Should Christians Hunt?

[PACKY]

I used to hunt but have since quit, i have thought long and hard on this issue.
When you kill something no matter what it is be it a human or a fruit fly you are TAKING AWAY all it HAS and all that it will EVER have...

We as christians have a choice, the majority of us do not need to hunt for food but hunt for the pleasure of the sport, I have heard many hunters say in defense say " I like being outdoors " OK! yet you need to hunt? a.k.a. KILL, why not hike, camp, or better yet outdoor/wildlife photography.

I also hear a number of Hunters say that it is a means of continuing on a tradition... to which i say, Slave traders held certain parts of their business as "traditions" yet they were WRONG...

The majority of us dont need to hunt for our food there is enough violence and death and killings committed on a daily basis in the worlds slaughterhouses.,,,,,,

I wil leave you with a few quotes to think about:

Poor animals! How jealously they guard their pathetic bodies... that which to us
is merely an evening's meal, but to them is life itself.
-- T. Casey Brenna


We are all God's creatures--that we pray to God for mercy and justice while we
continue to eat the flesh of animals that are slaughtered on our account is not
consistent.
-- Isaac Bashevis Singer


We pray on Sundays that we may have light
To guide our footsteps on the path we tread;
We are sick of war, we don't want to fight,
And yet we gorge ourselves upon the dead.
-- George Bernard Shaw

When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man, we call him a vandal. When
he wantonly destroys one of the works of God, we call him a sportsman.
-- Joseph Wood Krutch

A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he
eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his
appetite. And to act so is immoral.
-- Leo Tolstoy


And when I think of the suffering of the creatures in our factory farms,
laboratories, puppy mills, or of any animal neglected or mistreated by man, for me there is no more powerful question than to ask: "What would the Good Shepherd
think of this?"
-- Matthew Scully

 

[Jonteel]

Yes, I too have given it some thought. I prayed about it, and God told me to go ahead.
Have you prayed about it.
I notice that many people that lavish their time and energy on loving animals, and neglect loving humans.
I don't have to say anything about "denying the use of meat," do I?

 

[Terp]

I don't think christian should hunt for fun. Only if they need to for food.
I can't imagine that someone enjoys killing animals created by god.

 

[Emmy]

Dear BLESSEDBETHEMEEK,thank you for your message,I too have felt like you for a long time,and have heard many people agree.The time for no meat is not ripe yet,perhaps one day men and women will have a vote on it.When it comes to blood-sport because it is tradition,I am afraid I could lose faith in human beings,and I have to remind myself that there are many,many men and women who absolutely detest it.I shall keep praying that soon the ban to stop hunting with dogs will be in full force.If people enjoy hunting,they can still do so without cruelly hunting and tearing one of Gods creatures to death;hunt with the help of animals who have been trained to tear and rip to pieces is at best unworthy of human behaviour.Sincere greetings from Emmy,a sister in Christ.

 

[PACKY]

Yes, I too have given it some thought. I prayed about it, and God told me to go ahead.
Have you prayed about it.
I notice that many people that lavish their time and energy on loving animals, and neglect loving humans.
I don't have to say anything about "denying the use of meat," do I?

I am a corrections officer, I see thw orst of people on a daily basis yet have not lost faith on the prospects of peace and humanity, Although i care deeply for animals I care also also deeply for humans as in my opinion a christioan cares for ALL of gods creation!! As far as neglecting humans, I think thatI am neglected by those ai m trying to help (convicts), As far as god telling you its OK, thats on you. I just cant see a loving caring god giving blessing to people to hunt for meat when it is already readily available to them, (assumption) By NO means do i want this to morph into a anti-meat pro-veggie thread, I want it to remain a debate on the pros & cons of christians hunting.

