Natural Evil and the Death of Animals

Natural evil is evil for which no non-divine agent can be held morally responsible for its occurrence. Examples include the sufferings resulting from earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters. The idea is that these events are bad but cannot be blamed on the moral lapses of Man. Some Christians believe that such environmental phenomena are the result of the Fall of Man and would not have occurred in an unfallen world as God originally intended. The point of this article is not to critique this overall theory but to confine myself to a specific subset of it.

One of the primary results of the Fall of Man - as told in the story of Genesis 3 - was that humanity was prevented from accessing the fruit of the Tree of Life. The idea is that God had intended humanity to live forever by eating this fruit (Genesis 3:22), but disobedience and sin put a break on that intention. The result was humanity’s descension into corruption and death (Genesis 2:16; 3:3, 19). Death then reigned through humanity until the resurrection of Jesus (Romans 5:12-21). Eventually, death will be completely defeated (1 Corinthians 15:26, 54-55; Revelation 20:14; 21:4). At that time, those who are believers in Jesus will be resurrected into incorruptible, physical bodies that are immune to decay and death (Romans 5:17, 21; 6:4-9, 23; 1 Corinthians 15:21, 54; 2 Corinthians 1:10; Revelation 20:6; 21:4).

Importantly, the biblical verses concerning death and its solution explicitly do so with regards to humanity. Death is the inevitable result of sin, but life comes from God through Jesus the Christ (Romans 6:23). However, despite this explicit human death context, there are those who argue that the references to death implicitly refer to death in creation. The idea is that all death, including the death of animals, is the result of the Fall of Man. In this thinking, if Man had not originally sinned, animals would not die. Furthermore, if animals would not die, then humans would not have killed animals and animals would not kill animals. The corollary to this interpretation, obviously, is that animals would not kill other animals for food. Presumably, they would kill plants for food.

I specifically remember a well-known evangelical leader writing an article a decade ago about his experiences watching the Discovery Channel. He noted a scene in one nature show showing a python swallowing a pig whole. He concluded that such a scenario could not have been God’s original intention for his creation. But is his conclusion correct? It seemed to be based more on subjective feelings of disgust rather than on sound Biblical theology. Can we use the Bible to learn whether God intended animals to kill other animals for food?

I think the clearest Biblical answer comes from Psalm 104. This is a psalm of praise to God, specifically identifying his greatness as Creator. God is majestic because he has created a wonderfully good and ordered world. And in and through this ordered world, God cares for the sustenance of his living creatures.

“He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.” (vv. 10-11)

“He causes the grass to grow for the cattle” (v. 14)

Then we have these important verses:

“You appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.” (vv. 20-21)

 These two verses are followed by the following:

“O LORD, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
…
They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.” (vv. 24-25, 27-28)

What verses 20-21 explicitly state is that young lions seek other animals to eat for food and that this process is from God. While verse 14 indicates that God ordered his good and wondrous creation so that some animals should be fed on the plants of the earth, verses 20-21 indicate God orders this same creation so that other animals will devour other creatures for their food. Animals eating other animals is a part of God’s good and ordered intention for his created world.

I made this argument more than a decade ago, reasoning through my observations of how God created animals.

“Examine the carnivore animals of God’s creation: lions, cheetahs, eagles, bear, vultures, wolves, sharks, etc. They are designed by God to hunt and kill other animals. The teeth, the claws, the speed, and the senses – it is all designed to find, chase down, kill, tear apart and devour other animals. Examine many of the animals of God’s creation that are hunted by carnivores: deer, skunks, porcupines, elephants, rhinoceroses, fish, lizards, rabbits, etc. They are designed by God to escape, defend, and hide from other animals. The camouflage, the speed, the defensive capabilities are a part of their being. These capabilities assume a life of potential death and the ability to kill and avoid being killed.”

