When animals die, do they go to heaven?

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Joel_Tunnah said:
I hope that was tongue-in-cheek, because all of those things are human modes of relating to God. They are also not even all required for human beings to get into heaven, according to the church.
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😃

Of course it was “tongue-in-cheek”.

I’ve been both the “guardian of”, and the “owner of” many animals in my fairly long life, and have never once wondered whether or not a single one of them went to heaven when they died.

I used to train horses,…I can communicate with them. I’m no “horse whisperer”, but have been taught by a few of the best “communicators” there is,…I can tell you pretty much what a horse is saying, and in turn tell it almost anything I want.
A few of them have been very smart, quick to learn, and a few have been quite hard-headed. But everything they “understand” is a reaction caused by what they’ve learned or what was part of their fight-or-flight nature. That’s not to say they can’t “reason”.

Everything I’ve learned from experience has suggested to me that animals are reactionary creatures, they have no “spirit”, they have no “soul”, and they don’t “love” us.
For instance; when my favorite dog would come sit in my lap in the evening, he was only getting comfortable,…enjoying the rub on his neck and the soft warm spot in my lap cause it felt good to him,…he was not showing any “love” or “affection”.

People have a tendency, out of their own need for affection, to believe that an animal has the ability to give them that love they’re looking for, but trust me,…that’s not what’s happening.

Now I know I could never convince those loving people, so I wouldn’t even try. After all, they’re convinced, and this is what makes them happy, so they’re not about to let someone like me take that away from them.

Now,…to answer the original poster’s question;
“I don’t know for sure, (nobody does), but I’d bet the answer is no, animals don’t go to Heaven.”
 
MSParrott said:
Good Morning,

New poster here. I was wondering what the thoughts are about when an animal dies, to they go to Heaven? I had a 16 1/2 year old cat that passed away in March and am often finding myself wondering if she is in Heaven. I would like to think that all of God’s creatures go there, but I don’t want Him to think I am being sacreligious. Any thoughts?

:heaven:
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The Church has not solemnly defined in this regard, but the teaching is of course, that animals don’t have souls like ours. Personally, I believe that *everything *God created with life will be in heaven when it dies (aside from humans, of course, who can choose Hell by their lives). Look at the wolves, how can God create creatures that beautiful and not bring them up to Heaven to enjoy?
 
That’s your opinion Tommy.

There is objective evidence that animals do show emotions in a primitive form, and your dog is not simply the parasite that you claim him to be.
 
Well,…like I said; nobody knows for sure, and I’m not about to argue,…that’d be pretty stupid.🙂
 
If our pets go to heaven what else goes to heaven too? Probably the same people would think that horses go to heaven too. But what about monkeys, squirrels, insects and bacteria? I wonder if those sure that dogs and cats go to heaven can explain what also goes to heaven? This is from someone who doubts in this whole matter.
 
mdgspencer said:
If our pets go to heaven what else goes to heaven too? Probably the same people would think that horses go to heaven too. But what about monkeys, squirrels, insects and bacteria? I wonder if those sure that dogs and cats go to heaven can explain what also goes to heaven? This is from someone who doubts in this whole matter.
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Only dogs and cats!

No rattlesnakes, scorpions or sharks!

Oh! And butterflies get to go too! (Except them ugly yellow ones!)
 
The answer is: we don’t know. That’s the whole point. I would never speculate whether a bacteria is united with God in some way, or goes to bacteria heaven. I have no idea.

Likewise, people like ike shouldn’t walk around misconstruing the catechism, and telling people their beloved cat has been consigned to oblivion - when there is no way for him to know that.
 
mdgspencer said:
If our pets go to heaven what else goes to heaven too? Probably the same people would think that horses go to heaven too. But what about monkeys, squirrels, insects and bacteria? I wonder if those sure that dogs and cats go to heaven can explain what also goes to heaven? This is from someone who doubts in this whole matter.
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Maybe they all do? Why not? Surely, the new heaven and new earth would be vast enough to house all creation?

But I’m sure God will tell spiders and snakes they’re not allowed to bite anymore. 😉
 
But I’m sure God will tell spiders and snakes they’re not allowed to bite anymore
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You can count on that, as Scripture states, “the child will place his hand on the adder’s den”. . .

I do agree with Ike that, if heaven is only for those with immortal souls, then, as it stands, only man, with an ‘immortal’ soul, can enter through God’s grace, out of all ‘creatures’ on earth.

If heaven contains (as has been often posited, though of course never ‘proven’) certain levels, including that of a place of ‘natural’ happiness, it is possible (though again certainly not provable) that, when an animal with a ‘material’ soul dies, God could certainly infuse that or any animal with an ‘immortal’ soul, which of course would be entirely God’s gift/choice, and not ours. We do know from Scripture that we are worth MORE than a sparrow, but we also know that God ‘cares for the sparrow’.