I will start off my protest of Christians hunting by sharing a quote from a clergy member:

"Animals are God's creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God's sight. ... Christians whose eyes are fixed on the awfulness of crucifixion are in a special position to understand the awfulness of innocent suffering. The Cross of Christ is God's absolute identification with the weak, the powerless, and the vulnerable, but most of all with unprotected, undefended, innocent suffering."
--Rev. Andrew Linzey

Although many people attempt to defend the practice of hunting down and killing God's creation by tossing around such words as "dominion" and sayings "god given right" and using select parts of the scripture in the attempt to make themselves feel better about what they are doing. In fact this is just as the slave traders of old have done, the most often quoted bible verses byeing that slavery is acceptable in the eyes of the creator are (Deu 15:12-15; Eph 6:9; Col 4:1), yet to me it is common sense that dictates that slavery is wrong as the second greatest commandment simply is "love your neighbor as yourself" the point that I am trying to make is that peopel have mis-construed and "read between the lines" of scripture in a attempt to make the scriptures support their often unholy cause just as the participants of modern blood sports are doing today.
Tochange ones mind on this subject is hard to sayteh least butto change anothers is a feat in and of it's self, i am not hear to pass judgement ontyhose who hunt and kill gods creation as we were told by the christ not to Judge, I do want a helthy respectful debate on the topic. I find myself drawn to the beatitudes, and see clearly written " blessed are the meek for they ill inherit the earth" as well as " Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Christs whole teachings revolved around tolerance, love, kindness , peace and joy! in galatians 5:1 we see that the fruit of the spirit is love, peace,patience,kindness,goodness,faithfulness,gentleness and slf control against such things there is no law.." I cant fathom hw by killing and causing te suffering and hardship of any of gods creatures we are living in the fruits of the spirit? We are condemmned to live in a world of sin and suffering if we as a humanity cant even learn to love and respect the smallest of gods creation none teh less our fellow man made in the image of god himself... in closing I would like to end my post with Isaiah 11:6 please consider this.. would you rathr live i teh world we live today or the one described in the scripture?

"And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the kid,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze;
Their young will lie down together;
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand in the viper's den.
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea."

Blessings and Peace!!!
may your new year be filled with all the promise and hope of a life in christ!
​

 

[theinfiniteweird]

I agree taking another of God's creation's life is not too cool. Like you said, this is not anti-meat. The Bible talks a lot about eating meat, and Jesus never said, "don't eat meat" or something to that effect, I don't think.

So I'd have to say I agree with you!

 

[PACKY]

that's a personal choice that each and every person makes.. ( there are many threads on that topic)

i hope that we will have a good debate on christians hunting and killing gods creation
and the use of the scripture in a attempt to make it look as if god would condone or approve of it....

 

[I can eat 50 eggs]

have you guys read much of this neat book called the Bible? it's really pretty cool.

I wonder because you guys have thrown down alot of neat quotes from different people, but you don't seem to have asked God for his opinion on the subject.

Let's see what God's book has to say on these subjects.

Try Exodus 12, the beginning of the Passover tradition

Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire-head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.

hmm,looks like God is telling them to eat meat there

let's keep going, now that there out in the desert, flip forward to Exodus 16

You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD ."

so here the Lord not only commands them to eat the animals, but actually GIVES them the animals to eat.

Let's see, Jesus also performed a miracle where he caught tons of fish for the people to eat, so much the nets almost broke. So was Jesus facilitating sin?

the whole no meat argument doesn't hold water, at least biblically.

 

[Illuminatus]

There are situations where hunting is necessary. For example, in my city, there is a region of protected bogland. (Yes, in the city.) The deer population has exploded to over 100, where the area can only logistically support around 20 at most. If there isn't a reduction in deer population by a controlled hunt, all the deer will die. In most of the developed world, humans have drastically reduced the population of predatory animals, (such as wolves, coyotes, etc.), that controlled the population of prey animals, (such as deer, etc.), in the past. To keep the ecosystem balanced, humans have to take on the role of the predator.

