Do animals have souls?

[Riven]

I've asked this question to Christians in the past and have gotten different answers. Many of them seemed to hope our beloved pets have souls and that we will see them in heaven. But what does the bible tell us on this subject?

 

[Dorothy Mae]

I've asked this question to Christians in the past and have gotten different answers. Many of them seemed to hope our beloved pets have souls and that we will see them in heaven. But what does the bible tell us on this subject?

Doubtful as God did not breathe into them.

 

[for_his_glory]

God also gave life to animals as even they have a living soul and will also be with us in the New Jerusalem.

Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecc 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

 

[Hidden In Him]

I've asked this question to Christians in the past and have gotten different answers. Many of them seemed to hope our beloved pets have souls and that we will see them in heaven. But what does the bible tell us on this subject?

Simply put, a soul is our personality, and our spirit is our living being, i.e. what gives us life.

All animals have souls. Every one of my pets have had very distinct personalities. And the verse FGH quoted states that they have spirits (which they would have to in order to have life).

So the only question is, do they continue on into eternity? My belief is yes, based on a number of heaven accounts. Now some of the animals that were seen there may have never lived on earth, but I do recall at least one account where a young girl who had died was reunited with her beloved kitten.

I'm quite frankly banking on it, cuz if so I got a LOT of friends up there I'm looking forward to seeing again, and He knows I'm expecting it, so we'll see.

 

[Dorothy Mae]

Personally, I think people just want to have their pets with them in eternity but don’t mind if their neighbor isn’t there. After all, their pets loved them to death and the neighbors didn’t even like them.

That’s not saying there are no longer animals, just animals who died won’t be resurrected. When some saints were resurrected and walked around the city, no pets were with them.

 

[CherubRam]

I've asked this question to Christians in the past and have gotten different answers. Many of them seemed to hope our beloved pets have souls and that we will see them in heaven. But what does the bible tell us on this subject?

A soul consist of a body and spirit. Spirit is the nature of a person, place, or thing. There is not mention of pets being resurrected.

 

[Elteqay]

I've asked this question to Christians in the past and have gotten different answers. Many of them seemed to hope our beloved pets have souls and that we will see them in heaven. But what does the bible tell us on this subject?

Yes, animals have souls: Deuteronomy 12:23...Only be sure that you eat not the blood; for the blood is the life/soul; and you may not eat the life/soul with the flesh.

The Hebrew word is "nephesh"- Strongs # 5315....soul, life. It is used 475 for soul/life.

Genesis 2:7...And Yahuah Elohyim formed the man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils breath of life and man became a living nephesh/soul.

 

[for_his_glory]

A soul consist of a body and spirit. Spirit is the nature of a person, place, or thing. There is not mention of pets being resurrected.

Actually it is mentioned in Isaiah 11:6-9 as God's holy mountain will be that of the New Jerusalem.

This body/flesh dies and deteriorates as it turns back to dust while in the ground, including animals in which God brought to life breathing the breath of life in them as He did humans. The breath/spirit goes back to God who gave it, Ecc 12:7.The soul which makes up the conscious part of ones being is that of thought, action and emotion. The spiritual nature of man regarded as immortal and separable from the body/flesh at death and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state. Animals have thoughts, actions and also emotions.

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[CherubRam]

Actually it is mentioned in Isaiah 11:6-9 as God's holy mountain will be that of the New Jerusalem.

This body/flesh dies and deteriorates as it turns back to dust while in the ground, including animals in which God brought to life breathing the breath of life in them as He did humans. The breath/spirit goes back to God who gave it, Ecc 12:7.The soul which makes up the conscious part of ones being is that of thought, action and emotion. The spiritual nature of man regarded as immortal and separable from the body/flesh at death and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state. Animals have thoughts, actions and also emotions.

​

That is speaking of the thousand year reign of Christ.

 

[for_his_glory]

That is speaking of the thousand year reign of Christ.

I beg to differ as those verses mention all these animals in God's holy mountain. God's holy mountain is not here on this present earth. In the NT the concept of a holy mountain city is linked to the New Jerusalem. In the OT Mount Sinai was the holy mountain of God, but we see by reading scripture the holy mountain will be the New Jerusalem.

Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

2Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

By all these scriptures we can conclude that Isaiah 11:6-9 is speaking about the New Jerusalem.

 

[WIP]

Please, this is not a forum for debate. Start a new thread in the appropriate forum if you wish to debate your differences.

