Do animals go to heaven?

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

I don't know if there is a Heaven or not. I do believe in some sort of afterlife, or reincarnation though, and in that I do believe animals live on after death in some way. 

 

I'd hope that animals go to heaven. Wouldn't it be nice to see all of your pets again? 

Edited May 27, 2014 by Mikami

[Thunderchild 875]

I have studied the Bible with varying degrees of intensity for the last 20 years. In that time, I haven't found anything conclusive regarding the eternal resting place of animals. However, if you are a creationist you believe everything was created by God-and the same life flows through us all. Why would God give animals the ability to give and receive love-the very essence of God's character, without also taking care of their eternal souls?

 

I personally believe that the animals' inability to discern right from wrong-or our definition of it-categorizes them as true innocents. If we trust in Christ to wash us from our sins-effectively restoring our first innocent state to us, then we have to also recognize the innocence of the animals that surround us. With innocence being the established parameter necessary for entrance to 'heaven', we must therefore conclude that the animals will be joining us there.

[XxConfusedUnicornxX 834]

No. They go to Equestria where Fluttershy takes care of them. ^^

[PE Brony 1,712]

Anybody want the mormon perspective?

 

We believe that God created everything spiritually before it was created physically and that all of God's creations are precious to him and bring him glory. He is glorified when his creations are saved and because animals are his creations it would detract from his glory if they were not saved. Therefore, animals going to heaven = yes

I've got a reference for one instance that supports this. The LDS version of the KJV has a reference section called the "Bible Dictionary" that helps explain ancient cultures, rituals yada yada yada. In the section about the Revelation of John, it points to Revelation 5:11-13, [KJV] as giving reference to animals being present near the throne in heaven.

 

 

"11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was then thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands;

12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour , and glory, and blessing.

13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." (Italics and color added, of course).

 

 

 

We believe that animals are innocent and free from sin/transgression. As such, we believe they will be redeemed and resurrected by the blood of the Lamb (Christ) when the Earth itself is also cleansed from its current mortal state.

[Frosty Nerd 833]

This is my belief:

 

All living things have a spirit, even plants. God created all things spiritually before they were created physically. The difference between us and other living things is that we are the literal children of God, and we were created in His image. We came to Earth to eventually become gods and goddesses like Him.

 

God loves and cares for the happiness of all life, even an ant. So, yes. All dogs and other animals go to heaven.

Anybody want the mormon perspective?

 

We believe that God created everything spiritually before it was created physically and that all of God's creations are precious to him and bring him glory. He is glorified when his creations are saved and because animals are his creations it would detract from his glory if they were not saved. Therefore, animals going to heaven = yes

I'm mormon, too, so I said basically the same thing

[Freeze-Frame 100]

Well, God did create every animal on Earth, so I don't see why they can't go to heaven.

My philosophy is that no matter who you are and what you do, God will still forgive you if you realize that you've done wrong. Above all, we are all still a part of God and have a place in heaven.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Freeze-Frame

[Nulln 755]

The church that I work at says no.  If cats don't get to go to heaven, then I'm not going either.   :okiedokielokie:

[silvadel 1,393]

My cat definitely knew when it was doing wrong. 

 

What would heaven be without your favorite pet?

 

The problem comes down to if you find all the pets you had in life want to come along...  One cat is fine...  Six is a few steps towards the crazy cat pony.

[Hamp 10]

 The fact that we humans always put animals aside like non-conscious and without morals has always intrigued me. The basic structure of our brains is all pretty much the same (ignoring the prefrontal cortex). Dophins (and a handful of other animals) can recognize themselves in front of a mirror. That is, for me, some form of at least primitive conciousness.

 

 Anyway, I think it's to cover the sad nature that we have to put ourselves over the animals to survive. I don't wanna live in a world where eating a steak will send me to the jail.

[Nulln 755]

My cat definitely knew when it was doing wrong. 

 

What would heaven be without your favorite pet?

 

The problem comes down to if you find all the pets you had in life want to come along...  One cat is fine...  Six is a few steps towards the crazy cat pony.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but i'm not really understanding what you mean.

 

Only one pet is allowed to go to heaven and the rest just disappear into oblivion?  why?

[silvadel 1,393]

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but i'm not really understanding what you mean.

 

Only one pet is allowed to go to heaven and the rest just disappear into oblivion?  why?

