO GUIDE HIM. AND GOD GAVE MAN A CHOICE THAT ANIMALS DON’T HAVE. AND THEREFORE, MAN WITH HIS CHOICE, HIS CAPACITY FOR GOOD OR EVIL, MAN MADE A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS HAS BY HIS WICKEDNESS BECOME LOWER THAN THE ANIMALS. I MEAN, MEN DO THINGS THAT ANIMALS WOULDN’T DO BECAUSE THEY HAVE A CAPACITY FOR DEPRAVITY. YOU HEARD THE STORY ABOUT THE TWO MONKEYS WHO WERE TALKING ABOUT DARWIN’S BOOK, THE DESCENT OF MAN. AND THEY WERE READING THAT BOOK. AND THEY LOOKED AROUND AT ALL THE CRIME AND EVERYTHING’S GOING ON, AND ONE MONKEY SAID TO THE OTHER ONE, MAN DESCENDED BEYOND RECUSTS, BUT, BROTHER, HE DIDN’T DESCEND FROM US. I HEARD ABOUT SOME MONKEYS THAT HAD A LITTLE BABY, AND WHEN THEY WERE EXAMINING THE BABY TO SEE IF IT WAS NORMAL, AND THE MAMA MONKEY SAID TO THE PAPA MONKEY, IT LOOKS LIKE HE’S NORMAL. THE PAPA MONKEY SAID, WELL, I’M GRATEFUL, I WAS AFRAID OF EVOLUTION. NOW, FOLKS, I WANT TO TELL YOU, MAN SINKS LOWER THAN THE ANIMALS, BECAUSE ANIMALS CANNOT RISE AS HIGH AS MAN CAN RISE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. WHAT’S THE FOURTH THING? MAN HAS A CRAVING FOR DEITY. MAN HAS A CAPABILITY FOR DOMINION. MAN HAS A CAPACITY FOR DEPRAVITY. AND MAN HAS A CONCERN FOR DESTINY. NO ANIMAL KNOWS HE’S GOING TO DIE. HE DOESN’T THINK ABOUT DYING. EVEN IF AN ELEPHANT GOES TO THE ELEPHANT BURIAL GROUNDS, HE DOESN’T KNOW WHY HE’S GOING THERE. THAT’S INSTINCT. YOU SEE, GOD GAVE TO ANIMALS INSTINCTS HE DIDN’T GIVE TO HUMAN BEINGS. BUT HE GAVE TO HUMAN BEINGS SPIRITUAL INSIGHT AND REVELATION HE DIDN’T GIVE THE ANIMALS. SEE, ANIMALS HAVE INSTINCTS. A BEE CAN BUILD A SIX-SIDED CELL IN THE HONEYCOMB. IT’S AN AMAZING THING. TO SEE HOW THAT BEEHIVE IS RUN. BEAVERS CAN BUILD DAMS. SPIDERS CAN BUILD SPIDERS’ WEBS. BUT THE SPIDER CANNOT BUILD A SIX-SIDED CELL AND THE BEE CANNOT BUILD A BEAVER’S DAM BECAUSE THEY HAVE INSTINCT. THEY DON’T HAVE KNOWLEDGE. THEY DON’T HAVE LOGIC. THEY DON’T HAVE CONSCIENCE. THEY DON’T HAVE THESE THINGS THAT MAN HAS. AND MAN MADE DIFFERENT FROM THE ANIMALS. HE KNOWS THAT HE IS HERE FOR MORE. THE BIBLE SAYS OF MAN THAT GOD HAS SET ETERNITY IN HIS HEART. WE ARE NOT MERE ANIMALS. ECCLESIASTES 3 VERSE 11, HE HAS SET ETERNITY IN THEIR HEART. WE DON’T BELIEVE IN IMMORTALITY BECAUSE WE’VE PROVED IT. WE MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH TO PROVE IT BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN IT. I MEAN, IT’S INSTINCTIVE IN US. A GALLUP POLL SHOWED THAT 69 PERCENT OF ALL AMERICANS BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH. SO WHAT IS GOD’S PLAN FOR US? IN OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE ANIMALS, I MEAN, WHAT IS ALL OF THIS ABOUT? CAN ANIMALS BE KILLED FOR FOOD? WELL, ARE YOU MORE COMPASSIONATE THAN JESUS WHO ATE BROILED FISH? OF COURSE THEY CAN. FRIEND, DON’T EVER, EVER THINK THAT YOU’RE MORE RIGHTEOUS THAN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO CREATED EVERYTHING. GOD SAYS, I’VE GIVEN YOU THIS FOR FOOD. AND OF COURSE GOD GAVE US CLEAN ANIMALS TO EAT, NOT UNCLEAN ANIMALS, FOR FOOD. CAN ANIMALS BE USED TO HELP HUMAN SUFFERING? OF COURSE THEY CAN. UH, CAN THEY BE USED FOR RESEARCH? YES. SHOULD WE THEREFORE BE CRUEL TO ANIMALS? ABSOLUTELY NOT. NOT GRATUITOUS CRUELTY. THE BIBLE SAYS IN PROVERBS CHAPTER 12 VERSE 10, A RIGHTEOUS MAN REGARDETH THE LIFE OF HIS BEAST, BUT THE TENDER MERCIES OF THE WICKED ARE CRUEL. SHOULD WE LOVE GOD’S CREATION? OF COURSE WE SHOULD. SHOULD WE BE ENVIRONMENTALIST? YES. THIS IS MY FATHER’S WORLD. BUT SHOULD WE PUT ANIMALS ON A PLANE WITH HUMAN BEINGS MADE IN THE LIKENESS, THE SIMILITUDE OF GOD? ABSOLUTELY NOT. SHOULD WE TEACH OUR BOYS AND GIRLS THAT THEY ARE MERE ANIMALS? THAT THEY HAVE COME FROM ANIMALS? IF WE DO, DON’T BE SURPRISED THAT THEY BEGIN TO LIVE LIKE ANIMALS. FOR SELF-PRESERVATION, SELF-PROPAGATION, AND SELF-GRATIFICATION, THAT’S WHAT AN ANIMAL LIVES FOR. GOD GAVE THE CREATURES FOR FOOD, AND THERE’S A FOOD CHAIN, BUT GOD MADE US FOR HIM. And Augustine said that our hearts are restless until they rest in him. You’re not an animal. You’re made in the image of God.
SPEAKER 01 :
If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with Him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.
