Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-5

8/14/2019 Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-5

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Introduction

What do you think of PETA? Most of us might agree with them that we ought not to be cruel to animals. But their definitionof cruelty and how humans ought to think about and act toward animals goes well beyond what most people agree with.In todays article, we are going to have a look at what those beliefs are and where they come from. I think you will findsome of this quite eye-opening. You will see that a knowledge of worldview is a tremendous help in understanding who

these people are. And to take one step beyond thinking just about PETA, I hope that you will begin to grasp even morethat we can understand the beliefs of any group by using worldview tools.

Please allow me to change the subject just for a moment. As we keep stating over and over, MarketFaith Ministries is allabout developing resources to strengthen the Christian community. Over the period since our founding we have beenworking and probing to figure out the best way to share this information with others and we have tried a lot of differentways. I believe, though, that this search has led us to settle, at least for now, on an approach which will benefit the mostpeople.

(Continued on page 2)

You know who PETA is, right? PETA stands for People forthe Ethical Treatment ofAnimals. It is a radical animalrights organization based in the United States. They claimto be the largest animal rights group in the world with about1.8 million members and supporters.

Even if you dont know anything about them, you haveprobably heard about some of their shenanigans. They arevery good at making headlines. Here are some that youmay have seen in the newspaper over the past severalyears.

PETA Demands Tax Breaks For Vegans (The reason

for this relates to the need to reduce greenhouse-gasemissions.)PETA Demands Closure of KFC Outlet

PETA Demands Marv Albert Remove Dead AnimalFrom His Head (PETA believes that it is inhumane tokill an animal and wear it as a toupee.)PETA Demands Rehab For Alcoholic ElephantsPETA Demands Withdrawal of Nike Commercial (It fea-tured the NFLs Denver Broncos which they consideredto be the unethical use of an animals image).PETA Demands Necropsy [animal autopsy] of DeadSiegfried & Roy ElephantPETA Demands That Cockroaches Be Given RespectPETA Demands Rally Monkeys be Banned fromWorld Series (Monkeys are not on this earth for ourpleasure, said PETA spokesperson Mae Cummings.)

PETA was founded in 1980 and is based in Norfolk, Virgin-ia. It is a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) corporation with


MarketFaith Ministries is an equipping ministry which is focused on helping Christians become more effective

in living out their faith in the midst of the increasingly diverse worldview environment of modern society.

Contact MarketFaith Ministries312 Anton Dr.Tallahassee, FL 32312 [email protected]

http://www.marketfaith.org

Toll Free: 888-883-0656Phone: 850-383-9756

Fax: 850-514-4571

Volume 3 Number 5 March 12, 2008

The Gospel According to PETA


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(PETA - Continued from page 1)

187 employees. It is funded almost exclusively by the contributions of its members.

The primary thrust of PETAs attention is focused in four areas. According to their literature, these are the places wherethe largest number of animals suffer the most. The four areas include: factory farms, laboratories, the clothing trade, andthe entertainment industry. They also pay attention to certain other issues such as the cruel killing of beavers, birds andother "pests," as well as the abuse of backyard dogs.

Their ultimate goal is to protect animals to the highest degree possible. And they not only want to protect the animals,they also want to change peoples attitudes and actions. To do this, PETA is involved in public education, cruelty investi-gations, research, animal rescue, promoting legislation, sponsoring special events, getting celebrity involvement, anddeveloping protest campaigns.

Basic Beliefs of PETA

At this point, you may be wondering why we are dealing with PETA? What could they possibly have to do with world-view? They are not a cult, religion or philosophy or are they?

Here are some of the things they teach.PETA doesn't believe people should use silk (comes from silk worms), wool (comes from sheep), leather (comesfrom cows), etc., because humans dont have the right to take these things from other animals.PETA doesn't believe that people should eat honey (they claim bees are mistreated), drink milk (they say cows aremistreated), or eat meat (animals have to be killed).

The question then becomes: Where do these beliefs come from? While PETA is not a formal religion, everything they dois based on a set of beliefs which becomes a religion for those who are believers. In relative terms, there are only a small


(Introduction - Continued from page 1)

As you know, we are not a large organization and dont have a lot of financial resources. But our purpose is not to be-come big and rich in a material way. We want to get our materials out to the Christian community to the highest degreepossible, and give away as much as we can.

The very best resource we have for doing this is you. We want to enlist you to spread the word. Do you have friends oran e-mail list that you can share with and encourage them to sign up for the newsletter? Do you know people who wouldbenefit by one of the articles or other resources on the website? Do you know people who might be interested in taking

the worldview survey? We would like to ask you to pick something and just share it with everyone you know.

