Feb
23
2009
Do Animals Have Souls
Author: siggyThis I have no doubt of. Anyone, who has ever had a pet also has no doubt of this. Each cat or dog (whatever pet you have had) has a distinct personality. I am convinced God put pets in this world to teach us to love over and over: for a simple reason we usually outlive them and then have to get a new pet and start all over loving them.
Any animal you spent any time around has a personality. I am not an animal activist. The bible clearly says (in Genesis) we are to be good stewards of the resources He has given us. We raise crops and beef and chickens and pigs and that is a short list to consume them. I believe we should respect the animals we raise to eat. That means they should be treated humanely and with respect. And I did not mean to digress to this extent but I felt I had to say this so others reading would understand my position as much as I could in this small space.
Anyway each animal has a soul (and spirit). The American Indian understood this well. The buffalo was very important to them. It supplied them with many things: food, hide for their tents and that is just an incomplete list. They treated the buffalo with respect as well as the rest of the environment. They wanted to co-exist not conquer their environment as the American settler often did, chopping down whole tracts of trees with no regard how this practice would impact the rest of the environment. The passenger pigeon, which at times were so numerous they actually blocked out the sun, have been extinct in the United States for many decades. They were killed indiscriminately by the millions for food. That is just two examples of not respecting your environment and the impact of unwise practices.
But to get back to animals. Yes, each one has a soul and all you have to do is to love one dog to find that out (or another animal). Then you would have no doubt of this.