 

[for_his_glory]

Please, this is not a forum for debate. Start a new thread in the appropriate forum if you wish to debate your differences.

Sorry, forgot what forum I was in.

 

[D-D-W]

Doubtful as God did not breathe into them.

Breathing is "spirit" not soul.

As to what a "soul" is, there is no consensus at all. If we cannot agree on what a soul actually is, how can we tell if an animal has one?

 

[Vinny37]

I've asked this question to Christians in the past and have gotten different answers. Many of them seemed to hope our beloved pets have souls and that we will see them in heaven. But what does the bible tell us on this subject?

A word search will flag up even the term spirit (Ec.3:21) vis-à-vis mere animals, but one must still ask what the writer meant, and whether their idea should be treated any better than that of Job’s wife (Job 2:9). The range of meanings to the term, spirit, is a biggy—similarly that behind the English term, soul. Likewise the term heaven. Asked whether mosquitoes were heaven-bound, C S Lewis did suggest that God might combine a heaven for them with a hell for man.

Genesis has a big differential, a unique identifier (UID) for humanity, namely God’s Image/Likeness. I think that links to the drama of sin/salvation, in which mere animals do not figure. There is a sense in which the animal kingdom will enjoy release, once Christ returns (Rm.8:19): no, Earth will not burn up except in environmentalist fantasies. For my part, I’d think it daft to say that every flea or dog ever born, will have immortal life—resurrection. Nor can I see why God should grant such a gift to pet dogs (pet fleas/goldfish/worms), but not to non-pets of the same species. And would naughty pets go to hell? And half-naughty half-good, to a Limbo? And what about microorganisms? Narnia is Narnia, but Earth is Earth.

IMO, from Earth redeemed humanity alone will live immortal and range the universe (our playground) through glorified bodies. In visiting planets, we’ll interact and enjoy animal life, perhaps on multifarious planets, but sub-Image creatures will remain prone to death/birth in ongoing cycles, the natural lot of biological beings outside of God’s Image.

That some of the higher animals have a mortal soul, in the sense of personality, not personhood, I happily accept, and perhaps human-interaction potentially enriches them.

 

[Josef]

Hey All, Of course animals have souls. They are located on the bottom of their feet. Sorry, dad joke there I could not resist. The truth is that the Bible is not specificily clear on this topic. Here is an interesting thought though. Noah built the ark primarily to save his family; but also to save the animals. Why save the animals if God could just create more? We're the animals worthy of salvation? If so, then, are they worthy of eternal life? Something to think about; May God bless,
Taz

 

[Scripture Says]

To remember that this dog was your beloved pet on earth would we also remember life on earth?

Do we remember what sin was? Do we know what things we did on earth that were sinful?

Unless God blanks out some things like sin while keeping our knowledge of our pets.... I dont think so... i always kinda thought we wouldnt remember life on this earth if it means wed also remember what sin is....

 

[Mark51]

I've asked this question to Christians in the past and have gotten different answers. Many of them seemed to hope our beloved pets have souls and that we will see them in heaven. But what does the bible tell us on this subject?

I've asked this question to Christians in the past and have gotten different answers. Many of them seemed to hope our beloved pets have souls and that we will see them in heaven. But what does the bible tell us on this subject?

No, they do not have a soul”; rather, are a “soul.”

It is believed/taught that what makes humans different from the animals is that humans have a soul but animals do not. However, Genesis 1:20 and 30 says that God created “living souls” to live in the waters, and that the animals have “life as a soul.” In these verses, some Bibles use the words “creature” and “life” instead of “soul,” but their marginal readings agree that the word “soul” is what appears in the original language.

The Bible was originally written mainly in Hebrew and Greek. Bible writers used the Hebrew word ne'phesh or the Greek word psy·khe' when mentioning/describing a soul. These two words occur well over 800 times in the Scriptures. When you examine the way “soul” or “souls” is used in the Bible, it becomes evident that this word basically refers to (1) people, (2) animals, or (3) the life that a person or an animal enjoys. In other words, it is not that we have a soul, but that we are a soul. Consider these few scriptures that mention a “soul” relating to almighty God.-Psalms 11:5; 24:4; Isaiah 1:14; 42:1; Jeremiah 12:7; 14:9; 32:41; Lamentations 3:20; Matthew 12:18; Hebrews 10:38.