Animal lessons: Understanding the gift of creatureliness in the company of all creatures

Abstract

This article sets in context the contemporary conversation about humans relating to non-human animals and the larger ecosphere they inhabit. It explores the foundation for how humanity got to the current crises of human and environmental dis-ease as well as the debate over the role of people of faith, specifically Christians in the West, in the world as they experience it now. A survey of biblical material presents what might have been overlooked in the potential for learning from animals. The article explores new possibilities for experiential and intellectual learning from animals, attempting to glean avenues for human spiritual growth and sustainable life for all creatures.