 

I am saying that having your favored pet to take care of and play with for eternity is one thing.  Having all of the pets you ever owned all at once is quite another.  Too much of a good thing.

[Raiko 43]

No. There is no spiritual essence that an animal possesses in any regard so sorry but you won't be seeing your pets in heaven. My only advice? Learn to live with it.

 

Also not sure why you guys think that Heaven's gonna be a place where whatever you want/think of comes to life and you get anything you like (such as your pet). Come on guys, time to grow up. Hell being on fire and full of torture, and Heaven being a fluffy place were you get anything you want to make you happy were artistic and metaphorical representations to give context to the human mind of what those places would be like. So no, just because you go to Heaven and your dog or whatever isn't there doesn't mean you can't call it Heaven.

 

I don't know about you people but it makes a lot more sense that the 'Afterlife' would be just as brutal and harsh and the current one.

[Forlong 1,726]

Don't know, because I don't have to know.

 

I should probably explain myself.  Christianity doesn't have any canon on what happens to anything but humans after they die.  There is speculation, but no clear rules.  This is because it's more important for humans to know how to save their own souls from the fires of Hell.

 

Since Heaven is supposed to be paradise, that supports the idea that pets and such will be there.  However, it is also said that God will wipe away all tears, meaning that some people will still be sad at least for a time.

[Nulln 755]

I am saying that having your favored pet to take care of and play with for eternity is one thing.  Having all of the pets you ever owned all at once is quite another.  Too much of a good thing.

But do you have to actually feed and walk and change poop in heaven?  Don't you just live happily and no longer need physical necessities? 

 

And the animals have feelings too, it's not about the person.  Animals are living beings that all deserve the best.  It's not just if a human decides that they feel like having them around do they get to have eternal happiness.

[silvadel 1,393]

But do you have to actually feed and walk and change poop in heaven?  Don't you just live happily and no longer need physical necessities? 

 

And the animals have feelings too, it's not about the person.  Animals are living beings that all deserve the best.  It's not just if a human decides that they feel like having them around do they get to have eternal happiness.

It certainly makes you think though about how many pets you have over your lifetime as opposed to how many at one time.  Someone could have 7 sets of two cats over their lifetime and then have 14 of them all at once if pets follow you.

[TornadoBlitz 2]

Theres no answer its about what you believe I believe in reincarnation.

[Nulln 755]

It certainly makes you think though about how many pets you have over your lifetime as opposed to how many at one time.  Someone could have 7 sets of two cats over their lifetime and then have 14 of them all at once if pets follow you.

That would be my own special heaven.  :3  haha

[deadprofile 1,122]

The Bible's definition of a soul doesn't have anything to do with immortality as far as the Old Testament Hebrew and Aramaic goes. It just means to have life, to be alive. However, there is nothing said for the animals as to what happens to them. we were simply tasked with caring for and protecting them. That task did not change with the Fall.

The Bible says nothing about the afterlife of animals, and it is also never stated that humans are superior to animals either. That is an assumption we come to because we are tasked with caring for them. And even if we were/are superior, that still is not a valid argument to say whether or not animals go to heaven. Superiority does not equal heaven or hell as far as our afterlives go due to the simple fact that as the result of the Fall, death was introduced not only to humans, but also to animals. Animals suffer due to humanities sin, and that's a simple fact. As far as the Bible is concerned, it was written for humans to be a catalyst to SAVE humans. With our saving grace, will animals be saved as well? Well, when Jesus returns again, we will return to the perfection of the time before the Fall, so we can assume that animals will be saved with us when that time comes. But again, that is an assumption, with not factual, hermeneutical basis. As far as here and now, there is no knowing as far as exegesis goes. But for me personally, who loves animals, all I can do is believe there is a heaven for them because my pets are my friends as well as companions and I cannot imagine them just "disappearing".....

Edited May 28, 2014 by Treble Bolt

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,627]

If god and heaven were actually real (I don't believe in this...'stuff') then I would say no. Think about it, god apparently created all of mankind yet gets very finicky if that same creation does anything that it was designed to do in the first place. Humans are animals as well, and many other animals do what comes naturally. God doesn't like that see? Remember, he slaughtered the entire planet because of what humans were doing apparently.

 

So probably not. Luckily this isn't something that needs to be worried about.

[Adorkable 2,737]

She told me that according to the Bible, it said animals didn't go to heaven because humans are superior to them and they don't have a soul.

