Previous Questions and Answers
My mother has been going to church ever since she was a little girl
up until present time. In fact her father was a Baptist preacher. She reads the Bible. She
told me that breeding dogs is a sin. I never had heard that, and I didn't ask her where in
the Bible that said that. Could you please let me know if this is true and where exactly
in the Bible does it say that?
The Bible does show us some “selective
breeding” of animals taking place, like in the case with Jacob. He used
“selective breeding” to multiply cattle with a certain look about them, so that
they would be given to him. Genesis 30:31-43 says, “31 And he said, What shall I give
thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me,
I will again feed and keep thy flock: 32 I will pass through all thy flock to day,
removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among
the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. 33
So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire
before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown
among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. 34 And Laban said, Behold, I would
it might be according to thy word. 35 And he removed that day the he goats that were
ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every
one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the
hand of his sons. 36 And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob
fed the rest of Laban's flocks. 37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the
hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which
was in the rods. 38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the
gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive
when they came to drink. 39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth
cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set
the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban;
and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle. 41 And it
came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before
the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42 But
when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the
stronger Jacob's. 43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and
maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.”
They were all the same “kind” (cattle), but Jacob “selectively bred” them to increase his wealth. The principle here is that God created animals by “kinds.” Genesis 1:24-25 says, “24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature AFTER HIS KIND, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth AFTER HIS KIND: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth AFTER HIS KIND, and cattle AFTER THEIR KIND, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth AFTER HIS KIND: and God saw that it was good.” Within those “kinds,” God allows conception to take place. But God does not allow conception to take place between the “kinds.” In other words, you cannot breed a dog and a cat. They are different “kinds.” But God does allow conception between dogs for an infinite variety of dogs. And God does allow conception between cats for an infinite variety of cats. This is true of varieties of horses, or varieties of cattle, etc.
Breeding “within kinds” is not always brought about by man (by man putting the two animals together in a pen or fenced-in area). The first record of it happened out in the wild. Genesis 36:24 says, “24 And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that FOUND THE MULES IN THE WILDERNESS, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.” The Bible notes this first record of a “mule,” being seen, and it was found out in the wilderness. A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (called an “ass” in the Bible), and a female horse. The offspring of a male horse and a female donkey is called a “hinny,” and is much more rare.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule).
While God does allow some interbreeding within the kinds, they are not always able to propagate
themselves, so the interbreeding has to continue to produce them. That is, horse-donkey breeding normally produces offspring that are sterile (they cannot reproduce).(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey)
I personally heard a caller on a radio call-in program that was hosted by a veterinarian. The caller had the desire to breed a very large dog with a very small one. The veterinarian advised against it, because she said that those dogs always had back trouble and pain. So in that case, it would be cruel to breed those two dogs. Proverbs 12:10 says, “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” The Bible does not give any examples of dogs being interbred with each other. God does allow it, because it is within the “kinds” that He created, but just because God “allows” something, does not mean that is His perfect will. Many breeds of dogs are very nervous and high-strung, especially the “miniatures.”
In the Bible, dogs are normally regarded as scavengers, not as pets. Today, people are treating pets better than other people. I have been to the bank, where the teller has given a “doggie treat” to the pet in the car next to me, and the same teller has not offered my child a candy sucker. There is an unnatural exaltation of animals today, which is an indication of the “Last Days.” Romans 1:25 says, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”
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