The Anti-Violence Principle

Interspecies violence makes God very disappointed. For instance, Genesis 6:11–13 states, “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence. And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways. Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.’” Animals and humans had become violent with each other, which upset God. The word for “corrupt” in Genesis 6:11 is a derivative of the Hebrew shachath, which can also mean “ruin,” “decay,” “destroy,” or “spoil.” Aptly, when the curse is removed (Rev 22:3) Isa 11:6–9 says there will be no hurting or destroying (shachath) amongst animals and humans on the New Earth. Genesis 6:11–13 portrays an exact contrast of Isa 11:6–9, indicating that the Lord abhors interspecies violence and desires peace between species. Similarly, Isaiah 60:18–19 prophecies conditions on the New Earth, where violence will forever vanish from the land. 

There are many times in the Bible where God condemns violence (Matt 11:12) by associating it with negative attributes (2 Sam 22:49; Job 20:19; Ps 18:48, 54:3, 55:9, 58:2, 72:14, 73:6, 74:20, 86:14, 140:1–4; Prov 4:17, 10:6, 10:11, 13:2, 16:29; Ecc 5:8; Isa 59:6; Jer 6:7, 20:8, 51:46; Ezek 7:11, 7:23 8:17, 18:10, 28:16, 45:9; Dan 11:14; Oba 1:10; Micah 6:12; Hab 1:1–9, 2:17; Matt 8:28; Acts 23:10; 1 Tim 3:3; Titus 1:7). Additionally, the Lord hates humans who love violence (Ps 11:5 NLT) and instructs Christians not to envy or be like a violent man (17:4; Prov 3:31). Similarly, in Matthew 26:52, Jesus says, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” In 2 Sam 22:1–3, David praises God for rescuing him from violence. The Bible views violence as theologically undesirable. “The Anti-Violence Principle,” recognizes that the Lord sees violence as bad and violent actions as corrupt and something to be ended. Our ministry utilizes “The Anti-Violence Principle” to oppose industries and activities that involve violence against animals, specifically in food production, experimentation, fashion, and entertainment. Additionally, our ministry cites “The Anti-Violence Principle” to promote products that spare animals from violence in the food and fashion industries.