Certainly Scripture (whether ‘imaged’ or not) speaks of all sorts of strictly ‘material’ things which are found in ‘a’ heaven, including animals–and this at the Last Judgment with the “new heaven and earth”–and the fact that an earth is listed WITH a heaven may also indicate God’s plan for all His creation.

God is all mercy and all good.

One thing that is a factor in my ‘hope’ (and ‘hope’ is what it is) for somehow, some ‘place’ for God’s creations which are not gifted now with immortal souls, is that God is unchanging and eternal. It just does not seem logical that He would consign a work of His to ‘annihilation’, let alone the majority of His works. Thus, while I perfectly agree that (as far as we know) no creation without an immortal soul is capable of being in a place that is ONLY for those with an immortal soul, I do think that God would ‘provide’ a place and/or the necessary ‘component’ or infusion of a new and, if not a rational soul, a type of ‘immortal’ soul for animals, out of His mercy.

So just as I hope for His mercy towards us, and that we will ‘live forever’ with Him, I hope for His mercy towards His creatures, that they also may, somehow, some way, in whatever way He has Himself deemed appropriate, share some sort of eternal relationship as well with Him.

Humanity is ‘first’ of creation, but it is not ‘all’ of creation. While certainly I will hold my first duty is to my fellow men, I do not thereby believe that I hold no duty whatsoever to other creatures than simply to use–even to use properly and mindfully–them without any sort of hope that they may also have some small share in the eternal plan of God.
 
An excellent post t.e.

I’m thinking now about the traditional image of Christ holding a lamb. Yes, it’s a metaphor - but it would be an awfully cruel and bizarre metaphor if the lamb had no value beyond its use by humans.
 
How about black widow spiders? Will heaven be infested with them, and the billions and billions of locust that plagued Egypt, and the frogs, and the billions and billions of flies? How about all those maggots that I saw many years ago eating up a dead dog. If my parakeet is in heaven will I be given enough paper for the rest of eternity to put at the bottom of his cage?
Seriously though, remember, even with our beloved spouse, we will not be married to them in heaven. This from Radio Replies:
Are the souls of animals also immortal?
They are not immortal. Animals are not capable of any operations which transcend the conditions of matter, and do not rise above the sensitive to the intelligible order. Also they are devoid of the moral intuition. Animal souls are therefore dependent upon matter both for their being and their operations, and cease to exist with death.
Excerpted from Radio Replies Volume II. Copyright © 1940 by Fathers Rumble and Carty
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Besides, we will not miss our pets because we will be seeing God face to face and there will be enough joy for all eternity to be with him. We cannot even explain eternity because nobody on earth has ever experienced it. We cannot even begin to imagine what wonders God has in store for us. So why worry about our pets. We should worry about ourselves and our loved ones. Besides, remember what Jesus said. Look at the birds in the air. Our Father feeds them, but WE are more important to Him than the birds.
 
TobyLue said:
Besides, remember what Jesus said. Look at the birds in the air. Our Father feeds them, but WE are more important to Him than the birds.
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And here I’ve been hoping to go birdwatching in Heaven … Since Jesus will be providing those who go to Heaven with resurrected physical material bodies, maybe He will create new birds for the new heaven and new Earth? :o

~~ the phoenix
 
the_phoenix said:
And here I’ve been hoping to go birdwatching in Heaven … Since Jesus will be providing those who go to Heaven with resurrected physical material bodies, maybe He will create new birds for the new heaven and new Earth? :o

~~ the phoenix
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I cannot imagine that the new Earth would be void of animal life. I mean, it’s supposed to be better and more magnificent than the old earth. Animals are one of the main aspects that make our world awesome.
 
Could the proponents of eternal animal life provide one saint, Church Father or Church document to back up their view. The other side of the argument has most of the Church Fathers, if not all, (I can recall explicitly recall St. Augustine, St. Basil) and St. Thomas Aquinas as well as the other scholastics.

In regards to animals using language, art, or politicizing, in my human nature class we had read a “dialogue” between a gorilla and her trainer. The whole thing was a joke which usually ended up in the gorilla receiving food for absurd answers. Example, what is your name, and the gorilla would sign “nipple”. How are you feeling, “nipple” and the trainer would say “oh that means she is feeling well”. Further there is no advancement in these animal cultures in language, art, and other uniquely human traits. The animal might use a stick to chase out ants and some will say “ah ha the animal is using a tool”, but the animal is running purely on instincts because there is no advancement, progress or change in these areas of behavior. Also, animals are unable to deduct valid syllagisms. No animal is able to comprehend this, “All mammals nurse their young, all whales are mammals, therefore all whales nurse their young”. They are unable, at least according to Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas because their soul is irrational. It is based on this reason that Thomas Aquinas concluded animals have no after life because all parts of their soul have a corresponding physical reality as opposed to a human who has a mind. When the animal dies it cannot live past its physical death because the body who was empowered or was given its capacities by the soul has no purpose.
 
