Sadly, people thought I was mocking the mentally handicapped when I asked if they have souls. I was not mocking them--that would be really stupid, considering the fact that I've volunteered helping them.
What I'm wondering is, if someone who is mentally handicapped who does not know right and wrong has a soul, then why does an animal not have a soul? I've been told animals have no souls because they have no knowledge of right and wrong.
If a human can be born without the knowledge of right and wrong and still have a soul, then how can an animal not have a soul BECAUSE it does not know right from wrong?
2006-09-27 05:16:44 · 41 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
If you define "soul" as knowledge of right from wrong . . . then the obvious question is: do animals know right from wrong? If your answer is no, then your other answer to the question of whether animals have souls is obviously "no" as well.
But if you could ask your dog what their definition of the soul would be, I imagine they might answer something like "the soul is the ability to feel pain, fear, hope, anger, love, hunger, satisfaction, happiness, excitement, comfort and discomfort, friendship, play, enemies, etc" I suspect an infant or even a young child would be more inclined to agree with your dogs definition than with the more exalted one of "knowledge of right from wrong".
Knowledge of right from wrong is a more advanced form of consciousness than what dogs and cats and young children have access to. But there are also forms of consciousness that many human beings have access to that are more advanced than the relatively simple one of knowing right from wrong. Such an individual might have a very different definition of "soul". So soul is a relative term depending on an individual's level of consciousness, and there is no reason one defintion should hold a monopoly over the others, except for that those individuals "think" it ought to.
2006-09-27 05:37:29 · answer #1 · answered by Nitrin 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Of course animals have Souls, even dinosaurs had them.
The Souls, just like life on Earth, evolved from earlier forms into more complex, intelligent and advanced forms. Not all human Souls are of the same age, and needles to say, not all are equally advanced. The Soul of God is the most pure and most advanced Soul of all. Followed with the Soul of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. These three Souls were destined to lead the evolution of humanity.
But there is a very thin dividing line between the Souls of higher animals like dogs and horses and the Souls of humans. You can see that some dogs are incredibly loving and intelligent. They are likely to become human, next time round. Conversely, people who do not live their lives in a dignified manner appropriate for human beings, or perpetrate evil deeds against other people, may come back as some low form of life. The form into which a Soul is born fits its level of advancement and reflects what they earned.
By loving and teaching animals we are helping them to become more beautiful and advanced Souls. People who love their animals and spend a lot of time with them, become their spiritual parents.
If you would like to read more on this subject, you may click on "Rational Spirituality" on the Dhaxem website.
2006-09-27 06:58:22 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contradictions would imply a misapplication of logic.
Knowing right from wrong is a learned experience. There are innate intuitive interpretations of right and wrong, I'll grant you.
A son of Adam is born with an inflated soul, if you will. When (if) he is born again, his spirit becomes the ascendant influence in his life.
Animals cannot be born again even though they have a soul. (life-blood)
I believe the mentally handicapped were born with all the aspects of humanity; spirit, soul, and body; but some organically cannot even get past the physical stage of development. They are still in the image of God, and they retain all the privileges of children.
2006-09-27 05:32:20 · answer #3 · answered by Jay Z 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, of course, animals *have* a soul.
Every living being has a soul - whether it is a giant elephant, a super-duper whale, or a lowly ant that is surfing the wall before me as I write this. We human beings have a soul in each one of us, too.
When it is time for a soul to leave the gross elements, it sheds the body and moves on (meaning, it dies). After a finite period of time, it comes to acquire yet another body, and the process continues.
The ability to discriminate between "right" (who can define what is right?) and "wrong" (who can define what is wrong?) does not qualify somebody to "possess" a soul.
Actually, we do not "possess" a soul. We are the soul ourselves, and we possess a body which gives us a touchy-feely look.
Hope I have answered your question to some extent.
2006-09-27 05:51:49 · answer #4 · answered by ssjagrawal 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, animals do have souls. Forget about animals, even the tiniest microscopic micro-organisms have souls. In fact the soul of a human being is no different from the soul of an animal or a micro-organism. It is the soul that distinguishes the living from the non-living.
2006-09-27 21:02:57 · answer #5 · answered by pranesh r 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there have been comments of animal spirits. I remember one case wherein a woman's puppy horse had died. Over the months that handed, she have been given a sparkling puppy, lower back a horse. in spite of the indisputable fact that sooner or later, whilst she went to bypass feed her, she observed that the feed undesirable grow to be being wildly flung around for 5 minutes, as though an animal grow to be ingesting from it. there grow to be no breeze that day. This next one is unquestionably from own journey. as quickly as, I had a puppy dogs. I enjoyed him with all of my coronary heart. regrettably, he grow to be hit with the help of a passing automobile one night. Many months later, I heard barking from interior my dwelling house. It grow to be unusual considering i did not have a dogs on the time. I regarded around, no person there. It got here approximately some greater situations earlier scuffling with altogether. It could not have been the friends or anybody down my street. that they had English Bulldogs. I had a Chihuahua. Animal spirits exist. And anybody who tells you otherwise is the two delusional, or a heartless bastard.
2016-10-01 10:27:47 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are times in your life when you have to believe what your soul is telling you not other people. If animals have feelings like we do, and THEY DO HAVE FEELINGS, then surly they have a soul. I know my wonderful buddy Sunny had a soul! I miss him so much and know he is in heaven waiting to see me again. The people who told you only creatures who know right from wrong have souls are only repeating what someone told them. They have no proof. You were given the ability to think for yourself, now would be a good time to do that!
2006-09-27 05:24:09 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I didn't know that knowing right from wrong was a pre-requisite for having a soul...Animals can love and even have empathy and show affection....I think that would be a better gauge on what has a soul...and how could anyone make such a statement anyway? what is the evidence of that argument? funny how people think they have all the answers. I'm glad that I don't :) VERY interesting question!! Thank you for asking. I love questions that make me look at things closer.
2006-09-27 05:25:38 · answer #8 · answered by Joeygirl 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Gen.1:20, 21, 24, 25"God went on to say; 'Let the waters swarm
forth a swarm of living SOULS.....and God proceeded to create
the great sea monsters and every living SOUL that moves about,
which the waters swarmed forth according to their kinds,and
every winged creature according to their kinds......and God went
on to say:'let the earth put forth living SOULS according to their
kinds.the hebrew word "ne'phesh (soul)is applied to both mankind
and animals..Lev.24:17,18--Rev.16:3 "It became blood as of a
dead man,and every living soul died,yes,the things in the sea."
The greek word psy.khe' "SOUL" in the Christian Greek scriptures
also show animals to be SOULS....
2006-09-27 05:53:32 · answer #9 · answered by OldGeezer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've worked with disabled too. Ever seen a guy with Downs
Syndrome that could play the piano like Mozart? Ever hear
of Stephen Hawkings? Why do we think because someones
boby is gone, the spirit is gone?
As for you question, read in Job;
"Ask the Earth and it will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will teach you,
and the fishes of the sea will declare it unto you!"
2006-09-27 05:27:57 · answer #10 · answered by zenbuddhamaster 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