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This 53 year old former omnivore has left dead formerly living conscious living creatures off of the dinner table for almost 2 years now.
I don't try to impose these personal morals on everyone but personally, I have personally found that to detain and slaughter conscious living creatures is... immoral.
June remembers about a year or so ago (?) watching a documentary which she thinks (but can't accurately remember) was about the making of "The Cove." Essentially, she had to turn it off, as, like Oakback, her sentiments resonated with his, below:
There are some things that will rip June's heart out in one heartbeat, and the slaughter of animals ranks way too high on that list.
--Especially dolphins, because...
June doesn't think you are "heartless" at all, shyspider, nor does she wish to "misinterpret" your words. June is aware of the fact that dolphins are not among our greatest of hopes as regards who may ever cure cancer. Dolphins will never cure any diseases, or write Nobel Prize winning books. But even the little heathen June questions the minimizing of dolphins and "God."
June would have absolutely no idea whether or not dolphins possess the capacity to "understand God." Hell, June herself doesn't have the capacity to "understand God" so she therefore can't address which of either of us (June v. dolphins) has a 'leg up' in that regard! June would say, however, that to her way of thinking, the issue isn't whether dolphins possess that capacity, but rather, this:
Dolphins, June would like to believe, would seem to point to some kind of understanding as regards your God and His mysteries. They would seemingly so point to some degree of understanding your God that it would almost make June question her own disbelief. We're talking about a breed that is as relational, as communicative, as inter-related and devoted to one another as any June is aware of. There's something in that; there is "something" in that. In short, they relate to one another with a loyalty and connectedness that strikes June as enviable to any human being reading her post.
So what is that? What is "that" which bonds, which inter-connects with such a fierce, instinctual inter-relatedness in an animal that it could both challenge and defy the minds or hearts of human beings in so enviable a way? We all, after all, ARE human beings. We strive to find a cure for cancer. We strive and at times do find cures for diseases. We certainly have been known to write Nobel Prize calliber books. --And yet, to what extent can we make the same claims as instinctively as those dolphins can?
Just how 'inter-related' and aware of our 'instinctive connectedness' are we, we wonderous humans?
~June thinks if God existed, He would have invented dolphins as a means of directly pointing to the inner process/workings and instinctual dynamics of His own Self.
I'm not disagreeing with the majority of you. The point I was making was to contest the level of their morality or awareness of God, or the "living out of the Gospels", as being at a higher degree than humans. My emphasis was focused on the word "better" that has been used in some comments. That's all I meant.
And I must say it was not just a bunch of loonies involved with this, Thomas I. White PH.D. who has an impressive background, even teaching on ethics and morals at Catholic and non Catholic Universities.
I found some interesting info after leaving traditional church and finding the Spirit of Christ at work outside the church. Since I had been a full time minister for decades it was quite a shock and of course I was seeking God fervently because I really didn't know what to do with my life anymore.
The result was - I became active in organizations which are working to end modern slavery and generally working against corruption and oppression (such as iAbolish.org | American Anti-Slavery Group) and a year or so later had an epiphany about the treatment of animals and the slaughter and brutality practiced in modern high production factory farms. Overnight I inexplicably became a vegan and honestly - I was just as shocked as all my friends.
It was absolutely stunning to see how this politician (William Wilberforce) had a spiritual awakening and (practically single-handedly) managed to put an end to a massive, legal, popular, lucrative and entrenched industry - the British slave trade. It was clear to see the REAL Spirit of Christ at work - breaking oppression, setting the prisoners free etc.
What was a great blessing though was discovering that Mr. Wilberforce also established the first animal rights organization in the history of mankind (that we know of). That just confirmed to me so much that this thing (my new found cause/ministry) was the real deal.
They say that humans and the dolphins are two of the most intelligent creatures on this planet.
Much like us dolphins have self awareness.
Let me respectfully say that this should have nothing to do with whether these creatures are mistreated or not. Humans are in charge of this planet and it is our responsibility (AISI) to not only preserve what we are stewards over but to not inflict pain and agony on conscious living creatures.
The key is not how intelligent or non-intelligent they are. The key is that they are helpless and are subject to the whims of humans.
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