Did some animals eat other animals (predation) before sin entered the world?

Predation is the process by which one animal kills and consumes another. Carnivores are an example of animals that seek out and eat prey—a lion feasting on a gazelle, for example. The question is whether God originally created some animals as predators, or is predation a result of the curse due to mankind’s sin? Did predation predate the fall?

The question is a controversial one and is part of a deeper discussion about what role death plays in creation. Debate is based on the narrow subject of biological death—physical life leaving a material body. Romans 5:12 explains how death is related to sin: “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin.” This passage and others lead most Christians to believe mankind experienced no physical death before the fall. Some believe this was also true of animals—before mankind’s sin, not even the animals were subject to death. If that was the case, then there could not have been predation before the fall. There were no predators or carnivores in the original creation. Other Christians believe the absence of death applied only to mankind, and perhaps only because of his access to the tree of life in Eden.

Both positions are reasonable and compatible with Scripture. It’s possible that God created a world with no death of any kind, or at least not for animals and people. This would mean God re-arranged or re-configured His creation after the fall. It’s also possible that physical death was always part of creation among the animals, and physical death became inevitable for humans when Adam and Eve lost access to the tree of life. Neither view is explicitly supported or contradicted by the Bible. Either can lead to theological problems if not approached with care.

The traditional interpretation of Genesis is that there were no carnivores, no predation, and thus no animal death until after the fall. This view is based on several facts and assumptions:

• God’s initial creation was perfect, and perfection cannot include death.
• Perfection also must exclude suffering such as the type a predator inflicts upon prey.
• God said plants were given to all animals for food, meaning all animals were originally herbivores (Genesis 1:29).
• Adam was told that death would come in response to sin (Genesis 2:17).
• Paul indicated that death only came into creation because of mankind’s sin (Romans 5:12).
• Paul taught that “creation was subjected to frustration” at the fall (Romans 8:20), implying that Adam’s sin brought death to the animal world.
• As part of the curse, God made changes in the plant kingdom (Genesis 3:18); it is reasonable to assume that God made changes in the animal world, as well.
• Scripture speaks of predators and prey eventually living and grazing together in peace, as creation is restored to its original state (Isaiah 11:6–8; 65:25).

Those who believe predation was part of God’s original design believe that death existed in natural creation from the very beginning. They base their view on a different set of facts and assumptions:

• Creation was described as “good” (Genesis 1:25) and “very good” (Genesis 1:31), but not “perfect.”
• Scripture doesn’t suggest that predators, let alone the entire system of nature, were re-designed after the fall.
• Plants being the basis of the food chain doesn’t require all animals to eat plants directly.
• Plant life requires death—soil is dead tissue—and human digestion requires bacteria that must reproduce and die.
• Adam probably knew what death was when God warned him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
• After the fall, mankind lost access to the tree of life (Genesis 2:9) so he would not live forever (Genesis 3:22, 24).
• Paul said that, when Adam sinned, “death came to all people” (Romans 5:12), and animals are not “people.”
• Romans 8:20 says that creation was “subjected to frustration and futility” (AMP), but it does not say that physical death for all creation came only from sin.
• The final, peaceful state of the earth is not identical to life in Eden; not all end-times changes will reflect a return to some original state.

Pre-fall predation or not? Either view can fall into the trap of ignoring reason to protect a comfortable stance. It is not theologically necessary for there to be no animal death before the fall. And God is capable of changing His creation as He wills, so the absence of predation prior to the fall is entirely possible.

Fortunately, Scripture makes the important points abundantly clear. Sin, which came into the world at the fall (Genesis 3:6), separated mankind from God and led to physical death for everyone. No person is sinless, and all are incapable of matching God’s perfection (Romans 3:23). The only remedy for our sinful condition is personal faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Hebrews 9:24–30). Whether lions ate lambs or lettuce on the eighth day (Exodus 20:11) makes no difference to the problem humanity faces or to the solution we’re meant to find (Romans 6:23).