Where Flew the Sparrow? How the Acceptance of Cruelty to Animals Crept Into the Christian Faith

The author makes the case that the early church fathers abandoned the teachings of Jesus and adopted in their place Aristotle's hierarchical theory of nature which relegated animals to insignificant, expendable items put on earth only for humans to use in whatever manner they chose. In the process they mistakenly and wrongly attributed this teaching to God and to Jesus. Aristotle's theory has become the norm for thinking about animals ever since playing a significant role in creating an animal dependent world. It accounts for the attitudes of indifference with which not only Christians but the general public regards animals. Though it may be uncomfortable to ask, the question which hardly can be avoided is whether it is following in the footsteps of Jesus to be cruel to animals or is this not the path which was paved with the theories of Aristotle? For Christians who insist they are not cruel people, can it be considered anything other than cruel to participate in using animals for food, clothing, cosmetics, and household items, including hand soap, which have been tortured, treated horribly, and inhumanely killed in producing those products? For Christians, the correct question to ask must surely be, "What would Jesus do," not "What would Aristotle do."