On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for AnimalsMany of us keep pet animals; we rely on them for companionship and unconditional love. For some people their closest relationships may be with their pets. In the wake of the animal rights movement, some ethicists have started to re-examine this relationship, and to question the rights of humans to "own" other sentient beings in this way. In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Stephen Webb brings a Christian perspective to bear on the subject of our responsibility to animals, looked at through the lens of our relations with pets--especially dogs. Webb argues that the emotional bond with companion animals should play a central role in the way we think about animals in general, and--against the more extreme animal liberationists--defends the intermingling of the human and animal worlds. He tries to imagine what it would be like to treat animals as a gift from God, and indeed argues that not only are animals a gift for us, but they give to us; we need to attend to their giving and return their gifts appropriately. Throughout the book he insists that what Christians call grace is present in our relations with animals just as it is with other humans. Grace is the inclusive and expansive power of God's love to create and sustain relationships of real mutuality and reciprocity, and Webb unfolds the implications of the recognition that animals too participate in God's abundant grace. Webb's thesis affirms and persuasively defends many of the things that pet lovers feel instinctively--that their relationships with their companion animals are meaningful and important, and that their pets have value and worth in themselves in the eyes of God. His book will appeal to a broad audience of thoughtful Christians and animal lovers. |
Contents
3 | |
Surveying the Options | 15 |
Thinking about Pets | 67 |
A Theology for the Dogs | 107 |
Gods Nature as the Future of the World | 181 |
Other editions - View all
On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals Stephen H. Webb Limited preview - 1998 |
On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals Stephen H. Webb Limited preview - 1998 |
On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals Stephen H. Webb No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
Adams afterlife Andrew Linzey animal compassion animal liberation animal liberation movement animal pain animal rights movement animal sacrifice animal suffering animal world argue Barth beasts become Bible biblical blood C. S. Lewis caring Christian theology Christology church concern connected covenant creation creatures culture death diet divine dogs domesticated animals eat meat Ecofeminism economic emotions environmental theology eschatological ethic of care ethical eucharist example excess feel feminist flesh gift give God's grace Hebrew scriptures human-animal humans and animals imagine individual Jesus Christ Jewish Judaism killing kind lamb Leviticus limited Linzey lives mals meal means meat eating moral nature ourselves Passover petkeeping pets philosophical portray practice Regan relation relationship with animals religious responsibility rhetoric ritual sacrificed sentimental slaughter social species spiritual story suggests symbolic talk Temple theologians theory things thought tion tradition vegetarianism Vicki Hearne victims violence women words
References to this book
Environmental Ethics, Ecological Theology, and Natural Selection Lisa H. Sideris Limited preview - 2003 |
Environmental Ethics, Ecological Theology, and Natural Selection Lisa H. Sideris No preview available - 2003 |