The teachings of Scripture indicate that God always intended for animals to prey on each other and that this process is a part of his good and ordered creation. Casual observation of that created order confirms this interpretation of Scripture. Working backwards from this corollary, we can then infer that God does not have a problem with the death of animals in his good creation, and that the death of animals is not a result of the Fall of Man. Instead, the death that resulted from the humanity’s sin was specifically concerned with that of human beings created in the image of God. This being the case, whatever we think about natural evil, it should generally exclude the death of animals.

Why do Christians Believe that Jesus is the Only Means of Salvation?

The great scandal of Christianity in the Western, postmodern age is the fundamental, exclusivist claim that salvation, both individually and corporately, can only be found in allegiance to Jesus the Christ. This is a foundational claim of Christianity and has endured through the millennia, even in times and places of great persecution. In the early centuries of Christianity, coming into prominence in the Greco-Roman world of polytheism, Christians maintained the truth that “Jesus is Lord” and that their only allegiance was to him and no other god, including Caesar. For this abiding principle they faced torture, death, and persecution. After Christianity became the de facto religion of Western civilization, the issue of the Faith’s exclusivity became less central through general acceptance of the truth. During the Enlightenment period and early modernity, many philosophers and religious thinkers began to see Christianity more as the highest ideal of an evolving naturalistic religion rather than as a faith inherently separate from all others. This view weakened the exclusive claims of Christ, setting Jesus up as the highest and noblest truth to be followed rather than as central to salvation. Later modernity focused more on whether the claims of Christianity were true or not. By the time of post-modernity, the questions had devolved even further. The idea of truth (highest or otherwise) was no longer pertinent. Now, all religious faith traditions were of equal value and none had an exclusive claim to the truth. Salvation was said to be found in any faith, or no faith … whatever. Nevertheless, the millennia claim of Christ’s exclusivity remains. It is central to the Faith and how creation works.

I believe the primary reason many people object to the exclusive claims of Jesus is they think the means of salvation are arbitrary and not inextricably linked to objective reality. People tend to think religion is a purely subjective experience and, thus, that all such experiences are basically the same. But are they? If so, how do we know? Should the atheistic paganism of Hitler’s extermination of six million Jews be given the same salvific value as the Christian monk who gives up all his possessions to help the poor? If so, then God has certainly created a random universe without order or justice. Unless we are going to advocate for a universal salvation for everyone irrespective of their deeds, then there must be some form of exclusivity involved. Who then is excluded? A person who believes in God but commits horrific, murderous crimes? An atheist who lives a moral life? A person whose life has been 50% good and 50% bad? Where is the tipping point? What is the standard? Is there an objective principle by which someone is said to be “saved”? Christianity has always stated that, yes, there is an objective standard to reality and salvation, and it is Jesus the Christ. For example:

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6)

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5)

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36)

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

“I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18)

“That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” (John 5:23)

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12)

“No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 2:23)

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)

“Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9)

Then there are these other verses: John 3:3; Matthew 25:41; Isaiah 44:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Matthew 7:13-14; Ephesians 2:1-22; Acts 16:31; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:1-21; Matthew 7:23; Acts 13:38-39; John 17:3; Hebrews 7:25; John 6:35; John 11:25; John 8:51; John 6:50-51; Matthew 11:27; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 1:7; Ephesians 2:18

Then there are dozens more passages that speak of Christ’s centrality in creation, his unique relationship with God, and his supreme Lordship over all the world and everything in it. This last point is particularly important. It makes the claim that Jesus is the one true King of this world and that he is currently ruling it (Matthew 22:44; 26:64; Acts 2:33; 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 3:21; Psalm 110:1).

When the early Christians proclaimed that “Jesus is Lord” they were not simply asserting his divinity. They were also asserting a counter-claim to the prevailing culture. In the early Greco-Roman world, the emperor was the kyrios, the lord of the world, the one who claimed the allegiance and loyalty of subjects throughout his wide empire. The early Christians insisted that Jesus’ messiahship and divine sonship were validated by his resurrection, and, thus, he was the Lord, the kyrios, of the whole world. The believed their task was to bring the world, all the nations, into loyal allegiance — hypakoē pisteos, the obedience of faith — to this universal Lord.