 

[SilverHand]

Well, this sure is an interesting thred. I guess il put my two cents worth in.
To start with , my whole family has been hunters for generations, but the only exampls i have of this is my folks. We grew up on a ranch in southern Colorado also. So as most of you can imagin, we did kill and eat what we raised and hunted. God gave us dominion over all the earth and the animals upon it, that is not to say that we should disrespect it in any way. We are also to be good stewards of what God has given us in all ways. God has given us a bountiful earth, to disregard part of it because the prosesing of it is distastful to you is not being a good steward in my opinion. As an example of what im talking about i will tell you somthing that i hope you can see with an open mind. Imagin if you will, a herd of dear or elk that has not been hunted for many years in a place that has banned hunting. To start with, the herds prosper and multiply. They become so numerous and unafraid that that soon this place has animals grazing in backyards and parks. The people thought this was great. Man and beast almost living in harmony with each other. Sounds almost perfect doesent it ? Well, the first problem is there are no natural predators anymore to keep the population in check because years ago the farmers and ranchers killed them all off or chased them all away to protect there own livestock. So guess what ? The herds of dear and elk have become so pletiful that soon there is not enough food for them in the winter. So alot of them will starv. But thats not the end im sad to say. Due to the over population of the herds, nature takes a cruel twist. Sickness strikes the herds.
Soon, there are dead animals where there was once such a seeming harmony. And before this sickness can be brought under control, nearly all the dear and elk are dead. And the ones who survived it is doubtful that they will make it past another winter.
I know this is a sad tale, but let me tell you, this is a very mild version of the absolute truth. And just so you know, i do not advocate torture or cruelty to animals. My folks never did, and neither did anybody else that my family hunted with.
Now, go ahead and pick my story apart. Disclame anything you wish about it. But you can never tell me personaly that by being a good steward i should not be a responsibl hunter. Other men have created a situation that we have to deal with now. Next year i plan on picking up my bow, going up to those mountains and forests. (That God created.)I am going to shoot, kill and eat what i hunt. I will be doing my part in providing for my family and being a good steward for the land. But thats not all there is to it is there ? I know that. I hope yall do to.
God Bless yall

 

[SilverHand]

There are situations where hunting is necessary. For example, in my city, there is a region of protected bogland. (Yes, in the city.) The deer population has exploded to over 100, where the area can only logistically support around 20 at most. If there isn't a reduction in deer population by a controlled hunt, all the deer will die. In most of the developed world, humans have drastically reduced the population of predatory animals, (such as wolves, coyotes, etc.), that controlled the population of prey animals, (such as deer, etc.), in the past. To keep the ecosystem balanced, humans have to take on the role of the predator.

Very cool Illuminatus, we must have been wrighting at the same time ! Its good to see another of the same mind and responsibility. God Bless ya

 

[StormeTorque]

I don't think there is a problem with hunting, especially if you're going to use the animal in a productive way. I would also favour hunting if the animal hunted is a pest and would cause problems if it isn't controlled. For example, just like Illuminatus' example, deer may increase dramatically unless they are culled. In Scotland we have about 600,000 red deer up on the moors. All their natural predators such as wolf and bear have been long made extinct over here (throughout the entire country), so if the deer are not culled, then the populations will rise dramatically and cause overgrazing, damage to woodland, and possibly cause accidents on roads. Also, since the slow/unhealthy deer are not being removed by predators, they pass on their genes to their offspring and cause the population to lose its vitality. Venison is also sold at a lot of farms in the highlands, so the culled deer are put to a good use, benefitting the local economy.

Having said that, I don't think that animals that are not going to be used productively, or are not a pest, should be hunted just for the fun of it.

 

[Illuminatus]

Not to mention that venison is some of the tastiest meat you'll ever get.

 

[wildthing]

Yes it is ok for Christians to hunt... Animals have no soul!! They don't have capbiklity to freely choose what is right or wrong only mankind has that choice. I don't feel that Christ died for the animal kingdom. Animals only purpose is to provide food for all of mankind. To say that I do not need to hunt in today world is wrong. For I enjoy the pleasure of being outside that hunting provides, and yes I do enjoy making a good "clean" efficent kill.

 

[PACKY]

have you guys read much of this neat book called the Bible? it's really pretty cool.

I wonder because you guys have thrown down alot of neat quotes from different people, but you don't seem to have asked God for his opinion on the subject.

Let's see what God's book has to say on these subjects.

Try Exodus 12, the beginning of the Passover tradition

Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire-head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.

hmm,looks like God is telling them to eat meat there

let's keep going, now that there out in the desert, flip forward to Exodus 16

You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD ."

so here the Lord not only commands them to eat the animals, but actually GIVES them the animals to eat.

