The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is rewriting a portion of the Bible to make it more animal-friendly.
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The organization released a May 3 statement claiming it’s going “biblical” and using popular artificial intelligence generator ChatGPT to “rewrite the book of Genesis.”
PETA is apparently giving the Old Testament text a “modern makeover” to “send a can’t-be-missed animal rights message filled with vegan teachings.”
What does this mean, exactly? Well, according to PETA, it’s an effort to present a “cruelty-free story of creation” and, in the process, appeal to Generation Z.
PETA has amended specific names and titles given to God’s creation in the text — and that’s not all.
“In ‘THE BOOK: PETA’s Version of the Creation Story,’ animals are referred to as ‘beings’ rather than ‘beasts’ or ‘creatures’ — and plant fibers, like hemp and bamboo, are used in place of animal skins for clothing, as no one with any fashion or moral sense would wear animal skins in the 21st century,” a press release reads.
Part of Abraham’s story in Genesis 22 is transformed, with the patriarch befriending a lamb rather than sacrificing a ram. And a chapter before that, Abraham and Sarah adopt a dog named Herbie, with a conversation purportedly unfolding about the importance of adoption rather than buying from pet shops.
PETA believes God wouldn’t ever permit animal cruelty, and thus, these creative liberties were taken.
“The Bible has long been used to justify all forms of oppression, so we’ve used ChatGPT to make it clear that a loving God would never endorse exploitation of or cruelty to animals,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. “It took God only six days to create the entire world, but we realized it would take us years to rewrite the whole Bible, which is why we’ve started with just the first book.”
A description for “THE BOOK: PETA’s Version of the Creation Story” — which the organization is selling for $3.99 — describes the effort as a “first-of-its-kind AI-generated vegan interpretation of the book of Genesis.”
It’s important to note the Bible is “God-breathed” and is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV). Thus, changing narratives within to suit a political or social purpose of the day seems spiritually problematic.
With that in mind, Scripture also implores believers not to add or take away from the book.
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