‘And When He Saw Him, He Had Compassion’: Following Jesus and Relationship to Non-Human Creatures

Abstract

This article explores how the concept of following Jesus can be ethically applied in the sphere of the treatment of non-human creatures. It shows three possibilities of grasping the theme: accommodating Jesus to a preconceived idea, using the sayings and actions of Jesus that involve animals, and adhering to a characteristic feature of his approach. The article points out the problematic character of the first two options and highlights the third – it proposes that the relationship to non-human creatures should be based on the criterion of compassion accompanied by care for the suffering.