The Soul of an Animal

“Animals can’t go to heaven because they don’t have a soul.”

Says who?

Whether or not an animal has a soul (or a spirit) is one of the most highly debated and controversial subjects among modern day Christianity.

The above statement is primarily based on a premise that says animals have no ability to think or reason; that they are only capable of acting out of instinct or in response to a certain stimuli. Basically, animals are looked upon as being not much more than robots. Utter NONSENSE!

That’s simply not what the Bible teaches or what the early church believed. Yet, this falsehood has been passed down from one generation to the next, as though it were gospel.

So, where did this erroneous teaching come from?

The Devil — straight from the pit of hell!

One famous puppet the Devil used to spread this lie was a man by the name of Rene Descartes — the ‘father of modern philosophy’ who coined the phrase, “I think, therefore I am.”

During the “Enlightenment” period, Descartes persuaded many to believe — that animals have no soul. He promoted and taught that animals were nothing more than complex automata – equivalent to robots. He also practiced and advanced the horrific and cruel acts of animal vivisection because he believed animals were incapable of feeling pain.

Unfortunately, Descartes’ false belief has continued to spread and is still prevalent today.

Even though Descartes recognized that animals could see, hear and touch, he still insisted that they were not conscious, able to suffer or have language. His conclusion was that animals have no soul, mind or ability to reason.

I thank God the Bible refutes Descartes’ fallacious teaching. For example in the Book of Job, we find that animals are not only capable of thinking and reasoning but in fact, they do have a soul.

“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you
and the birds of the air, and let them tell you;
or speak to the earth, let it teach you;
let the fish of the sea declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
in whose hand is the soul {Hebrew – nephesh} of every living thing,
and the breath of all mankind.“ Job 12:7-10

Did you know – that the very word “soul” comes from the Latin word anima, which is where we get the word “animal“?

Make note; as previously mentioned in the Pets and the Supernatural blog, there is a distinction between the spirit and soul.

The soul is who they are: their mind, will and emotions.

If you have ever had a pet ask yourself the following questions

Does your pet have: dreams, memories, feelings, thoughts, emotions, free will or personality?

Does your pet: give or receive love?

If your answer is “yes” to any of the above, then your pet has a soul!

Obviously this holds just as true for all the so called “wild” animals, as it does for our domesticated pets — ALL animals have a soul!

Without a spirit and without a soul,

animals would be lifeless lumps of clay,

void of thoughts and emotions — mere dummies.

THE BIBLE LEAVES NO DOUBT THAT BOTH MAN AND ANIMALS

HAVE A LIVING SOUL

For additional proof, review the following Scriptures

Genesis 1:20, And God said, “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life (Hebrew “soul”), and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” (KJV)

Important Note: Older King James Bibles show in the footnote that the Hebrew word for “life” is soul. Somehow this was left out of some modern translations.

Genesis 1:21, And God created great whales, and every living creature (soul) that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (KJV)

Note: The Hebrew word for “creature” is nephesh and it means soul. (Strong’s Concordance #5315)

Genesis 1:24, And God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature (soul) after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.” (KJV)

Genesis 1:30, “To every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth which has the breath of life (a living soul) in it, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. (MEV)

IMPORTANT NOTE: The older King James Bible shows us in the footnote that the word “life” in the Hebrew means “a living soul.” Newer translations have left this marginal reading out.

To further validate that an animal is a living soul, let us take a look at Genesis 2:7. In this verse we find the exact same Hebrew word being used to describe man as “a living soul” that was used earlier in Genesis 1:30, to describe the animals as “a living soul”

Genesis 2:7, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (KJV) (Strong’s #2416)

Genesis 2:19, And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature (soul – nephesh Strong’s#5315), that was the name thereof. (KJV)

Genesis 9:9-10, “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature (soul – nephesh) that is you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.” (KJV)

Genesis 9:12, And God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature (soul – nephesh) that is with you, for perpetual generations:” (KJV)

Genesis 9:15, “And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature (soul – nephesh) of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” (KJV)

Genesis 9:16, “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature (soul – nephesh) of all flesh that is upon the earth.” (KJV)

Leviticus 11:46, This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature (chay nephesh) that moveth in the waters, and of every creature (soul – nephesh) that creepeth upon the earth: (KJV)

Leviticus 24:17-18, And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. (KJV)

IMPORTANT NOTE: The same Hebrew word for soul (nephesh) is applied to both man and animals in verses 17 and 18 above.

Proverbs 12:10, A righteous man regardth the life (soul – nephesh) of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. (KJV)

Numbers 31:28, And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul (nephesh) of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves (cows), and of the asses, and of the sheep: (KJV)

Note: The word “soul” (nephesh) above refers to “persons,” “beeves,” “asses” and “sheep.”

Job 12:7-10, “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In Whose hand is the soul (nephesh) of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.” (KJV)

Psalm 74:19, “O deliver not the soul (nephesh #5315) of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.” (KJV)

Revelation 16:3, And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul (psuche) died in the sea. (KJV)

Final Note: The New Testament Scriptures original language is in the Greek, and it also describes animals as having a soul. Some newer translations have changed the word to say, “creature” or “thing.”

Under the Old Covenant the word “soul” is translated from the Hebrew word nephesh and in the New Covenant it’s translated from the Greek word psuche.

THE BIBLE LEAVES NO DOUBT THAT BOTH MAN AND ANIMALS HAVE A LIVING SOUL

ANIMALS ARE – MORE THAN JUST A BODY!