The answer is a definite YES. John in Revelation 21:5 tells
us, "Then the one who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all
things new.' He also said to me, 'Write this because these words are
true.' "
All things must include animals, so it is certain they will be in
the eternal now, which will contain the past.
Mrs J Scowcroft (1/5/94)
Ecclesiastes 3: 19-20 says, "For that which befalleth sons of men
befalleth beast as the one dieth, so dieth the other. They have all
one breath and man hath no pre-eminence above the beasts, for all is
vanity.
All go to one place..."
Mary Ragge (1/5/94)
The Catholic Study Circle for Animal Welfare has produced
literature on this subject, part of which I quote here: "Animals
possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our
smaller brethren . . . animals are as near to God as men are."
Mrs Minton (8/5/94)
I think that anything created by God is "potentially eternal".
Sin is a barrier to eternity for man and Christ is the only way to
surmount that barrier.
Man offended against God but the rest of creation never has. The
animal kingdom has no knowledge of sin. Jesus referred to animals
and birds so often in his preaching; a dove descended at his
baptism, he rode a donkey in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
I don't know if animals have souls. All I can say is that I
cannot imagine a heaven without them.
Miss Vera Howell (8/5/94)
Two wrong answers were supplied last week. Animals do not go to
heaven as they are not humans and have not got a soul.
Kathleen Livesey (15/5/94)
When Mary Ragge quoted from Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 to support her
belief that animals go to heaven, she omitted the vital end of the
verse, thus changing its meaning.
The full passage is: "For the fate of the sons of men and the
fate of the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other.
"They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the
beasts; for all is vanity.
"All go to the same place; all are from dust, and all turn to
dust again." (RSV)
The preceding verse says: "I said in my heart with regard to the
sons of men that God is testing them to show them that they are but
beasts."
In these verses the author of this book seems to question whether
even humans go to heaven.
It is dangerous to read and interpret isolated parts of the
Bible.
P Whitney 15/5/94)
The answer is no. All living things have souls - the soul being
the animating and vital principle of life. In earth we have three
degrees of life: plant life, animal life and human life. An animal
has a soul but that soul is mortal, finite; it dies with the death
of the animal. An animal, therefore, has no potential whatsoever for
life after death. Only humans possess an immortal soul, made in the
image of God. Only we have the potential or possibility, by God's
grace, of entering into the everlasting happiness of heaven.
Rev A Winn (22/5/94)
Has the Rev Winn been to heaven? Does he know the mind of the
Lord? All animals, surely, return to the love of God from whence
they came. If you want to see your favourite cat, dog, horse or
whatever, you will. Jesus Christ dwelt on this earth of ours, He was
human like us, and God, the Father of Him and us, created the
animals for all mankind. They committed no original sin - why would
they not be in heaven?
P Ash (19/6/94)
Two extreme doctrines were presented in respect of this question.
First, and one that has been revived in modern times is that
animals have rational souls. Secondly, that of the philosopher
Descartes which states that animals are mere machines. St Thomas
Aquinas addressed the same question and presents us with a teaching
that stands midway between these two extremes. St Thomas admits that
the animals have souls, by which they live and feel, know and desire
the particular objects that are presented to them.
They possess memory and imagination but further than that they
cannot go. They are not capable of forming abstract ideas and they
have no free will. In the behaviour of animals, St Thomas states:
"We see certain instances of sagacity, inasmuch as the animals have
a natural inclination to proceed with the most perfect order, and,
indeed, their actions are ordered with supreme skill". (1a,
2ae,q.13,a.2) He explains that this skill comes from God, the
supreme creator.
For St Thomas, all operations of the animal soul are performed
through bodily organs. The imagination and the memory, sight and
hearing are sensitive powers but it is only the intellect and will
which deal with immaterial ideas and act without material organs;
intellect and will are lacking in animals.
Without matter they are incapable of operation and so of
existence. So their soul is extinguished with the dissolution of the
body.
Anon (17/7/94)
St Thomas Aquinas believed animals have a soul of a kind, but
only for this world. We do not know the answer as it has not been
revealed to us. However, Our Lord said the Father knows when one
sparrow falls to the ground, which shows his great love for the
whole of creation. He also said we are worth hundreds of sparrows,
showing that we are different from them. I find it difficult to
believe the wonderful relationship which so often exists between
human beings and animals has no lasting value.
H. Paine (31/7/94)
See:
'Will there be animals in heaven?' .