Let's see, Jesus also performed a miracle where he caught tons of fish for the people to eat, so much the nets almost broke. So was Jesus facilitating sin?

the whole no meat argument doesn't hold water, at least biblically.

Have you read the original post?
I directly said that my post had nothing to do with not eating meat and was specificcly about the question of christians hunting and killing gods creation

 

[PACKY]

I noticed that in a number of the pro hunting threads the topic of natural predators was brought up, it is mans fault that natural predators no longer exsist in the Ecosystem
( another example of man destroying gods creation) It is also a proven fact that "sportsmen"/hunters aka... BLOOD SPORT participants...are the first ones to fight against the re-introduction of Wolves, coyotes, etc etc..

There are many ways to control the deer population other than the slaughter and destruction of the animal, there is birth control that can be either added in food or shot in a dart there is also the option of relocation.... the killing of gods creation may be the easist option for man yet in my opinion it is not the proper way to ave stewardship over gods creation..

 

[PACKY]

Yes it is ok for Christians to hunt... Animals have no soul!! They don't have capbiklity to freely choose what is right or wrong only mankind has that choice. I don't feel that Christ died for the animal kingdom. Animals only purpose is to provide food for all of mankind. To say that I do not need to hunt in today world is wrong. For I enjoy the pleasure of being outside that hunting provides, and yes I do enjoy making a good "clean" efficent kill.

like i said prior... blood sport participants often use the EXCUSE "animals have no soul" or " I like being outside" in a attempt to excuse the behavior and action of killing,, there are many more things to do versus KILLING.. as far as enjoying to actually KILL something that goes agaisnt everything that I have been taught by the teachings of christ,,, like i said i used to be a AVID hunter but saw that I was taking part in the destruction of gods creation and was causing even more pain and hardship in this world.

 

[elanor]

Should Christians hunt if necessary for food to survive? Yes, absolutely.

Should Christians kill animals for fun and sport? No.

 

[PACKY]

thats all am saying!
there is plenty of meat at the supermarkets although people might like the taste of wildgame the fact of the matter remains the majority of people DONT need to hunt for food

 

[I can eat 50 eggs]

MEEK
Maybe YOU should go re-read you first post, i copied it below to make it easy for you, where did you say NOT about eating meat, but hunting????

I used to hunt but have since quit, i have thought long and hard on this issue.
When you kill something no matter what it is be it a human or a fruit fly you are TAKING AWAY all it HAS and all that it will EVER have...

We as christians have a choice, the majority of us do not need to hunt for food but hunt for the pleasure of the sport, I have heard many hunters say in defense say " I like being outdoors " OK! yet you need to hunt? a.k.a. KILL, why not hike, camp, or better yet outdoor/wildlife photography.

I also hear a number of Hunters say that it is a means of continuing on a tradition... to which i say, Slave traders held certain parts of their business as "traditions" yet they were WRONG...

The majority of us dont need to hunt for our food there is enough violence and death and killings committed on a daily basis in the worlds slaughterhouses.,,,,,,

I wil leave you with a few quotes to think about:

Poor animals! How jealously they guard their pathetic bodies... that which to us
is merely an evening's meal, but to them is life itself.
-- T. Casey Brenna


We are all God's creatures--that we pray to God for mercy and justice while we
continue to eat the flesh of animals that are slaughtered on our account is not
consistent.
-- Isaac Bashevis Singer


We pray on Sundays that we may have light
To guide our footsteps on the path we tread;
We are sick of war, we don't want to fight,
And yet we gorge ourselves upon the dead.
-- George Bernard Shaw

When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man, we call him a vandal. When
he wantonly destroys one of the works of God, we call him a sportsman.
-- Joseph Wood Krutch

A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he
eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his
appetite. And to act so is immoral.
-- Leo Tolstoy


And when I think of the suffering of the creatures in our factory farms,
laboratories, puppy mills, or of any animal neglected or mistreated by man, for me there is no more powerful question than to ask: "What would the Good Shepherd
think of this?"
-- Matthew Scully