 

'Tis a fact, I'm afraid. Animals do not have souls. 

[SasQ 1,379]

PegaMister, on 27 May 2014 - 9:11 PM, said:

I think it's just as likely that animals go to heaven as it is that humans go to heaven. Because I don't believe in the existence of heaven lol.

But heaven exists!

Airplanes must fly somewhere, right?

Animals, as well as people, can go to heaven, when flying an airplane or a balloon

 

As to the religious beliefs: Ever wondered why all gods come from heaven? That is, from up above? They don't come from the sky/clouds, because we already know that there's nothing there since we build flying machines to go there and check. So they must have come from somewhere beneath the sky. It cannot be just the sky, because in ancient scriptures there are separate names for the sky with clouds, and the heavens. So there could be only one answer: the cosmic space. Gods are ancient extraterrestrials, in all ancient religions I heard of. And there were more of them than one, even in the Bible, if you dig deeper than the poor English translations which contain so many errors.

 

If you take a look at the very first book, the Genesis, in its original language (Hebrew), then you will see something strange: The first sentence goes "Bereshit bara elohim AT ha-shamayim we'et ha-aretz." It is habitually translated as "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." But let's analyze it more thoroughly:

In "be-reshit", the "Be-" prefix means literally "home", "dwelling place" (bet), and this prefix when used in front of some other word, means "in", "inside", "at", "while", "during" etc. The word after it, "reshit", means "creation". So this whole part means something like "During the creation", or "At the creating process". Next we have a word stemming from the same root (B-R): "bara", which means "created" (or "has been created"). So up to this point we have "At (the process of) creation, (has been) created". And now comes the interesting part: "elohim", which is constantly translated as "God". But in Hebrew, the suffix "-im" is a PLURAL FORM! So if anything, this should be rather translated as Gods! Yes, you see it right: this place, as well as many others, is a perfect proof that there were more than one God in the Bible! Some "experts" object that this is not the case, because plural form can be used here as a polite form. Sure, it is used in this fashion in modern languages, perhaps in modern Hebrew too, but this doesn't mean yet that it was used that way in ancient Hebrew. What's more, there are other proofs to confirm that: There are places in the Bible where both forms (singular and plural) are used right beside. If the plural form was used as polite form, to honor God, then why would they honor Him in one place, and dishonor in other, very next to the former one? There's only one way out of this paradox: this is not a polite form, just plain old plural. And this implies that there were more gods in the Bible.

 

But what exactly does "elohim" mean? The "el-" part (alef+lamed), in Paleohebrew, has been symbolized by a head of an ox, and a pastoral staff. The first letter means "strength", "power", and is used to strengthen the meaning of something, and the staff means "power", "control", "authority". "El" together means "master", "superior", so it is often translated as "Lord" when just these two letters appear. Also often translated as "God". But what if we see "el elohim"? Should we translate it as "god of gods"? But this again would imply that there were more gods! Seems that we cannot escape this notion no matter how much we try, unless this translation is wrong altogether. The mystery begins to solve if we compare it with Arabic word "allahy", also translated as God these days. But it is an elision of two words: "al-elohy". The "al-" or "el-" prefix works there as English "the": it is a definite article. So "al-elohy" means "The-God". But this again is a sign that one needed a distinction between "the God" (one and only), and some other Gods which were there. Another indication that Islam, as well as Christianity, were once polytheistic (that is, they proclaimed the existence of more than one godlike entity). Otherwise, why should they need to distinguish at all? And we also see the "elohy" part here, because Hebrew and Arabic have common roots. In both languages, the root "A-L-H-Y" means something "high", "elevate", "raised", "superior", and it can be used in literal meaning of "something high/tall". Ever seen the word "Giants" in Bible? That's another possible mis-translation of this word, but at least more accurate than "God" :-P because it retains the meaning about its relation to height. So if I were to translate "elohim" the most literally I can, I'd go with "the ones from heights" or "from above".

Can you see the pattern emerging already?

So the closer-to-truth translation of this very first verse of Genesis would be in my opinion:

"At (the time of) creation, The Ones From Above created ..."

