Do animals have souls?

Question

I am a Christian, and at youth group, we often have the discussion about if animals have souls or not. I really want to believe that they do.

But from a religious standpoint, they didn't commit the original sin, so doesn't that mean they didn't sin and are clean, therefore, don't have to make a choice?

But then again...are animals capable of making a choice to live for God themselves? I'm not sure about that...

So I'm not sure about that. My pastor said he believes that they don't..but I don't know.

So what do you think?

Answer 1

Seest thou not that it is God Whose praises, all who are in the heavens and the earth celebrate, and so do the birds with their wings outspread? Each one knows his own mode of prayer and praise. And God knows well what they do.

And how many an animal there is that carries not its sustenance! Allah provides for it and for you. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.

There is not an animal that crawls in the earth, nor a bird that flies on its two wings, but they are communities like you. We have left out nothing in the Book. Then to their Lord shall they all be gathered together.

Holy Quran

Edit:

An animal knows the world through its external senses only. That is why, firstly, its knowledge is superficial and seeming. It does not penetrate the things and has no access to their internal relations. Secondly, it is partial and particular, and is neither universal nor general. Thirdly, it is regional, for it is confined to the living environment of the animal, and does not go beyond that. Fourthly, it is limited to the present and is unconcerned with the past and the future. As animal is not aware of its own or world's history, it neither thinks of the future nor does it plan for it.

From the viewpoint of knowledge, an animal cannot come out of the framework of the exteriors, the particularity, the living environment and the present time. It never escapes from these four prisons. If by chance it does, it does so instinctively and unconsciously, and not by its own choice and will.

Like the range of its knowledge, the level of the wants and the desires of an animal also has a limited scope. Firstly, all its desires are material and do not go beyond the limits of eating, drinking, sleeping, playing, mating and building a home or a nest. For an animal there is no question of any spiritual needs, moral values etc. Secondly, all its desires are personal and individualistic, pertaining to the animal itself or, at the most, to its mate and the young ones. Thirdly, they are regional related to its living environment only. Fourthly, they are instantaneous, pertaining to the present time.

In other words, the dimension of the desires and inclinations of an animal's existence has the same limitations as the dimension of its perceptive existence. From this point of view also, an animal has to live within specific limitations.

If an animal pursues an objective which is outside these limitations and which, for an example, pertains to its species in general and not to one individual or pertains to the future and not to the present, as is observed in the case of certain gregarious animals like bees, it does so unconsciously, instinctively and by the direct order of the power which has created it and which manages the whole world.

Answer 2

There have been reports of animal spirits. I remember one case in which a woman's pet horse had died. Over the months that passed, she got a new pet, again a horse. Though one day, when she went to go feed her, she saw that the feed bad was being wildly flung around for 5 minutes, as if an animal was eating from it. There was no breeze that day. This next one is actually from personal experience. Once, I had a pet dog. I loved him with all of my heart. Sadly, he was hit by a passing car one night. Many months later, I heard barking from inside my house. It was strange since I didn't have a dog at the time. I looked around, no one there. It happened a few more times before stopping altogether. It couldn't have been the neighbors or anyone down my street. They had English Bulldogs. I had a Chihuahua. Animal spirits exist. And anyone who tells you otherwise is either delusional, or a heartless bastard.

Answer 3

According to the Bible they do not have souls. Neither do babies or even young children.

According to most New-Age Christians the souls of little children and their dead pets "must" go to heaven because otherwise it would not be "fair".

There is nothing in the Bible about things being fair.

Personally I believe that animals DO have souls at least as they get older (especially if they are pets and have had a lot of contact with humans).

Answer 4

The Bible speaks about where people's souls go when they die. It says nothing of an animal's soul. So, no. I don't believe they have a soul. We were created in God's image, and the animals are below us. We have dominion over them. I don't think God would have had all the animal sacrifices if they had souls, either.

Answer 5

Every living creature is made of light and when we die, animals too; we return to the source of our light. Jesus said, "I am the Light of the World." I believe that animals have souls, I lost my beloved cat and her spirit hung around me for a month because I was grieving, she was still caring, we will all gather at the river. There is no death only the death of the body - the soul goes home. That is a beautiful thought, to be in God's garden amongst the plants, animals and friends.
Blessed be.

Answer 6

Yes.

Though, with these two exceptions, the English word "soul" always represents the Hebrew Nephesh, Nephesh is not always translated "soul". Nephesh is used of the lower animals only, in twenty-two passages, and is rendered in nine different ways.

For more information than you probable wish to know, visit the source below.

P.S. The Bible makes it clear that there will be animals in heaven:

Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

There will be no carnivores, tho, because all will be in spiritual bodies, just like we will.

Answer 7

I believe they have soul
I had to Putt down my Rottweiler who was 5years old because he had bitten 2 people. I knew he could never stop biting he was aggressive and his hips were bad he was unable to deal with people walking around him...I could only watch him when I was home. So one day the dog catcher came and told us if he did bite anymore people that they would take him...and that was that.
Before he could injure anyone else and before we got a BIG law suit we decided to put him down ourselves.......
That day was awful!!! He was like my child and I was so upset about doing the wrong thing.....But the vet said it was to be.
we had him muzzled till the last min because he wanted to bit anyone...as we held our Maxy down the vet did the needle we took the muzzle off and he calmly closed his beautiful eyes and was gone!
In a sec ...I felt pulling from him....yes I did! His being or soul went up I felt it as I help his dying body in my arms!
So No one can tell me they don't go to heaven and the vet felt the same thing!! I saw it in hes face!

Answer 8

I believe animals have souls just like we do. We are animals too and we evoluted from other animals. Then again I'm not Christian.
As a Christian I wouldnt see why you would think animals have souls. Maybe when God created man separately He endowed us with this special thing called a soul which makes us different from animals.

Answer 9

I believe with all my heart that animals have souls! How good could the thereafter be without God's creatures there? Babies that die didn't have choices. Severely mentally handicapped people didn't have choices. You can baptise em, but that, in my opinion, is man's "thing". Sometimes all ya need to do to find the answers to God's plan, is to search your own heart and soul......

Answer 10

1thes 5:23 says that man has a body soul and spirit. an anamal does not have a spirit, but it does have a soul.

i dont know the verses off the top of my head but the bible says that the soul considers, the soul loves, the soul wills. anamals can do all these things. but the spirit of man is the unique container for the Spirit of God, which poor sparky doesnt have.