We can Deduce some things–that is what theology is all about.

We know that God is perfectly Just!

We know that death came into creation Only because man sinned!

The real question is this: Would it be just for the animals or indeed anything that God created to cease to exist or die because of man’s action of sinning?

Now if God had always intended that animals or plants or any living thing that He created to only live a Finite life then of course it would be Just of God to do so!

We do know that it was God’s will for Adam and Eve Not to sin.

In fact if they hadn’t eaten of the fruit of knowledge and had one day eaten of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden then they never would have died.

If that had happened would the animals in the Garden of Eden lived forever, too–or would they have lived finite lives?

This we do not know!

We do know though that if it Had been God’s will for them to live Infinite lives and that they died Only because of Adam and Eve’s sin when death was brought into creation then it wouldn’t be Just for the animals to die!

If it wouldn’t be Just then we can deduce that probably since it wasn’t Just–that God being a God of perfect justice that one day He would Rectify the Injustice that Adam and Eve brought to the animals and would resurrect them.

And yes that could be done by God as an act of perfect justice wirthout the need for any of the animals to ever have a soul!

If on the other hand–if God never had the intention for animals in the Garden of Eden to live forever–then even though Adam and Eve brought death into creation then God would not be bound to resurrect animals because He never would have intended them to live forever anyway!

In a situation like that God could Justly choose to either resurrect animals or not resurrect animals!

We Do Kow that when God created everything H said that it was Good! That includes the animals!

Now God is infinite and perfectly capable of creating Good Things such as the animals and then never having any need for them ever again.

But if the scriptures say that the Lion will lie down with the Lamb–then the scriptures do not lie!

There really will be at least one living Lion that will lie down with one living Lamb!

So we at least know that at least in that instance that there will be at least thart case of animals being in heaven!

We also know that there will be mansions in heaven!

Now if a lesser thing such as a mansion will be in heaven–is it safe to assume that a greater thing such as animals which God has alreay said are good will be in Heaven?

We do not know but it seems to be a safe assumption!

And when the woman responded to Jesus and said “Even the dogs eat the scraps under their master’s table”–the Lord did not rebuke that woman!

If earthly dogs get to eat scraps from Earthly masters and we as sinners ask the Lord to eat scraps from Him like that woman did and aren’t rebuked–could it be possible that in Heaven that dogs which the Lord created and said were “Good” that they get to eat scaps from the Lord, too?

What about the birds that the Lord said neither “toil nor spin not for their Father in Heaven is looking after them”–if God looks after the birds and cares for them here would it make since that he might care for them in Heaven, too?

He of course wouldn’t have to care for a bird in Heaven–but He didn’t have to care for the birds here on Earth either but did!

If God’s love is that Infinite could it be possible that He would again choose to love such a finite creature in Heaven for the simple reason that He wanted to?

Seems to make a lot of sense to me.

There is a verse in Ezekiel that says “Who knows that the spirit of man goes up into the air but the spirit of the beast goes into the ground”?

If the scriptures don’t have the answer–then we don’t have the answer either but we can count on one thing–God will be just in deciding whether any animals or any particular animals should be in Heaven!

I really do believe that one day if I am fortuanate to persevere and make it to Heaven that the Lord might give me the opportunity to hug the Lion’s neck! And I’m also sure that if I’m not able to do that that the Lord will make me so perfectly happy that anything He decides to do about the animals will be just fine with me!

Lord thanks for the animals! May all creatures above the Earth, on the Earth, and underneath the Earth praise Your Holy Name!
 
Animals do not have souls. Therefore, they do not go to heaven. Once they are die, they cease to exist. God for his part created man to seek him, love him, know him, serve him, and be with him for all eternity.

Animals on their part can’t do all of those to God. There is one thing clear though, animals by itself have always been obedient to God. They have cannot decide right and wrong, good and evil.

I will like to note that in the end, God will make all things new. So in the days of the resurrection, even animals and those extinct may be created again. God after all is the creator of all things, he is the only uncreated being. He has neither no beginning or no end, he is God.
 
Jerry-Jet said:
We can Deduce some things–that is what theology is all about.

We know that God is perfectly Just!

