Do animals have a spirit?

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Lou_F

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Man is mortal.

Yet we have souls.

Do animals have souls too?

If so, how are they different from a man’s soul?
 
Animals have souls, just not immortal souls as man. The bible says all things will be created new. So who knows whether all our animals will be with us at the end of time.
 
You know, at least once, the Bible talks about the bodies of animals being “capable” of containing “spirits”. Remember when Jesus cast the demon(s) into the herd of swine? Where not those demons spirits? And do you think that having to wrestle with spirits is what caused the chaos in the swine? Or do you think the spirits overpowered the swine’s bodies and drove them crazy?

On the other hand, when St. Francis of Assissi preached to the wild animals, was this a sign of them having a spirituality? After all, is not the Holy Spirit the Lord, The giver of life? Don’t we believe that the Holy Spirit is contained in all creation?

What is the answer? Anybody out there?

I’m anxious to see more discussion on this. Everybody who participates in this forum, I love reading these and participating. It is one of the many highlights of my day!😃
 
Lou_F said:
Man is mortal.

Yet we have souls.

Do animals have souls too?

If so, how are they different from a man’s soul?
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Animals and plants have souls. Humans have an immortal soul which animates the body and lives on when the body dies. The souls of plants and animals die with them. God created man in His image and likeness. Because our normative state is a body/soul unity, our soul will be reunited with our resurrected bodies at the end of time.

So while you say that man is mortal that is an incomplete statement. Yes, our physical bodies are mortal but our souls are immortal and therefore should we choose a life with Christ we will abide in His love for all eternity…God Bless…teachccd 🙂
 
I have heard that animals have a material soul or spirit. I don’t know for sure what that means though.
 
The animal souls do not have the powers of intellect and free will.
Because plants also are living objects, they too have souls.

If you’re interested, here’s a list of the basic categories of powers for the 3 grades of life:
Vegetative (plant) life:
Reproduction
Nutrition
Growth

Sensitive (animal) life:
Reproduction
Nutrition
Growth
Locomotion
Sensation
Sense Appetites

Rational (human) life:
Reproduction
Nutrition
Growth
Locomotion
Sensation
Sense Appetites
Intellect
Will

Nita
 
Holly3278 said:
I have heard that animals have a material soul or spirit. I don’t know for sure what that means though.
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The souls of plants and animals are referred to as “material souls”, but…
I’ll quote from a book titled Philosophical Psychology:
…First of all, and to repeat, all souls, all life principles, are as such immaterial. Secondly, we refer to the souls of plants and animals as material souls, not because they are themselves composed of matter, but rather to call attention to the important fact that they are so related to matter that they cannot exist apart from matter. …

Nita
 
never sacrifice your life to save an animal’s.
there is nothing wrong with hunting for fun.
 
in icons of saints which are supposed to be windows to Heaven ,there are horses and lions present,such as with St George,Demetrius or Gerasimos,i have heard and read about miracles of St George as he was riding his invisible horse.
 
Holly3278 said:
I have heard that animals have a material soul or spirit. I don’t know for sure what that means though.
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It means when animals die their souls die. Animals do not go to Heaven no matter how much pet lovers would try to argue otherwise.
 
I hope this doesn’t sound dismissive of others opinions, but I wouldn’t presume to state with certainty that pets will or won’t be in heaven. It would be presumptious to state with definitive language what will occurr. God created all things. If He decides that we need our pets in Heaven, it will be. If not we won’t see them. If a person has a pet that they love and they hope to be reunited with them, I am not sure it helps to dash their hope. We just don’t know. I prefer to believe that God will provide us with all we need, including our pets. I can’t wait to see how it turns out 🙂
 
prkwy said:
I hope this doesn’t sound dismissive of others opinions, but I wouldn’t presume to state with certainty that pets will or won’t be in heaven. It would be presumptious to state with definitive language what will occurr. God created all things. If He decides that we need our pets in Heaven, it will be. If not we won’t see them. If a person has a pet that they love and they hope to be reunited with them, I am not sure it helps to dash their hope. We just don’t know. I prefer to believe that God will provide us with all we need, including our pets. I can’t wait to see how it turns out 🙂
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I’m with you on this one.

I do not believe we have a difinitive pronouncement on the subject one way or the other.

Do we?

It is clear that animals do not have a human soul.

It is less clear what the fate of their souls might be.

Chuck
 
prkwy said:
I hope this doesn’t sound dismissive of others opinions, but I wouldn’t presume to state with certainty that pets will or won’t be in heaven. It would be presumptious to state with definitive language what will occurr. God created all things. If He decides that we need our pets in Heaven, it will be. If not we won’t see them. If a person has a pet that they love and they hope to be reunited with them, I am not sure it helps to dash their hope. We just don’t know. I prefer to believe that God will provide us with all we need, including our pets. I can’t wait to see how it turns out 🙂
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I asked a priest this during one of my many rcia adventures. His answer to me was that in heaven all things are provided and that we would probably not need to see our pets but we could ask God to see them. That answer made me feel better.
 
Sorry for my bad English as it is not my native language (and correct me if my terminology is not accurate).

As I understand this (what I have heard few prominent priests say), a human being is “made up” of body, soul and spirit. The soul is connected to our emotions and that is what psychology deals with. Animals and plants have body and soul, but not the spirit.

The spirit that we have is responsible for our spirituality. When we pray, we pray through our spirit (but guided with both our body and our soul).

Our body and soul evolve over time - our body grows and ages, and our soul can change (for example when we are emotionally hurt). But the spirit is unchangeable.

I repeat, this is what I understand from few priest’s lectures/talks, and I heard it in my native language (Croatian) so I am not sure if my terminology is correct.
 
Il_Cattivo said:
never sacrifice your life to save an animal’s.
there is nothing wrong with hunting for fun.
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I agree, however, since other posts state the possibility of pets going to heaven because people love them, wouldn’t that then open the door to the possibility of hunting wild game in heaven too because people love to hunt animals. Where does God draw the line?

Maybe we use the word “love” too loosely. I hunt with my Dad because I love to be with him. I like to hunt and I like animals. I know pet owners sacrifice their time and give much effort to care for their pets. Therefore, it seems there has to be some sort of love in that. Maybe this is where our english language falls short. I heard that other languages have up to four different words to express different levels of love. It is too bad we don’t have more words to express one’s love for an animal and an even greater word to express the greater love man charitably and sacrificially gives to his fellow man.
 
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