Will My Pets Go To Heaven?
- Thread starter Christina
- Start date
-
Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.
You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!
Personally i dont believe animals will go to heaven. Yes animals have been created with good qualities and God called their creation 'good' but this does not make them worthy of heavenly life.
For one, they do not have any capability for spirituality nor can you reason with a wild animal as if it would understand Justice or Righteousness or any other abstract idea. They do not acknowledge God because if they did they would obey his laws about stealing (yes animals steal food that does not belong to them) killing (yes animals kill each other including humans) and they fail to show mercy or love in their dealings with other creatures.
But the strongest reason that they will not go to heaven are found in the words of king Solomon.
Ecclesiastes 3:19 "For there is an eventuality as respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and they have the same eventuality. As the one dies, so the other dies; and they all have but one spirit, so that there is no superiority of the man over the beast, for everything is vanity. 20 All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and THEY ARE ALL RETURNING TO THE DUST"
This scripture says nothing about humans or animals returning to heaven....both are returing to the dust according to Solomon.
Another point to think about is if Animals were worthy of going to heaven, why would God allow us to kill them, to hunt and eat them, but not to kill other humans? If he views our worth as the same, why is there a difference in the way we are allowed to treat them?
Just a thought.
I remember hearing about a man who died and his faithful dog stood at his graveside and howled coninuously for about a week. It turned its tail was caught under the gravestone. I know that's a bit silly but they do pine. Wether that means they have a soul or not I don't know.
I've always thought that they ahve some kind of spirit or essene, call it what you will but it isn't like a human soul. Animals except for snakes didn't fall like man did yet they die and eat each other as a result of the fall. How Noah managed to keep this from happening on the Ark I don't know. They are thus like us part of a fallen world, but since they didn't sin does that mean they need saving?
That leads me to to wonder if animals have the capacity to sin. probably not since they usually only do what is intheir nature to do, but what about when dogs go mad for no reason and kill children. Is that just because they are somehow reverting to being a wolf or becuse there is some evil at work?
I've always thought that they ahve some kind of spirit or essene, call it what you will but it isn't like a human soul. Animals except for snakes didn't fall like man did yet they die and eat each other as a result of the fall. How Noah managed to keep this from happening on the Ark I don't know. They are thus like us part of a fallen world, but since they didn't sin does that mean they need saving?
That leads me to to wonder if animals have the capacity to sin. probably not since they usually only do what is intheir nature to do, but what about when dogs go mad for no reason and kill children. Is that just because they are somehow reverting to being a wolf or becuse there is some evil at work?
[email protected]
Choir Loft
Cute answers, but far from truth. You do not seem to understand the depth of depravity of human pride.
Human pride is a sin NOT shared by animals.
Pride, dear reader, is purely a human quality.....sin....against God, against one's fellow man, and suffered in one's own soul.
The root cause of pride is self love and its fruit is injustice.
Show me one rooster that persecuted other roosters just because their feathers were a different color.
Bees have never initiated a holocaust against another group of living things just because they had philosophical differences.
Fear of hurt and immediate danger as we see in animals is NOT the same as the obsession with death we see in humans.
Which hive of bees ever erected a pyramid for their dead queen?
Which bird ever sang a song to honor a dead hero?
Please tell me, I'm sure Mr. Guiness would like to put it in his book of records.
Pride of life is a human quality indicative of the sin we suffer. It's consequence is injustice.
Fear of death is a human quality of spirit.
It shows us that a portion of our nature attempts to deal with something beyond the end of physical existance.
Animals do not share these traits. All humans do (even those who deny them).
OK then so maybe they emulate human emotions or they can appear to display them but in fact they don't have them. The pride of a Rooster is not like that of a man. For a Rooster it is not a sin because it is his nature and Bees have a queen because that is their nature. What is man's nature. man's immediate nature as inherited from Adam and Eve is sinfulness, man is inherantly sinful so it is in nature for man to sin. pride is a sin but not for an animal, only for man. Is the Rooster committing the sin of pride? Does the Rooster have the capacity to sin? Does the Rooster even have s soul? he only has a brain the size of a pea so what does he understand? Probably, he doesn't udnerstand anything, he just does according to his nature and his nature is to strut around in fornt of the females so I reckon the Rooster cannot be guilty of the sin of pride.
Basicallty my position is this. I deny that animals have souls in the sme manner as humans and therefore cannot be subject to either everlasting punnishment or reward. They may have some spiritual side but it would be very differnt to that of ahuman.
Basicallty my position is this. I deny that animals have souls in the sme manner as humans and therefore cannot be subject to either everlasting punnishment or reward. They may have some spiritual side but it would be very differnt to that of ahuman.
this debate just reminded me of why the hindu belief in reincarnation is illogical.
They believe that reincarnation is an endless cycle of a persons life coming back as either a better human or a lesser animal depending on the persons actions during their lifetime.
However, lets say i've made mistakes in my life and in my next life i come back as an animal, how can i, as an animal, possibly improve my next life to come back as a human again.... animals live only by instinct, therefore how can an animal possibly improve its life so that it comes back as a higher form?
It cannot. And thats why reincarnation is an illogical belief.
They believe that reincarnation is an endless cycle of a persons life coming back as either a better human or a lesser animal depending on the persons actions during their lifetime.
However, lets say i've made mistakes in my life and in my next life i come back as an animal, how can i, as an animal, possibly improve my next life to come back as a human again.... animals live only by instinct, therefore how can an animal possibly improve its life so that it comes back as a higher form?
It cannot. And thats why reincarnation is an illogical belief.
That's right Pegg! If someone dies and domes back as a fly then how with a fly's little brain are they going to live a good life and become a higher creature. The really funny thing about reincarnation is that you can actually come back as plants and trees.
I think the Eskimos have. They believe that when they kill an animal they are setting free the souls of their ancestors that had become trapped in their, thus allowing them to progress to their afterlife.
I think the Eskimos have. They believe that when they kill an animal they are setting free the souls of their ancestors that had become trapped in their, thus allowing them to progress to their afterlife.
bingo!
Its a crazy idea....im not saying its the only crazy idea out there, but its certainly wayyyy out there. :lol:
I do not believe that our pets, or any animals, will be in heaven, as they are unintellegent creatures. They do are not given the choice to follow Christ or not, mearly to survive.
i think its simply the nature of the beast
Even the friendliest dogs can and do bite. Its just part of their instincts.
[email protected]
Choir Loft
The dogma of resurrection is an effort by eastern mystics to fill a gap in their sense of justice.
How shall injustice be judged by the universe?
Go back and try again and keep going back until you get 'it' right....whatever 'it' is.
It's rather like staying after school because you were throwing paper clips at the girl in the front row.
Christianity offers a second chance here and now, not bye and bye.
Forgiveness and discipleship allow us to change our lives and make them better.....today.
Not in an endless series of tomorrows.
BTW that girl in the front row liked me too and started throwing stuff back at me.
We both had a grand time in detension.
