Rainbow Bridge

[isu]

This is a very good discussion and it gives me something to think about.

I have always speculated that animals are part of that reincarnation thing some religions believe which is where people thought it was for them but in reality it was only for the animals. Also, I always thought they would come back as anything not just the animal they where before. I came to this idea because of some experiences I had with a dog and a cat. (Long story short. Dog became cat.)

As a reminder this is just speculation. Someone who is more learned on this subject can inform us if this is even a possible speculation through the truths revealed to us by God.

Thanks and I hope what I am trying to say makes sense

 

[JB_Brother_4446]

All living things have souls.

Does a plant have a soul?

Jesus even said a man’s life had more value than a sheep.

 

[petra22]

I am a huge dog lover. However, Christians should be on guard against pagan animal worship. There is nothing in Christian teaching about animals having immortal souls. We can hope that there will be pets in heaven.

Before anyone says yes OR no…

But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

None of us knows…

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

Do you have a secular source that says the same thing?

No, I do not.

 

[1ke]

Source?

The two principle attributes of the spiritual soul are intellect and will. That is what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God,

Animals do know have intellect and free will. They cannot experience emotions such as grief and love because they do not possess that ability-- intellect and will are required.

 

[1ke]

Do you have a secular source that says the same thing?

Faith, why would you need a secular source for this? There is no secular source with authority on this matter, it is the realm of the Church as it pertains to salvation.

Faith, God gives us the animals for labor, for food, for clothing. It is only our own imagination that gives them human attributes. God did not create them for an eternal end.

 

[1ke]

**

Why do we see the animals of Nineveh repenting alongside humans?

The animals do not relent, indeed cannot repent.

In the book of Jonah, the king proclaims a fast and that everything be covered in ashes. That is not “animals repenting” that is “people repenting”.

 

[1ke]

Faith, this continues to be an issue for you. You’ve brought this up and related animal intelligence and animals-in-heaven topics for over 10 years now. You get the same answer every time.

I would suggest you make an appointment with your priest (not an email) and have him explain the difference between material and spiritual souls, what it means to be in the image of God, and why we don’t “need” animals in the Beatific Vision.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Animals have no soul. Humans do. End of story.

Then you utterly reject the teaching of Aquinas, to say nothing of Scholasticism in toto, regarding ψυχή?

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Does a plant have a soul?

This is a most basic fundamental concept in the field of philosophical psychology, which is antecedent to the advent and rise of empirical psychology.

 

[Latinitas]

Then you utterly reject the teaching of Aquinas, to say nothing of Scholasticism in toto, regarding ψυχή?

Indeed, the very word animal, seems to imply that they have a soul.

Benedicat Deus,
Latinitas

 

[JB_Brother_4446]

Then you utterly reject the teaching of Aquinas, to say nothing of Scholasticism in toto, regarding ψυχή?

I take Jesus over Aquinas, and He never said animals would be in heaven.

 

[JB_Brother_4446]

This is a most basic fundamental concept in the field of philosophical psychology, which is antecedent to the advent and rise of empirical psychology.

Does a plant have an immortal soul like humans? With all due respect Father, you didn’t answer my question.

 

[meltzerboy]

When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me that IF I needed dogs to make me in Heaven, they would be there. Old Irish myth, I am sure, but I believe her.

Grandmothers have a way of knowing.

 

[Church_Militant]

Animals have no soul. Humans do. End of story.

Not according to ***Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?

The Bible obviously does not share your opinion and neither does the church.

***A material soul is obviously not a human one but it is a soul nonetheless.

Why would this distress so many people? If God creates something that is just the reality…why does it bother anyone?

Some folks seems not to appreciate that we human beings are drawn nearer to God by His creation and so then how is that wrong. (Consider Our Lord’s reasoning and wisdom in creating the sacraments…) None of us would ever even infer that our animal friends are more important to our final happiness than God Himself, but if, as scripture plainly tells us He will create a new Heaven and Earth then what’s the problem?

I think it’s unwise for anyone to assert that any faithful Catholic puts their pets before God. It’s the same faulty logic that a-Cs use when asserting that we Catholics worship images.

 

[Church_Militant]

I take Jesus over Aquinas, and He never said animals would be in heaven.

He never said there would be cell phones or nuclear weapons…so your logic is faulty…

Does a plant have an immortal soul like humans? With all due respect Father, you didn’t answer my question.

No one has said that they do, however the Bible and the church teach that animals do have material souls so your opinion is not informed by either scripture or the magisterial teachings of the church.

 

[Church_Militant]

Why do we see the animals of Nineveh repenting alongside humans?

A good point I had not even thought about…

 

[Michael_Francis]

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