Of course, if you would like to help us with a monetary donation, it would also be greatly appreciated. Your gift is tax de-ductible and can be sent to: MarketFaith Ministries, 321 Anton Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312. You may also donate onlineby using the Donate button on the website to make a contribution by credit card.And let us hear from you. You may contact us any time with comments, questions and suggestions.

God bless,Freddy

Find these books along with other

great worldview resources at

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percentage of people who hold these beliefs. But in real numbers it is a significant group, and they are well financed.They also have some very high profile people on their side. This gives their message a much greater influence than wouldnormally be the case for a group like this. And they tend to be very outspoken. You are bound to run into some of thesefolks as you live out your life. You ought to know what makes them tick.

Why Animal Liberation?The philosophy of PETA is based on the concept of Animal Liberation. The core belief is that animals should haverights. Supporters believe that animals have an inherent worth that is completely separate from their usefulness to hu-mans.

The bottom line in making this determination relates to the question of suffering. The main question for adherents is notCan they reason or talk? Rather, it is, Can they suffer? PETA believes that the capacity for suffering is the main issuewhich gives an animal the right to equal consideration with humans.

For them, suffering is not just another characteristic, like the capacity for language or mathematics. Certainly, the loweranimals cant compete with humanity on this front. But suffering puts all animals on equal footing. Each one has the abilityto suffer in the same way from roaches to humans. To the PETA crowd, whenever a human considers doing somethingthat would interfere with an animals needs, we are morally obligated to take the animals situation into account. In thewords of PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk, When it comes to pain, love, joy, loneliness, and fear, a rat is a pig is a dog is a

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boy. In the words of PETA, This is a social movement thatchallenges societys traditional view that all non-humananimals exist solely for human use.

In the view of PETA it is prejudice which allows people todeny others the rights that we expect to have for ourselves.Their assertion is that whether it is based on race, gender,or sexual orientation, prejudice is morally unacceptable.We might all agree with them to a large degree regardingthis statement. But they go one step further and includespecies prejudice on the list. It is evident that this wholeidea is based on a worldview belief that all living creaturesare of equal worth in everyrespect.

The Worldview of PETAIf you were to talk to a PETA adherent and assert that theyare following a religious belief, most of them would proba-bly be very surprised and would likely deny it. But theircore belief the capacity of a creature to suffer makes allanimal species equal is the foundational basis for orient-ing the adherents entire life and thinking. That belief had tocome from somewhere. And this is not simply a beliefwhich is held in ones head. It is a principle which directs aPETA believers entire life.

Lets use the worldview categories and see how this is areligious phenomenon.

What Worldview does PETA Represent?How PETA Answers the 7 Worldview Questions

1. What is the nature of ultimate reality?While PETA does not lay out a formal doctrinal statementon this topic, we can deduce the answer to this question bywhat we do know. They recognize all animal life (humanand other) as completely equal. The foundation for this


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The purpose of MarketFaith Ministries is to equip the Bodyof Christ to become more effective by sharing the practicalapplications of worldview. We are involved in developingtraining and resource materials for that very purpose. Ifyou would like to partner with us in this effort, you maysend your tax deductible contribution to MarketFaith Minis-tries, 321 Anton Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312.


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understanding is that there is no God in existence to make any creature more special than another. Or if there is a God,he has not revealed himself to mankind.

2. What is the nature of material reality?This topic is also not addressed directly, but we can infer the belief by looking at how they view the topic of life. The beliefthat all animal life is considered completely equal in value is an indication that there is no God to bestow special value onhuman beings. Or if there is a God, he has not bestowed special value on human beings. In any case, all creaturesevolved to their current state in the same way. As a result of either of these approaches, material reality becomes a valueneutral place.

3. What is a human being?This topic is addressed by looking at the way PETA understands the nature of animal life in general. To PETA, humanbeings are simply one form of animal life among many. No single one has greater value than any other. That is, creaturelife in general is valued over the life of any particular creature. They even go so far as to accuse humans who think other-wise of being species prejudiced. Essentially, human beings are simply one of many equal forms of animal life.

4. What happens to a person at death?This topic is not specifically dealt with.

5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?This topic is not specifically dealt with.

6. How do we know right and wrong?Right and wrong are completely centered around the belief that all animals are completely equal. Regarding mankind, PE-TA believes that mankind has a particular responsibility to look out for lower animals because of our ability to self-con-sciously consider our place among the other animals, and to understand that all are equal. Moral right relates to doinggood by all animal life and wrong is anything which would exploit any animal creature.