Here comes the word "AT" (alef+tav) which is always omitted, because no one knows how to translate it! It doesn't make any word in Hebrew. But these are the very first and very last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. And if one confronts it with what's written in "Sefer Yetzirah" ("Book of Forming") from Kabbalah, one would see that this is the Hebrew alphabet itself: its first and last letter, the whole alphabet, "from A to Z" as one could say about Latin alphabet. It could mean "everything" (from the beginning to the end), or maybe "the Universe". Confront it also with Jesus's words in the New Testament: "I am the alpha and the omega". Alpha and omega are, again, first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It could be a Greek translation of Hebrew aleph and tav, meaning "I'm everything, from start to end." In "Sefer Yetzirah" there's a description that Gods first created the Hebrew alphabet, and then used it to create everything else. Of course it doesn't mean the written form of the alphabet (the glyphs), but the archetypal meanings of its letters, the "atoms of creation", or principal rules/laws of the Universe, which are later represented by those letters. (Also note that the "modern" form of Hebrew alphabet is not the real Ancient Hebrew, but it's actually Aramaic square script which was forced upon Hebrew people during Babylonian slavery. Original Ancient Hebrew was more like Egyptian hieroglyphs, a pictographic form of writing. It was also very similar to Phoenician alphabet, on which Greek and Latin were based.)

 

Next we have "ha-shamayim", translated as "Heavens". So let's decipher its meaning from the meanings of its constituent parts.

"Ha-" is a prefix which is Hebrew version of English "the": the definite article. So what about "shamayim"? This word is very interesting, because it consists mostly of the "mother letters" as described in "Sefer Yetzirah": the letter "mem" symbolizes "water", and the letter "shin" symbolizes "fire" -- the archetypal opposite forces of Nature (confront with Sun and Moon symbolism and the Yin/Yang in Eastern traditions). Soooo... "mim" alone is "water". When suffixed with "-IM" to make it plural, "mayim", it means "waters" (e.g. a lake, or some other basin with water, or even a sea, i.e. "lots of water"). But there were one special "Waters" in ancient mythology: the Waters where all celestial bodies "float", and where the Gods could sail by their "celestial barges". I speak of the Cosmic Ocean Apsu from Babylonian mythology. Look what comes out when you stick some "fire" balls (the stars) into the "waters" above (the cosmic space): you get "shamayim" = shin+mim+yod+mim = fire+water+s, or "waters with fire spots" -- the Heavens. And that's correct translation of this word, but one needs also to understand correctly what Heavens were for the Ancients. They had a special name for it, as you can see, to distinguish them from "the sky" (with clouds). Also note the definite article "ha-" before it. So we have "The Heavens", or "The Waters Above with fire points (stars)" if we take it literally. (Side note: They also had a word to mean the "firmament", which was neither the solid ground, nor the sky, nor heavens, but it was something in the Heavens: the Zodiac, a firm rim of the Heavens. But this is a whole another story...)

 

So the first sentence from Genesis so far could be translated as:

"At (the time of) creation, The Ones From Above created {the whole (alphabet) / evetything / the Universe and its laws"}, then the Heavens (the cosmic space in it, literally the Waters with fire spots = stars), and the Earth."

 

But there's one more interesting catch: As you know, in English the same word can be used as a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb, depending on where it is placed in the sentence. So what if the "elohim" doesn't mean "those from above / high places" (a noun in plural), but just "high places" in itself? Then we have:

"At (the time of) creation, (it has been) created on high {the whole (alphabet) / evetything / the Universe and its laws"}, then the Heavens (the cosmic space in it, literally the Waters with fire spots = stars), and the Earth."

And when you confront it with the Babylonian myth of creation, "Enuma Elish", another pattern emerges Because this is exactly how the "Enuma Elish" starts: "Enuma Elish" means "When on High" (don't confuse with getting high it was supposed to mean the High Places, the one above our heads when we look from the Earth's perspective, or The Heavens again, something as high as it can possibly be). So now we're getting somewhere, because we have a correlation with older Babylonian sources, on which Hebrew Genesis book could be based. And now the process of forming of the Universe, Heavens and Earth, is not done by any personified entity -- it just happens itself, in a natural way, following the rules of forming ("Sefer Yetzirah" again).

