A Meatless Dominion: Genesis 1 and the Ideal of Vegetarianism
I argue that a strand of biblical tradition, represented in Genesis 1:26-29, depicts a nonviolent relationship between humans and nonhumans—indicated by the practice of vegetarianism—as a moral ideal that represents the divine intention for the Earth community. This argument is supported by four cla...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2017
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| In: |
Biblical theology bulletin
Year: 2017, Volume: 47, Issue: 3, Pages: 144-154 |
| Further subjects: | B
Image of God
B Animals B Creation B Nonhumans B Food Ethics B Genesis B Dominion B Vegetarianism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | I argue that a strand of biblical tradition, represented in Genesis 1:26-29, depicts a nonviolent relationship between humans and nonhumans—indicated by the practice of vegetarianism—as a moral ideal that represents the divine intention for the Earth community. This argument is supported by four claims. First, the cultural context of Genesis 1 suggests that the “image of God” entails a democratized royal charge of all humans to make God present in a unique manner in the created order. Second, this functional role must be understood in light of the unique deity (Elohim) in Genesis 1, a deity whose peaceful and other-affirming creative act is distinctive from violent creative acts of deities in other ancient Near Eastern cosmologies such as the Enuma Elish. Third, Genesis 1 provides an exegesis of humanity's dominion over animals in verse 29, which limits humanity's food to vegetation. Finally, juxtaposing Genesis 1 with Genesis 9 reveals a nefarious shift from human dominion, which is meant to be peaceful and other-affirming, to something altogether different—a relationship that is built upon terror. |
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| ISSN: | 1945-7596 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Biblical theology bulletin
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0146107917715587 |
