Do Dogs Go To Heaven? What Does The Bible Say About This?
Posted: Friday, January 20, 2012
by Fran Larson
http://www.franniesquotes.com/
Some of you may be smiling because of my title, “Do Dogs Go To Heaven?” Maybe you don’t even believe humans will go to heaven or that there is an afterlife. For others who have faithful friends who just happen to be canines, it would be a wonderful comfort if you just knew you would be with them eternally.
I grew up believing that dogs do not have a soul, so therefore they do not go to heaven. I ask myself how that could be true, for their love is so pure and unconditional. They don’t care how you look, how much you weigh or even if you have money or social status. Once they love you, they always will (unless of course you abuse them and maybe they still love you if that happened, but are afraid).
A few years ago, I lived in a two-story home. It was beautiful. Among my favorite things was a staircase that had approximately 8 inches between each stair. Sammy, our little brown and white Shih Tzu had never ventured up those stairs. I guess he knew his short 4-inch legs would not make it. However, one day Jim and I went out and must have been out longer than Sammy thought we should have been.
“In his worry and fear that something happened to us and also his complete
love for us, Sammy embarked upon an adventure that could have been
fatal. In spite of the impending danger, he somehow climbed up those
stairs and when we got home he was still there.”
Voltaire, who knew about the emotions of dogs, used the example of a lost dog to refute the thesis of Descartes that dogs are merely machines, incapable of any kind of suffering. He responded to Descartes in his Dictionnaire philosophique with:
Judge this dog who has lost his master, who has searched for him with mournful cries in every path, who comes home agitated, restless, who runs up and down the stairs, who goes from room to room, who at last finds his beloved master in his study, and shows him his joy by the tenderness of cries, by his leaps, by his caresses. Barbarians seize this dog that so prodigiously surpasses man in friendship.
Are Dogs Really Capable Of Love?
Recent research has even identified some of the chemicals associated with feelings of love in humans. These include hormones such as oxytocin, which seems to help people form emotional bonds with each other. One of the triggers that cause oxytocin to be released is gentle physical touching, such as stroking. Dogs also produce oxytocin, and one of our common ways of interacting with dogs is to gently pet them, an action that probably releases this hormone associated with bonding. If dogs as social animals have an evolutionary need for close emotional ties, and they have the chemical mechanisms associated with loving, it makes sense to assume that they are capable of love, as we are.
I’m not a scientist, nor a Bible Scholar. All I know is on my worst days, my two furry friends give me unconditional love and loyalty. They want to be close to me at all times and are either sitting by me or on my lap. When I rise to do a chore, they come with me – guarding me, loving me. Surely, they must have a soul.
"When asked if animals go to heaven, Evangilist, Billy Graham replied, `I think God will have prepared everything for our perfect happiness' in heaven. If it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.' If Billy Graham believes our pets go to heaven, that's good enough for me."
What do you think?
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/masson-dogs.html?_r=2
http://www.moderndogmagazine.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Fran, This is a question that many people wonder about but few talk about. There is at least one book out on the subject. One of our own writers here on Wryte Stuff wrote an article that had a sentence in it that explains this better than anything I have ever heard. It is from Jack Schick: He wrote, "I firmly believe that love is of the Spirit and is immortal. So when I shed this shell and join that Spirit, everything I’ve loved will be there too."I like Jack's explanation. Their covering of the spirit looks different than ours, but it is only a covering. My, I have come a long way since childhood sermons of what is and what is not have changed and merged to my own truth.
Thanks, Steve. I always like to hear what you think!
I too have come a long way from days in catholic school and years of thinking as I was told it is.....we all can grow with the right fertilizer!!!!
I don't know Fran, though I do know that the in the Book of Revelations it says that in the end, after this world has passed away, the lion will lay with the lamb. They might not be pets, but they are animals and this passage would indicate they will be here for all eternity with the rest of us.I have also thought about the Bible verse you are referring to. As I researched it, both sides of this debate were sure of their conclusion. At this age, it seems I have more questions than answers, but guess that it is a good thing. That way, my mind won't close.
I guess we will have to wait until we get their ourselves to know for sure if our pets will be with us someday..but it is interesting to speculate.
Thanks, Bruce.
I think it is the love that goes with us- of any kind- and whatever that love generates to us- that we will know it the way we know it here- within our souls. Thought provoking Fran- my favorite kind of article- thanks- Always EllaElla, that is the most beautiful and deepest explanation I have heard about this subject. What a great mind you have! Thanks so much!
The small cherries are the sweetest- as are the small victories in life- this was sweet- thanks Fran- Always-Ella
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