Faith/belief, then, is not an abstraction devoid of content or context. The Faith that indicates salvation has a specific content: Jesus as Lord.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31)

See also Luke 8:12; John 1:12; 3:15-18; 3:36; 5:24; 6:40; 8:24; 20:31; Acts 10:43; 13:39; Mark 16:16; Luke 7:50; Hebrews 4:3.

This is the reason the early Christians followed Jesus commission to go into the world to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20), specifically based on the fact Jesus had all authority over the world (v. 18). This is the reason they preached the good news to unbelieving Jews, including pagan gentiles (Acts 13:47; 28:28). Paul himself says, “We have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake” (Romans 1:5).

The early Christians also believed that Gentiles becoming obedient believers was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 18:49, 22:27; 117:1; Isaiah 11:10; 42:4; 49:6; 56:1-8; 60:1-3; Jeremiah 16:19-21; Zechariah 2:11; Malachi 1:11; cf. Romans 15:9-12). These prophecies stem all the way from the calling of Abraham: “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3; 17). Following the Fall of Man (Genesis 3) and the splintering of humanity, God called Abraham and appointed Israel as the means by which he would save the world and create one family of both Jews and Gentile believers. The book of Galatians is about this one family God has created through Jesus and those who believe, both Jews and Gentiles (3:3, 5-9, 22-29; 5:5-6). This is why Paul, in the book of Romans, mourns that so many of his contemporary Jews did not believe and did not have salvation because they rejected Jesus as Lord (9:30-10:21).

Again, Jesus’ “Lordship” is not simply a claim of divinity but an assertion of Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah, the King of the Jews, and the one, true ruler of the of the world (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44). The Four Gospels themselves are stories that tell how Jesus became King. The Good News is about the arrival of the Kingdom of God (Matt 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Mark 1:14). The Kingdom of God is the rule and will of God on this earth, reversing the curse of the Fall of Man (see Romans 5:12-21). People are called to turn away (repent) of their sins and have that obedient faith, that allegiance to Jesus, the one true ruler of the world. Salvation comes from allegiance to Christ. Those who do not have allegiance to Christ are judged condemned. As John writes:

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18).

Yet, the choice to believe and accept Jesus as Lord is open to all who hear the Gospel.

I write all this to simply show what early Christians believed about the exclusivity of Jesus. It is Jesus’ Lordship and our required allegiance to him that necessitates that exclusivity. This is why contemporary Christians believe that only Christianity, and no other faith tradition, provides salvation.

Again, this summation is all very basic and general. One can go deeper and speak about how this allegiance to Jesus works towards our salvation. Then we are talking about the concept of “headship”, incorporation, what it means to be the Messiah/Christ, and how what one says about the Christ can be said about his followers. That also brings into the discussion “the faithful obedience of Christ”, how it led to his resurrection/salvation, and how his followers are to have that same kind of faith to experience resurrection/salvation. Then, if one wants to go even deeper than that, one can talk about the ancient Hebrew conception of anthropology and how it formed the basis for understanding their religion. This understanding formed the basis and rationale for pertinent Judeo-Christian theological concepts. Even then, one can begin studying the biological development of the psyche in primitive humans to understand how ancient Hebrews arrived at their anthropological/theological conclusions. This is one of my current areas of study. I mention all this latter depth in brief only to emphasize that the Christian concept of the exclusivity of Christ to salvation is not an arbitrary belief but derived from something for more fundamental to humans.

This is why the exclusivity of Christ can never be divorced or downplayed in Christianity. His role in creation, salvation, judgment, and resurrection is central to the Faith. His crucifixion and resurrection are the linchpins that hold the religion and the history of the world together. Without the exclusivity of Christ there can be no salvation.