We know that death came into creation Only because man sinned!

The real question is this: Would it be just for the animals or indeed anything that God created to cease to exist or die because of man’s action of sinning?

Now if God had always intended that animals or plants or any living thing that He created to only live a Finite life then of course it would be Just of God to do so!

We do know that it was God’s will for Adam and Eve Not to sin.

In fact if they hadn’t eaten of the fruit of knowledge and had one day eaten of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden then they never would have died.

If that had happened would the animals in the Garden of Eden lived forever, too–or would they have lived finite lives?

This we do not know!

We do know though that if it Had been God’s will for them to live Infinite lives and that they died Only because of Adam and Eve’s sin when death was brought into creation then it wouldn’t be Just for the animals to die!

If it wouldn’t be Just then we can deduce that probably since it wasn’t Just–that God being a God of perfect justice that one day He would Rectify the Injustice that Adam and Eve brought to the animals and would resurrect them.

And yes that could be done by God as an act of perfect justice wirthout the need for any of the animals to ever have a soul!

If on the other hand–if God never had the intention for animals in the Garden of Eden to live forever–then even though Adam and Eve brought death into creation then God would not be bound to resurrect animals because He never would have intended them to live forever anyway!

In a situation like that God could Justly choose to either resurrect animals or not resurrect animals!

We Do Kow that when God created everything H said that it was Good! That includes the animals!

Now God is infinite and perfectly capable of creating Good Things such as the animals and then never having any need for them ever again.

But if the scriptures say that the Lion will lie down with the Lamb–then the scriptures do not lie!

There really will be at least one living Lion that will lie down with one living Lamb!

So we at least know that at least in that instance that there will be at least thart case of animals being in heaven!

We also know that there will be mansions in heaven!

Now if a lesser thing such as a mansion will be in heaven–is it safe to assume that a greater thing such as animals which God has alreay said are good will be in Heaven?

We do not know but it seems to be a safe assumption!

And when the woman responded to Jesus and said “Even the dogs eat the scraps under their master’s table”–the Lord did not rebuke that woman!

If earthly dogs get to eat scraps from Earthly masters and we as sinners ask the Lord to eat scraps from Him like that woman did and aren’t rebuked–could it be possible that in Heaven that dogs which the Lord created and said were “Good” that they get to eat scaps from the Lord, too?

What about the birds that the Lord said neither “toil nor spin not for their Father in Heaven is looking after them”–if God looks after the birds and cares for them here would it make since that he might care for them in Heaven, too?

He of course wouldn’t have to care for a bird in Heaven–but He didn’t have to care for the birds here on Earth either but did!

If God’s love is that Infinite could it be possible that He would again choose to love such a finite creature in Heaven for the simple reason that He wanted to?

Seems to make a lot of sense to me.

There is a verse in Ezekiel that says “Who knows that the spirit of man goes up into the air but the spirit of the beast goes into the ground”?

If the scriptures don’t have the answer–then we don’t have the answer either but we can count on one thing–God will be just in deciding whether any animals or any particular animals should be in Heaven!

I really do believe that one day if I am fortuanate to persevere and make it to Heaven that the Lord might give me the opportunity to hug the Lion’s neck! And I’m also sure that if I’m not able to do that that the Lord will make me so perfectly happy that anything He decides to do about the animals will be just fine with me!

Lord thanks for the animals! May all creatures above the Earth, on the Earth, and underneath the Earth praise Your Holy Name!
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That is nice and well wishing buy how many of the great doctors of the Church and Fathers disagree with this line of reasoning. Just one example, there are not actual mansions in heaven, but according to Augustine it distinguishes between the amount of blessedness people receive. Further, many Church Fathers will call the fall, “o happy sin” because it caused God out of his love to be man. And by His incarnation he carried all humanity on his divine shoulders to a blessedness that was unimaginable, but only man because he became the God-man. Now could the other side provide one Church Father, one Church doctor to support their claim?
 
MSParrott said:
Good Morning,

New poster here. I was wondering what the thoughts are about when an animal dies, to they go to Heaven? I had a 16 1/2 year old cat that passed away in March and am often finding myself wondering if she is in Heaven. I would like to think that all of God’s creatures go there, but I don’t want Him to think I am being sacreligious. Any thoughts?

:heaven:
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When animals die they cease to subsist because they don’t have an eternal soul, that’s why it is acceptable to spade or neuter your pet. If God chooses to recreate them after time is over, I suppose He can and may (personally I believe He will).
St. Thomas Aquinas said animals have sensitive souls, that they rely on their senses. Humans have eternal and rational souls as we don’t just rely on our senses alone; although some people I’ve seen seem to get awfully close.:eek:
 
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