Why should a contemporary Lutheran church bother with animal suffering? : Reasons for an extended circle of compassion

Abstract: Suffering is at the very heart of the Christian faith. But traditionally non-human suffering is viewed as aethical and amoral. In being superior, endowed with the Imago Dei, and given dominion over the animal kingdom, human kind is freed from responsibility, it is believed. The traditional interpretation often however gives rise to inconsistencies and it is not satisfactory after the industrialization. It is early in the development of a Christian theology that takes into account the rights of animals, and the issue is sometimes considered controversial. But it need not be that way. Questioning a theology that stresses difference and otherness, rather than similarities, could be a source of a revitalization of the Christian faith.