Hey. We talked already, but I'm commenting for other readers, and I'm adding a couple of things to what I said earlier.

(1) Republic Act 8485 (mentioned above) prohibits dog killing in the Philippines, but it isn't enough to make me say that what these people are doing is wrong. I'm not a statist and anyone who knows me knows that. As an aside, I do and say plenty of things that would at the very least (!) get me deported by the immigration gang if found out. "The law" isn't the standard for what's right or wrong.

(2) Some Filipino friends/neighbors are as enraged over this as the commenters above. Two well-respected neighbors want us to report the people out back and one Filipino buddy from Metro Manila went so far as to call them "fucking savages." When he called them that, I was so pissed off that I said "yeah," but I did so because of an entire litany of factors and not the dog-killing alone. However, in retrospect, I have to say that I was wrong and I shouldn't have said "yeah." Some will disagree.

(3) The post above isn't meant to paint a bad picture of the Philippines. Hive account@awesomenyl is a Filipina and we both love the Philippines. It's our home. And again, whether or not their anger is misdirected, Filipino friends and neighbors are just as upset as the commenters above. Americans and other foreigners aren't alone; some Filipinos right next to us are just as enraged as they are and as I initially was.

(4) If I'm honest with myself, I can't say that it's inherently wrong to eat a dog (don't shoot me, people), but I'm conflicted and I'm debating with myself over it. What separates dogs from fish or chicken? I'm not sure, and I'm definitely not a vegetarian or vegan.

I'm a Christian, and in the New Covenant era, Old Testament food laws are done away with, their purpose having been fulfilled. (Dog-eating would have been a no-no in the Old Covenant.) Humane treatment of animals is imperative, but as it relates to food, the imago dei that separates humanity from other parts of creation makes it so that human cannibalism is inherently immoral, but dog-eating isn't. One day it will end, though, and there will be no more death or meat-eating of any kind.

Still, I wish the people out back would have killed one of their many chickens instead, or maybe the rooster that wakes me up every morning. (Haha.)

(5) I don't understand the relevance of U.S. churches to this discussion. Many of my U.S. friends don't go to church and a lot of people here in the Philippines do. The body of Christ is worldwide, and interestingly, it's growing in China more than ever via underground churches.

BTW, Barry, we've talked about this before, but I have a foundation upon which to say that murder is wrong. I'd like to know what yours is and why it's authoritative. (I object to the notion that Jesus is a murderer, by the way.) We both know murder is wrong and I'm glad you call out murderous attitudes when necessary. I'd just like to know upon what basis, given your worldview. Also, what separates a dog or chicken from a human being? Cannibalistic cultures have existed, after all.