I currently have three housemates. Charlie is the most agreeable guy you could imagine, and he only wants to please everyone. Cashmere is brilliant, beautiful, athletic, and moody. Sylvia is sort of prickly until you get to know her, and she keeps strange hours so we don't see much of each other. So why is it that I am concerned about whether or not they are going to Heaven? Are they not "saved"? Is it because they never help me with the bills? Is it because they make messes and expect me to clean it all up? No, and I have no doubt they will go to Heaven someday, but you would be surprised how many people consider this controversial. Because, as you have probably already guessed (or already knew, since only people who know me read this), they are not humans.
Surprisingly, many devout Catholics fervently believe the Church has spoken on this matter, and that what she has proclaimed is that only humans have immortal souls. In fact, the Church has never made an official statement on this matter. Jesus said only that a person is worth more than many sparrows, not that sparrows are worthless. In fact, He said not one of them falls to the earth without God's knowledge. What part of that implies that sparrows therefore don't merit space in Heaven? While I would never deny that humans have a special relationship with God, I find it hard to believe He has no interest in His other creatures. Besides, how many people would really want to go to Heaven if there were no plants or animals there?
Do animals have free will? That is an interesting question; most theologians say no, but I suspect many pet owners would say yes. Granted, Sylvia the Hedgehog doesn't do much beyond eat, sleep, and recycle her food, but Charlie and Cashmere, who are rabbits, seem quite capable of sinning... and knowing their own guilt. For example, they both get annoyed when I talk on the phone, so one day Cashmere took matters into her own paws and chewed through the phone cord. I couldn't figure out why the phone was dead until spotting the chewed-off end, and my first reaction was to holler, "BAD bunnies!" Charlie just looked at me, but Cashmere thumped her foot and bolted under the couch. If that wasn't an admission of guilt, I don't know what it was! And of course there are the times I come home and wonder why they are acting so subdued... until I discover what they have chewed up or broken this time. I would challenge anyone who says animals do not experience guilt to spend a weekend with Cashmere and anything she can sink her teeth into!
Do animals feel gratitude? I would say they do. Charlie and Sylvia were both given to me by friends who could no longer care for them, but I adopted Cashmere from the Humane Society, and I suspect her previous life was not an easy one. When she first became my housemate, she could be very difficult to deal with, but gradually she realized I was not planning to hurt her. One day I filled an empty toilet paper roll with hay and set it in front of her, and I have never seen such a look of gratitude from any human! If she could feel a slight inkling of amazement that I loved her enough to give her gifts despite her bratty behavior, maybe she has a vague comprehension of how God loves us in spite of our imperfections.
Do animals experience awe? Charlie and Cashmere certainly looked awed when I flipped on the switch to Plant World for the first time and my living room was flooded with fake sunlight. They both love music, and my parents used to have a parakeet named Linus who seemed genuinely moved whenever we played a music box of "Swan Lake." The experience that most convinced me that animals have a sense of beauty that has nothing to do with instinct was one summer evening when two friends and I were watching a spectacular sunset over a northern lake, and a black-crowned night heron alit only a few feet away from us. It stood staring toward the sun until the glowing orange orb slipped behind the horizon, and then it calmly flew away. What was it doing if not watching a beautiful sunset, just like we were?
Do animals feel sympathy? Pet owners would certainly say they do. How many of us have had a pet show concern when we were sick or sad? I have seen animals mourn the loss of friends and comfort one another. It is a well-known phenomenon that animals of one species will adopt orphans of another species. Some of this may be instinctual, but is all of it?
The point is, we don't know whether or not animals go to Heaven, so I am tired of people saying they know for a fact they don't. Personally, I'd rather spend eternity with animals than with those people! Anyway, if we really think what makes us superior to them is that we have morals, ethics, and reason, then we had better start treating them (and one another!) morally, ethically, and reasonably, or we will be the ones who won't get to Heaven.
Famous Hat
Surprisingly, many devout Catholics fervently believe the Church has spoken on this matter, and that what she has proclaimed is that only humans have immortal souls. In fact, the Church has never made an official statement on this matter. Jesus said only that a person is worth more than many sparrows, not that sparrows are worthless. In fact, He said not one of them falls to the earth without God's knowledge. What part of that implies that sparrows therefore don't merit space in Heaven? While I would never deny that humans have a special relationship with God, I find it hard to believe He has no interest in His other creatures. Besides, how many people would really want to go to Heaven if there were no plants or animals there?
Do animals have free will? That is an interesting question; most theologians say no, but I suspect many pet owners would say yes. Granted, Sylvia the Hedgehog doesn't do much beyond eat, sleep, and recycle her food, but Charlie and Cashmere, who are rabbits, seem quite capable of sinning... and knowing their own guilt. For example, they both get annoyed when I talk on the phone, so one day Cashmere took matters into her own paws and chewed through the phone cord. I couldn't figure out why the phone was dead until spotting the chewed-off end, and my first reaction was to holler, "BAD bunnies!" Charlie just looked at me, but Cashmere thumped her foot and bolted under the couch. If that wasn't an admission of guilt, I don't know what it was! And of course there are the times I come home and wonder why they are acting so subdued... until I discover what they have chewed up or broken this time. I would challenge anyone who says animals do not experience guilt to spend a weekend with Cashmere and anything she can sink her teeth into!
Do animals feel gratitude? I would say they do. Charlie and Sylvia were both given to me by friends who could no longer care for them, but I adopted Cashmere from the Humane Society, and I suspect her previous life was not an easy one. When she first became my housemate, she could be very difficult to deal with, but gradually she realized I was not planning to hurt her. One day I filled an empty toilet paper roll with hay and set it in front of her, and I have never seen such a look of gratitude from any human! If she could feel a slight inkling of amazement that I loved her enough to give her gifts despite her bratty behavior, maybe she has a vague comprehension of how God loves us in spite of our imperfections.
Do animals experience awe? Charlie and Cashmere certainly looked awed when I flipped on the switch to Plant World for the first time and my living room was flooded with fake sunlight. They both love music, and my parents used to have a parakeet named Linus who seemed genuinely moved whenever we played a music box of "Swan Lake." The experience that most convinced me that animals have a sense of beauty that has nothing to do with instinct was one summer evening when two friends and I were watching a spectacular sunset over a northern lake, and a black-crowned night heron alit only a few feet away from us. It stood staring toward the sun until the glowing orange orb slipped behind the horizon, and then it calmly flew away. What was it doing if not watching a beautiful sunset, just like we were?
Do animals feel sympathy? Pet owners would certainly say they do. How many of us have had a pet show concern when we were sick or sad? I have seen animals mourn the loss of friends and comfort one another. It is a well-known phenomenon that animals of one species will adopt orphans of another species. Some of this may be instinctual, but is all of it?
The point is, we don't know whether or not animals go to Heaven, so I am tired of people saying they know for a fact they don't. Personally, I'd rather spend eternity with animals than with those people! Anyway, if we really think what makes us superior to them is that we have morals, ethics, and reason, then we had better start treating them (and one another!) morally, ethically, and reasonably, or we will be the ones who won't get to Heaven.
Famous Hat
2 comments:
But is cat heaven mouse hell?
To quote Isaiah, "The lion will lie down with the lamb," etc.
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