"I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh (בָּשָׂ֔ר)," says God (Joel 2:28 KJV). According to The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, "flesh (בָּשָׂ֔ר , basar) refers to the flesh of both animals and humans (note 1). In other words, we and other animals are all bathed in the Spirit of God.
Indeed, God created all the animals in the world and "saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:21, 25 KJV). We and other animals are by God, and of, God.
Equally importantly, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14 NIV). As pointed out by Rev. Prof. Andrew Linzey (1998:xvi), "by becoming flesh, the Logos identifies... not only with humanity but with all creatures of flesh and blood" (cf. Cunningham 2009:116-117; Clough 2012:103). Sacred incarnation not only recognizes the commonality of all sentient beings before the Lord, but also signifies that God breaks the boundary between creator and creatures and assume creatureliness (Clough 2012:103); God is inside all sentient beings, including both animals and humans.
Ultimately, humans and other animals are fellow creatures by, of, and in, God. It follows that to go vegan is the only proper way to treat other sentient creatures of God.
Article link: https://www.hkbnews.net/post/i-will-pour-out-my-spirit-on-all-flesh-says-god-by-dr-chapman-chen
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References
Clough, David (2012). On Animals Volume One: Systematic Theology. New York/London: T&T Clark.
Cunningham, David S. (2009). "The Way of All Flesh." In Creaturely Theology. Eds. Celia Deane-Drumond and David Clough. London: SCM Press. 100-117.
Linzey, Andrew (1998). "Introduction: Is Christianity Irredeemably Speciesist?" In Animals on the Agenda: Questions about Animals for Theology and Ethics. Eds. Andrew Linzey and Dorothy Yamamoto. i-xvi.
York, Tripp (2012). "Can the Wolf Lie Down with the Lamb without Killing It?" In A Faith Embracing All Creatures. Eds. Tripp York and Andy Alexis-Baker. Eugene: Cascade Books. 150-165
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