 

So, as you can see, there's a lot of space left for interpretation in the original text, not to mention the official translations, which can contain and do contain lots of errors and misconceptions. To understand it correctly, one cannot just read these translations; one should rather study the original sources, written in original ancient languages. And when studying these, one cannot just base on modern meanings of the words used. Ancient languages were constructed in a way that the meaning of the whole word has been produced from the joint meanings of its particular letters, and every letter had its own archetypal meaning, a distinct principle of the Universe. It is better to confront the sources with other ancient sources, such as Babylonian tablets, or scriptures which didn't make it into the Bible canon when the Roman emperor Constantin the 1^st has been selecting which should be a part of the Bible and which shouldn't during the first Council of Nicaea. There are scriptures which aren't a part of the Bible, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are also other ancient books in different civilizations, such as Hindu, Aztec etc. They have some elements in common and they often describe the same events, or borrow from the same, even more ancient source from Babylonia or Sumeria.

 

Back to the original question about "going to Heaven":

There are some rare cases described in the Bible of people (usually some prophets or people chosen by Gods) going into Heavens, alive! They've been taken into Heavens in "fiery chariots of gods" or other "celestial barges". Some examples of biblical prophets visiting the Heavens are: Isaiah, Elijah, Enoch. They often described their trip in detail, with astronomical precision. They've seen the Earth becoming smaller and smaller, or the stars above their heads and under their feet, or visiting some places in the Heavens (orbital stations perhaps?). Enoch, for example, described the mechanics of the Solar System (as told to him by gods) as early as 5000 years ago! He was allowed to come back to Earth and share his knowledge with his people, to be stored in chronicles for future generations, who will be smart enough to understand them correctly. Ever heard of someone who went to Heaven and came back? With astronomical knowledge outpacing his epoch by 5000 years?

 

In conclusion: If you want to go to Heaven, you need to know some gods who will take you there alive. You don't go there when dying, because the Heaven is not afterlife! If they allow you, you can take your dog with you. But if you die before, you're screwed, because then your body goes underground, not into the Heavens (same as your dog).

Edited May 28, 2014 by SasQ

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,302]

'Tis a fact, I'm afraid. Animals do not have souls. 

Methinks "fact" is the wrong word to use within this context lol.  Prove that a soul genuinely, irrefutably exists, and then prove that humans have them.  I'll wait...

But heaven exists!

Not to be dismissive of the rest of your post, which struck me as both well-informed and quite interesting, but: you're right!  Heaven DOES exist, and I think I see an angel right here:

 

Also, what you said about "ancient extraterrestrials" immediately made me think of my lord and savior Great Cthulhu lol.  The unfathomably ancient being from the stars that was mistakenly worshipped as a god down here on Earth.  By smart people.  That totally dig the tentacles.

Edited May 28, 2014 by PegaMister

[Sugar Pea 2,682]

No. There is no spiritual essence that an animal possesses in any regard so sorry but you won't be seeing your pets in heaven. My only advice? Learn to live with it.

 

Also not sure why you guys think that Heaven's gonna be a place where whatever you want/think of comes to life and you get anything you like (such as your pet). Come on guys, time to grow up. Hell being on fire and full of torture, and Heaven being a fluffy place were you get anything you want to make you happy were artistic and metaphorical representations to give context to the human mind of what those places would be like. So no, just because you go to Heaven and your dog or whatever isn't there doesn't mean you can't call it Heaven.

 

I don't know about you people but it makes a lot more sense that the 'Afterlife' would be just as brutal and harsh and the current one.

People can believe the way they want to believe. Telling them to "grow up" is just plain freaking harsh, and I mean it. 

[Jeric 46,852]

But do you have to actually feed and walk and change poop in heaven? Don't you just live happily and no longer need physical necessities?

 

And the animals have feelings too, it's not about the person. Animals are living beings that all deserve the best. It's not just if a human decides that they feel like having them around do they get to have eternal happiness.

There were some quotable comments in this topic I loved, but this was the first one to make me stop dead in my tracks. Continuing that thought, would the desire to want you pet be by you side in Heaven be a selfish desire? Could this also apply to loved ones (humans) that passed years before you do?

[Discordian 6,015]

Anybody want the mormon perspective?

 

We believe that God created everything spiritually before it was created physically and that all of God's creations are precious to him and bring him glory. He is glorified when his creations are saved and because animals are his creations it would detract from his glory if they were not saved. Therefore, animals going to heaven = yes

Sounds very similar to some of Plato's ideas of the world. That everything in the world had a distinct and heavenly definition and then a worldly definition that does not accurately represent the true spirit of that thing. For example a horse would have a certain "horseness" about it and no matter how you look at it the horse can always be identified as a horse.