Our Mixed Up Society

By Bobby Witherington

As of January 1, 2015, every egg sold in California (even those produced in other states, tgm) will have to comply with strict hen-rights. Cages will have to be large enough for the birds to stand up, lie down, and spread with their wings without touching each other or the sides of the cage. A poultry technician at Cal Poly says each chicken will receive 116 square inches of space. It seems that the Animal Rights Activists want to make sure that the rights of hens are not violated.

Another article revealed that “Animal-law courses are now taught at many of the nation’s leading law schools.” In October 2011 thirty five windmills at a western Pennsylvania wind farm were silenced at night because “a bat that belongs to an endangered species was found dead under one of the turbines.” At certain times of the year signs are placed on Florida beaches in which people are warned of the illegality of disturbing or harming turtle eggs.

PETA (an acronym for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) wants to take the gun control debate to a new level, namely that of banning hunting. These are but a few examples of countless endeavors on the part of those who insist on “Animal Rights.” Animal Rights activists, under the guise of protecting endangered species, have been instrumental in preventing the construction of hydroelectric dams, huge farming operations, and even now are attempting to prevent the construction of the Canadian XL oil pipeline.

Please do not misunderstand! I am not in favor of mistreating animals! Nor is God in favor of mistreating animals! Under the law, God set aside the seventh day as a day of rest – not only for the people, but also that their “ox and donkey may rest” (Ex. 23:12). Also under the law every seventh year was to be regarded as “a year of rest for the land,” and a portion of what grew “of its own accord” was to be used for the “livestock and the beasts” that were in the “land” (Lev. 25:1-7). God declared that the ox that treaded “out the grain” was not to be muzzled (Deut.  25:4). Long before anyone ever dreamed of an organization called PETA, God made provisions for the ethical treatment of animals!

However, God also made the first fur coat, by which He “clothed” the first couple (Gen. 3:21). Following the great flood, God blessed Noah and his sons, and stated that “every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs” (Gen. 9:3). Yes, God authorized the killing of animals to provide food for man. And God, at the very beginning, “created man in his own image,” making them “male and female,” and commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moveth on the earth” (Gen. 1:27-28). Contrary to the thinking (?) of most Animal Rights Activists, man is not an animal among animals; man was created in the “image of God” (Gen. 1:27), being made “a little lower than the angels,” was “crowned…with glory and honor,” and made “to have dominion over the works” of the “hands” of God (Psa. 8:4-6)!

Yet, certain ones in California want to make sure that chickens are not uncomfortable in their surroundings. Many would shut down necessary energy-producing wind mills lest the lives of bats be endangered. They would make it a crime to trample on turtle eggs. Dog and cat owners who inadvertently leave their animals unattended in hot automobiles should be prosecuted, etc., etc.

However, it is a fact that most animal rights activists are in favor of abortion. With them, unhatched turtles should be given preferred treatment over unborn babies! Since the infamous 1973 Supreme Court Decision in the Roe v. Wade case, over 58 million totally innocent babies have been legally slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers, never being allowed to see the light of day! All Americans who pay taxes, including those whose consciences are thereby violated, through their tax dollars, are forced to subsidize Planned Parenthood and other organizations whose chief specialty is that of killing innocent, unborn babies, including babies which on occasion survived an abortion attempt! Reportedly, around 3,300 babies are murdered every day of the year. Many of the proponents of abortion are crying for “gun control,” while continually clamoring for a mother’s “right” to have her baby aborted, and a doctor’s “right” to do her bidding!

Cruelty to animals must be avoided at all costs. But cruelty to unborn children, under the guise of women’s “rights,” must not be defended! Consider the abortion procedures, and determine if you think it amounts to “cruelty” to babies. One abortion procedure is the Dilation and Curettage (D & C), in which the baby is cut into pieces while still in the uterus, and scraped out into a basin. Then there is the Suction Method which is used to tear the baby to pieces and suck the pieces into a bottle. And there is the Hysterectomy method in which the mother’s abdomen is surgically opened and the baby is lifted out and then either killed or left to die for lack of attention. And there is the Saline method in which a concentrated salt solution is injected into the amniotic fluid, which is swallowed by the infant, which poisons the infant, usually causing death within an hour. And some openly contend for Partial birth abortion, in which the baby is delivered feet first. Just before the head completes its way through the birth canal, scissors are stuck into its skull, and its brains are sucked out! Maybe my prejudice is showing, but to my way of thinking these procedures at least resemble cruelty to humans! However, I must admit that I just got carried away; you see abortion rights advocates want to deny the status of Personhood to unborn children. What the Bible calls a “babe” (Lk. 1:44), what most people call a “baby,” is re-labeled a “fetus,” and must be accorded no rights at all! Meanwhile it is noteworthy that every person, without exception, who clamors for “abortion rights,” has already been born! In some instances, disease-carrying rodents are treated with greater respect than innocent babies! Would any deny that ours is a “mixed-up society”? Like the apostates of Isaiah’s time, there are multitudes in our society who “call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isa. 5:20)!

Satan, our “adversary” (1 Pet. 5:8), must surely wear a diabolical smile as he witnesses his demonic success in America. Indeed, in the language of 2 Timothy 3:1, these are “perilous times.” However, the worst of times should bring out the best in people, especially the Lord’s people. Regarding this point, we call your attention to  2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.” We recognize that these Scriptures, in context, refer to the Israelite people who lived under the Law of Moses, and who dwelled in the land of Canaan. However, the principles which are set forth in these Scriptures are applicable in every dispensation. To say the least, the Lord’s people, though outnumbered, can make a difference. As we view the chaos of today’s mixed-up society, it surely behooves us to “humble” ourselves, to “seek” the “face” of the Lord; to “turn from” any wickedness in our lives, and then stand for what is right. God still rules in “the kingdom of men” (Dan. 4:17). He still hears the prayers of His people, and His will can yet prevail over the nonsense of modern man, many of whom have been educated beyond their intelligence. Let us therefore stand up; let us never give up! 

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Rom. 1:28-32) — NKJV