Author Michael Gilmour with his dog, Smithers who came from the Winnipeg Humane Society. His new book Eden’s Other Residents: The Bible and Animals is helping Christians think differently about how animals fit into their faith. The book is available at McNally Robinson in Winnipeg, and at online distributors.

Book highlights Eden’s other residents

Theologian helps Christians find a place for animals in God’s redemption story

WINNIPEG, MB—Do all dogs go to heaven? Author and New Testament professor Michael Gilmour is taking a hard look at animals in the Bible and their place in God’s plan of redemption.

Gilmour’s latest book, Eden’s Other Residents: The Bible and Animals, is a re-reading of Scripture that looks specifically at the place of animals in its diverse teachings.

Gilmour, a professor at Providence University College, finds there is often tunnel vision among Bible readers and Christian thinkers who assume humans must always be at the centre of all things. But God observes creation to be good long before humans come onto the scene.

“If that’s the case, if God values creation and animals, we should value it too,” Gilmour says.

The biblical story isn’t entirely about us. “We’re an important part, we are image bearers, and that’s an awesome privilege, but also an awesome responsibility,” Gilmour explains.

He points to Deuteronomy 24 and 25 as an example, where Israel is called to be generous toward the vulnerable and less fortunate in their midst, a category that includes not only the poor and widows and others in need, but also laboring animals: “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” (Deut. 25:4 NRSV).

“Animals are part of the community, and among those who need the most help,” Gilmour says. “The non-human world is just as much part of God’s creation as we are.”

We see evidence of the value of nonhuman life in various places. When God rebukes Jonah he reminds the prophet that the humans and animals of Nineveh are all worthy of concern. We see it also in Jesus’s words about fallen sparrows.

Gilmour hopes Christians will broaden their sense of community, allowing an even more encompassing response to the question “who is my neighbor?” than is often the case. Many people seem to have a natural love for animals, but he hopes the book helps them link their intuitive compassion with their spirituality.

“I had pets all my life, but only gradually came to realize God made my dog and that animal protection is not merely a concern for the legal system. It’s actually something the Church can and should speak to.”

In an effort to put the theology of his book into practice, Gilmour is donating proceeds from Eden’s Other Residents to the Winnipeg Humane Society.

“I’m inclined to view concern for animal wellbeing as a natural outworking of one’s faith in God,” Gilmour says, “in much the same way concern for poor and needy people is a priority for many biblical writers. Those who receive God’s grace in abundance ought to be generous in sharing it with others. All others.”

Eden’s Other Residents: The Bible and Animals, is available at McNally Robinson in Winnipeg, and at online distributors.

 

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