Dog Days - August Pastor Newsletter

Dog Days
God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. [And] God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:21, 25
Lately, in preparation for a course I’ll be teaching at Adrian College, I’ve been reading a book by Ken Stone called, Reading the Hebrew Bible with Animal Studies. The field of animal studies invites us to see and think about animals themselves and also about how we rhetorically use animals to characterize ourselves and others. It’s been fascinating to discover how hidden-in-plain-sight animals are in the Bible, and how interwoven they are with the biblical writers and writings. Take this example: Dogs are mentioned only twice in the book of Exodus. In 22:31, the law forbids the eating of meat mangled by beasts in the field, which is instead to be thrown to the dogs. In 11:7, God promises that “not a dog shall growl at any of the Israelites” while all the firstborn children of the Egyptians are struck down by God. One 2nd-century Rabbi explained that the rationale for the law of 22:31 was that God “does not withhold the reward of any creature.” Therefore, the carrion is the dogs’ cut for their species’ service in holding their tongues as God liberated the Hebrews. I don’t know about yours, but my dog definitely does not stifle her bark when something’s happening outside our window! In any case, the dogs of Exodus don’t simply get whatever we don’t want; rather, something is purposefully set aside for them because it’s their just deserts. As humans, we tend to think a lot about ourselves, and we do so in ways that too often depend on imagining ourselves as unique and special, fundamentally distinct from—and ultimately over and above—the flora and fauna all around us. But according to both the creation accounts of Genesis and the understandings of modern science, human beings are an inextricable part of nature and vice versa. The thing we share in common is life. Human and nonhuman animals alike are living beings. “God saw that it was good.” is the recurring refrain throughout Genesis 1. Let us also recognize and value as good all that God sees as good.

Peace.
Scott Elliott