Ep39. Theology, Animals, and the Melbourne Cup; David L. Clough

With the Melbourne Cup on our doorstep I sat down with David L. Clough to talk about ethics, theology and the relationships between human and non-human animals. We talk about the problems with a human-centred view of creation (where animals exist for our purpose), the surprising concern for animals demonstrated throughout the Christian tradition, the vocation of all creatures to live particular lives before God. I also ask what the anthropomorphism of Peppa Pig illuminates about our creaturely similarity, and a question based on The Octonaughts about the ethics of intervention to care for animals as if they are our neighbours.

David L. Clough, Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chester, UK. His books include, Ethics in Crisis: Interpreting Barth's Ethics, and Faith and Force: A Christian Debate about War. He co-edited Creaturely Theology: On God, Humans and Animals, and Animals as Religious Subjects. In 2015, he launched the CreatureKind project, which engages churches in the UK and North America with farmed animal welfare as a faith issue. In 2018 he launched the DefaultVeg project encouraging organisations to make a simple change to events catering policy that benefits humans, animals, and the planet. He is a Methodist Local Preacher and has served on national ecumenical working groups on the ethics of modern warfare and the theology of climate change. Today’s discussion centres on his recently completed, landmark two-volume work, On Animals (Volume I Systematic Theology was published in 2012; and Volume II Theological Ethics, came out this year – both published with Bloomsbury).

Follow David on twitter: @DLClough

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Music by Fyzex