Dear Pentecost2005,
I flatly would want nothing to do with a heaven where I would not be reunited with my pets
So you’d rather spend eternity in hell? Sounds like you’re a little too attached to creatures. I’m sure that after the Resurrection, if you want your pet back, God will be happy to provide. Why not?
**About the only joy, the only glimpse of heaven, I’ve had in this life has been courtesy of my pets. If I never see my family and friends again, I can probably handle that, but it would crush me to be parted forever from my pets. I don’t think that makes me
“too attached to creatures.” Rather, I’ve been graced to be able to see God’s face in part of his creation. I don’t think God made them just for window dressing.
I will say that while my religion has given me strength, it hasn’t given me a lot of comfort or joy. It has, however, made me feel what a rotten, wretched person I am.**
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Originally Posted by **seeker63**
*Although Aquinas was brilliant and a doctor of the Church and all, I do like to think we have made some discoveries about the world and nature since the Middle Ages.*
And how do those two things go together?
**By this I mean that some people think Aquinas is the be-all, end-all, who answered all the questions for all time, period, full stop. But while I acknowledge his brilliance, I want to suggest that Medieval people–even the educated ones-- were a superstitious lot. They believed cats were possessed by witches, the world was flat, etc., etc. I would not want to give anyone, from that period, no matter how brilliant, the final say.
I think we understand more about science, nature, consciousness, etc., than anyone did in Medieval times. I think as the decades and maybe the centuries roll by we will discover there is more to animals than we had thought previously, and we will hold them in greater esteem and worth.
Only a few centuries ago many Americans regarded black slaves as livestock, without feelings or intrinsic worth, but we know now that is wrong. I submit that one day the same understanding may be applied to animals. It might, and it might not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it did.**