In my first entry on this topic I asked what I hope are some challenging questions for hunters of faith. Here I want to examine the first two of them.
What does it say about hunting that it is something that enters our life only after our fall from grace?
Should we seek to return to the more holy state of the garden, eschewing meat and hunting, now that the market makes such a lifestyle possible?
Some folks I have spoken to think that hunting is an inappropriate exercise for someone who proclaims to be a Christian. The commandments say "though shall not kill," and hunters are by definition killing an animal. Therefore, they argue, we should not hunt. Others think that hunting is merely a recreational activity and therefore is merely a distraction. In the early mornings, fathers and mothers ought to be preparing to spend time with their families when they are not at work and priests and religious out to be preparing for a day of prayer. There is no necessity to hunt. Hunting keeps people away from what they should be doing, and is at best a distraction. Therefore, they argue, we should not hunt.
Some are concerned that hunting causes an animal pain and would argue that modern slaughtering techniques are extremely efficient and therefore more humane. Since we can buy our meat in a store there is no need to hunt, and given the above two points, it seems problematic to hunt anyway. As Christians we should not cause pain. Therefore, they argue, we should not hunt.
In the garden, before the fall, there was no hunting. We should seek to be holy and live as we lived in the garden, before the fall from grace. Therefore, some argue that we should not only eschew hunting, but perhaps take up a vegetarian or even vegan lifestyle as a result. I have heard (online, at dinner parties, at family get-togethers) variations on all of the above. I have vegan family members, family members who still hunt but have left the Church, and hunting seems to bring out emotional (and at times reasonable) challenges.
Yet, I know that these arguments all fall very flat. Hunting is not only good, and holy, but is also quite frankly necessary if we are going to have sustainable and healthy populations of deer, bear, moose, and other species. There are few activities as healthy, wholesome, or as necessary, as this one.
When God instructed us not to kill, he was telling us not to kill our fellow human beings. This is evident from the context, and the commandment cannot be taken in its simply literal form. Part of "thall shalt not kill" also means being kind to our fellow man, not destroying their reputation, or bullying them. If it meant "thall shall not kill anything" human beings would simply starve, as plants and animals have to die for us to eat. Merely recreational activities are not unnecessary as recreation is a necessary part of a well-balanced life. Yet, hunting is not merely recreational. In many areas several game species no longer have natural predators. A doe for instance will drop two fawns in a season. Without natural predators deer populations would continue to grow, and deer would starve to death. Well regulated hunting, with tags and management by DEP, means that species can continue to thrive at sustainable levels. Since hunting is not merely recreational, but necessary for ecological balance, then someone has to do it. Yet, even if this were not so, recreation is a necessary part of a balanced life and the recreational hunter also fulfills an ecological purpose.
It is true that hunting an animal causes it pain, but all killing of an animal causes some pain. Furthermore, in modern animal farming, animals live very strange lives, with very little movement, unnaturally fast growth rates, artificial inseminations, and a life of inevitable slaughter. Game species get to live natural and happy lives, and harvesting by a hunter is not an inevitable result of their existence; they have a fighting chance against the hunter. Therefore, it is not at all clear that hunting is more cruel than the modern industry: quite the opposite may be true.
Returning to the garden is an impossibility. Just because, before the fall, Adam and Eve wore no clothing should we consider attending nudist colonies? The fact that Adam and Eve had to do no work to eat should have no bearing on our current reality. Therefore, I think Christian hunters ought to pray as Fr. Mitch Pacwa advises:
Prayer to be an honorable hunter
By the grace of God may I always honor, thank and adore the Lord God who created the animals and saw that each species was good. Let me love the God who made humans in His own image and likeness and set them over the whole world, to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth (Gen 1:26). By my honorable conduct as a hunter let me give a good example and teach new hunters principles of honor, so that each new generation can show respect for God, other hunters and the animals, and enjoy the dignity of the hunt.
Father Mitch Pacwa
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