7. What is the meaning of human history?This topic is not specifically dealt with.

From this evaluation we should be able to discern a pattern. Even though we dont have answers to all seven questions,based on what we do know, PETAs belief system appears to be based primarily on Naturalistic ideas.

Since they do not see themselves as a belief system, they do not spell out their foundational beliefs in a way that makes iteasy to make this determination. But there are cues which lead us to this conclusion. The primary key that we can use tofigure out the worldview foundation relates to how they look at the nature of animal life and their means of determiningwhat is right and wrong. Neither of these elements look to any kind of transcendent source to determine their beliefs. It isstrictly up to human beings to determine these things. This strongly points to a Naturalistic worldview foundation.

The Practical Implications of the Beliefs of PETAThe headlines above give us great clues as to how the belief foundation of PETA plays out in life. Here are some of thepractical implications of PETAs philosophy.

People must become vegans because killing animals for food is immoral.

It is immoral to make use of any food products which come from animals meat, milk, honey, etc.It is immoral to use any material which is derived from an animal because humans dont have the right to take materi-als from them (ex. silk, wool, leather, etc.)

Humans must subordinate their own needs and desires for the good of other creatures.

What Is PETAs Authority Foundation?At this point, things get rather interesting. I had an e-mail conversation with a representative of PETA for the very purposeof getting an answer to the question of the authority foundation for their beliefs. I asked, What makes your philosophyabout how animals ought to be treated right and other beliefs wrong?

The representative replied, We operate under the simple principle that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on,or use for entertainment. ... I would say that these views come from the collective us, activists, philosophers, educators,and really anyone living responsibly in a moral society and considering how their actions affect others. (As an aside, thisreply is another strong indication of a Naturalistic point of view).



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Basically what he was saying is that we decided for ourselves what is right and wrong. Those who agree with us havejoined our organization. So, the authority foundation is based completely on the presuppositions of the people in the or-ganization. They believe that their understanding of the nature of life is right, so they act based on that belief. Then, theydo all they can to impose that belief on society in general.

What Evidence Exists for its Authority?As we have seen, PETA only appeals to their own personal ideas as the foundational authority for their beliefs and ac-tions. So the only thing which must be justified is why their beliefs should have precedence over the beliefs of others.

Under Naturalism, the underlying principle is the survival of the fittest. The ones who are able to impose their wills cancontrol the actions of others. And this is PETAs approach. They believe they are right and are trying to impose their be-liefs on the world. Other than the organizations assertion of the rightness of their beliefs, there is no other basis for de-claring that this belief approach expresses the Truth about the nature of reality.

How Can We Evaluate the Viability of PETAs Authority?So, how can we evaluate the viability of PETAs authority source? The bottom line is, there is no reason why their belief isany more viable or valuable than any other belief. There is nothing to commend it except the desires of those who wish itto be the prevailing view.

Interacting with a PETA BelieverWhile philosophically PETA, as an organization, seems to fall into the Naturalistic category, it is very likely that you will

find many individual adherents who claim to be believers of some more recognizable religion or belief system. This is pos-sible because we human beings are quite capable of holding contradictory beliefs within our lives.

As an example, some who claim to be Christians might be drawn to PETA simply because they dont like the animal cruel-ty that they saw on a TV show. These folks might not initially even know the beliefs which inform PETAs activism. Butonce they are drawn in, the beliefs are absorbed more and more until, at some point, they completely buy into the PETAdoctrine.

Because of the fact that PETA does not see itself as a belief system they are not concerned with being philosophicallyconsistent. They have simply decided that what they believe is right and they follow that belief. And they have been some-what successful in convincing others that this is the truth.

Since PETA has its focus on actions regarding animals rather than the beliefs which inform those actions, there ends up

being a huge range of beliefs among the individuals who identify with the organization. As a result, those of us who wishto interact with one of these folks to share Christ are going to have to work primarily at an individual level.

Of course, it is essential to first know the worldview beliefs which inform the actions of the organization. This is necessarybecause that is where you will find their basis for valuing lower animals as equal to human beings. You must know wherethis philosophy runs counter to the truth.

But that is not enough. It is also necessary to focus on dealing with individual adherents in order to see how much of thePETA philosophy they have personally bought into. Once you know where individuals are, you are in a position to showthem that the basis of their faith is weak, and can share how they can know Christ.

SummaryPETA is not a belief system in the traditional sense. But it is based on a set of beliefs which is completely contrary to Bibli-cal faith. By understanding what this false belief system is based on, we are in a position to share Christ with a particulargroup of people who tend to be far from him.

Next Months Article: The Gospel According to Radical Environmentalists

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Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-5