GOD's laws require us to be kind to the animals
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(1) Give rest to beast of burdens on Sabbath, e.g. ass, camel, ox (for plowing) , ... they should not work on Sabbath and should have rest one day in a week,

[Start quote]

GOD : Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [Ex 20:9-10]

[End quote]



[Start quote]

Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your ass may have rest, and the son of your bondmaid, and the alien, may be refreshed. [Ex 23:12]

[End quote]



(2) GOD : "When a bull or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as an offering by fire to the LORD." [Lev 22:27]

GOD taught us to allow the new born to remain with its mom 8 days at least.

There must be psychological and physiological reasons for this.

I have read from books that some babies were taken from their mothers just after birth ! This should never have been done to humans.




(3) GOD : "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk." [Ex 23:19]

This commandment is hard to understand. But IMAGINE yourself to be the mother cow.

When your master kill your child for food, would you not know it ? Would it not grieve you ?

If you master is going to cook your child in milk, and comes to milk you to boil the meat in, would you not perceive it ? Would it not grieve your heart tremendously ? What would be your feeling towards your master ?

Do not think that animals have no feelings.

Therefore GOD gives us this commandment.





(4) Enoch, in his books, has taught us similar things, [2 Enoch 58:6-7]

Enoch : "The Lord will not judge a single soul of beast for man's sake, but adjudges the souls of men to their beasts in this world; for men have a special place. And as every soul of man is according to number, similarly beasts will not perish, nor all souls of beasts which the Lord created, till the great judgment, and they will accuse man, if he feed them ill." [2 Enoch 58:6-7]

Therefore, if you do not treat the animals in your charge according to the Will of GOD, then during Judgment Day, they will testify against you, and you WILL NOT enter paradise.

(*) Book of Enoch (2)
http://balder.prohosting.com/sywu/enoch2.htm

(Note : this doesn't mean we can't kill our animal for food, only if we kill it humanely.)


Lastly, I should say that we should never change the laws/commandments of GOD by replacing the teachings on animals by "treat animals kindly etc." We Chinese have a terrible experience in this : our ancestors knew what are righteous acts and what are unrighteous acts. But they did not specify which acts are righteous and which are unrighteous, but just taught us to act righteously. Over the years, people have very vague ideas of what are righteous. Therefore we must teach the laws/commandments of GOD exactly, but we may explain the rationale behind, because if people understand the rationale behind, they can remember the commandments better.



Wu Siu Yan

P.S. Miscellaneous teachings about animals,

GOD : "And whether the mother is a cow or a ewe, you shall not kill both her and her young in one day." [Lev 22:28]

GOD : "You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall there come upon you a garment of cloth made of two kinds of stuff." [Lev 19:19]

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(*) Law of GOD and His Commandments
http://balder.prohosting.com/sywu/true.htm

(*) Bible
http://www.cforc.com/kjv/index.html