The Problem of Animal Suffering

Abstract

This chapter concerns sentient, nonhuman animals, all of them, both domesticated and those in the wild. Typically, the animal kingdom, in its most loosely stated definition, includes every living thing in distinction from the plant kingdom. In this world, they suffer, sometimes horribly, because of the law of the jungle, as well as at the hands of human beings. For an all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing god to have created the egregiously horrific and unnecessary predatory relationship among his creatures requires a rejection of god and his religion. My argument is that the amount of massive ubiquitous horrendous animal suffering in the world cannot be reconciled with god and is one of the strongest reasons to reject him/her/it.