Memory cannot really handle just how crazy the American Family Association – a huge organization, by the way, with 200 radio stations and all kinds of clout – really is. You need to be reminded again and again. One of their writers, Bryan Fischer, accused Seaworld of negligence by keeping a killer whale with a history of (surprise) killing people; and he thinks the Law of Moses is the place to go for guidance on this one:
If the counsel of the Judeo-Christian tradition had been followed, Tillikum would have been put out of everyone’s misery back in 1991 and would not have had the opportunity to claim two more human lives.
Says the ancient civil code of Israel, “When an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner shall not be liable.” (Exodus 21:28)
Really – stoning? There are two instances of stoning in the New Testament – one which Jesus stops (hence flouting “the counsel of the Judeo-Christian tradition,” ironically), and another which is done to Stephen, who asks God not to hold it against them. It’s never sanctioned by the Gospel anywhere as Christian.
Now I don’t doubt that there is wisdom in the usual practice of putting down animals who have killed humans – say with bears, or mountain lions, so they don’t form a habit of it. I don’t know why Seaworld didn’t follow this practice. But calling in the Law of Moses as an authority here is a real bad move. Give this writer some credit – he quotes the relevant next step in the logic (though like a true hypocrite he does not call for it):
But, the Scripture soberly warns, if one of your animals kills a second time because you didn’t kill it after it claimed its first human victim, this time you die right along with your animal. To use the example from Exodus, if your ox kills a second time, “the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.” (Exodus 21:29)
I doubt that the Christian answer to this problem is to treat it as a capital case. Anyone who deals with a caged killer whale has to know death is an imminent threat, and accept the danger. I know that when I walk out my door and enjoy the mountain I share with the bears.
Fischer’s final answer is to “sue the pants off Seaworld.” That ought to help. Talk about picking and choosing from the Bible. What happened to “settle on the road, before you get to court”? Or “do not resist evil”? Or “you cannot serve God and Mammon”? This guy sounds like someone who believes in the Dei Americani Rightwingenses, Law and Money.
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