Monkey Business (by Daniel Gaines)

A few days ago, we ran a brief article to a news story about a chimp in Austria that animal rights activists were trying to define as “human.” My friend, Daniel Gaines, who works with the Hartselle church of Christ, wrote a great response to that news story. Following are his words, used with his permission.

Vienna, Austria has an interesting resident who has recently garnered international attention. This resident’s name is Hiasl, and he is currently in the midst of an intriguing legal battle. You see, Hiasl is a chimpanzee – for now. If animal rights advocates have their way, he will soon be legally declared to be a “person.” The goal of such a move is to ensure him certain basic legal rights – including the right to own
property.

While this may be an isolated case for now, it seems to just be the next step in a trend started by evolutionists many years ago. It is the path to blur the lines between man and animal. If one accepts that man is nothing more than the highest evolved animal, then why not treat primates like equals? Why stop there?

Now I am certainly not advocating cruelty to animals. Man has been placed as stewards of the earth and its inhabitants; therefore we ought to treat it with respect. However, we must realize that mankind is special among God’s creation. Genesis 1:27 reminds us, “(ESV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We are not just another animal, but we bear the image of God. Therefore, let us resist any efforts to devalue human life on any scale. We are special to God, and we ought to be special to
one another as well.