The following are some retorts to those who would defend the unnecessary killing of animals by appealing to Christian (and Jewish) dogma. From Animal Rights and Vegetarian Ethics, Tom Regan and Eugene Khutoryansky:
Yes, the Bible states this in the story of Genesis after God creates Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. Although I myself believe in the theory of evolution, there are some vegetarians and animal rights activists who do believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible. These individuals would point out that according to the literal interpretation of Genesis, no animal ever died in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve and all the animals were vegans. (More here.)
In this context, the phrase "dominion over the animals" could not have referred to killing and eating them. Many would argue that "dominion" is more accurately interpreted as "stewardship" rather than tyranny. Furthermore, since the Garden of Eden represents the highest ethical ideal, some people who believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible interpret this to mean that veganism is the highest ethical ideal. (emphasis added)
Doesn't the Bible specifically state that it is ok to kill animals for food?
Yes, it does. In particular, Leviticus of the Old Testament gives very specific rules for how animals are to be slaughtered and which animals can be eaten. Leviticus is also the section of the Old Testament which specifically states that slavery is permitted, and which gives very specific rules for how slaves are to be treated. During the movement to abolish human slavery, many abolitionists were accused of going against the will of God, due to the fact that slavery is specifically condoned by the Bible.
Nevertheless, the movement to abolish human slavery included many Bible believing Christians, as does the modern animal rights movement. People who believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible are often troubled by these types of passages in the Old and New Testaments. The following is one possible explanation which some of them can offer.
A society can absorb only a limited amount of change at one time. It could be argued that God knew that if he commanded humans to abolish slavery and abolish the practice of killing animals for food, then this would simply be too great a shock for society to accept all at once, and most people would just end up ignoring the commandments altogether. Therefore, by giving specific rules for how slaves are to be treated, and for how animals are to be slaughtered, it could be argued that God made these practices considerably less barbaric than they would have been otherwise - although his real intention was for people to one day eventually realize that the message of compassion should be applied to all beings, including slaves and animals.
If God did not want us to eat meat, then why did he place animals on the Earth?
Animals were not created for humans any more than women were created for men, or any more than black people were created for white people. It is difficult to understand why a compassionate God would create beings capable of feeling pain, suffering, and a desire to live, if their only purpose in life was to suffer and die at the hands of humans.
Don't only human beings have a soul?
There are many people who believe in the traditional religious view that only human beings are made "in the image of God" and that only humans have souls. Although I personally do not agree with this view, this view is held by some vegetarians and animal rights activists. Vegetarians with this view would point out that regardless of whether or not animals possess a soul, animals still feel pain and suffering just as we do, and animals still value their lives just as we value ours. Therefore, many of the people who believe that only humans have souls still agree with the principle that it is wrong to inflict death and suffering on animals simply for the pleasure of tasting meat.
Although it is possible to believe in animal rights while still adhering to the traditional religious view of animals, I would like to point out that this traditional religious view of animals is inadequate. For example, the traditional religious view states that only humans are made "in the image of God" because only humans have the ability to make moral decisions, and a soul is required to be able to know the difference between good and evil. However, we now know that other animals do know right from wrong. In fact, they sometimes know it much better than we humans do.
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