After a couple of recent radio interviews, it occurred to me that some people really don't have a good idea about what a "soul" really is, and if they are limited to humans (for some reason). So, in today's blog, consider it a "Soul 101."
WHAT IS A SOUL? In many societies and religions it is the immortal essence of a living thing. A soul is actually the energy in EVERY living thing that combines memories and personalities.
DO ANIMALS HAVE SOULS? Of course. Every living thing has a soul. To think otherwise is crazy.
Animals (and dinosaurs) lived and died on Earth long before humans ever showed up. They survived because they had intelligence, instinct, emotions, memories, and their own personalities. After all, what makes one animal a pack leader and not all of them? Why are some animals shy? easily frightened? bold? challenging? That's personality. They all have it, just as humans do.
WHO QUESTIONS IT AND WHERE DID THE CRAZY IDEA COME FROM? According to most of the Abrahamic religions, only human beings have immortal souls. Evangelical-Biblical Literalist, Baptists and Church of Christ churches believe animals have no soul.
Recently, the catholic faith even proclaimed that "Animals and plants" have souls - but they put a "limit" on their statement thinking pets don't have conceptual intelligence, which I assure you, THEY DO. Why the Catholic faith (the one I grew up in and out of) thinks anything but people can be spirit is non-sensical. A spirit is a spirit. Period. That's like thinking because you have a college degree you'll be a spirit, but your neighbor who didn't go to college isn't smart enough to be a spirit in the afterlife. Do you see why it is a ridiculous argument?
I'm unsure where that belief came from but as you can see from the logic above, it's absolutely untrue. Any living thing that can figure out how to survive, from a bird to an ant to wild boar has a soul. They have intelligence and a soul. Only ZOMBIES are soul-less. :)
DOES ANY MAN-MADE RELIGION BELIEVE ANIMALS HAVE SOULS? Yes. Sikhism, Hinduism, Orthodox, Mormonism believe (and understand that animals have souls. Islam and Judaism have conflicting beliefs- some sects believe it, others do not.
BOTTOM LINE: For anyone who loses a pet and says "Animals don't have souls" please assure them they do, and they will be with us in paradise/other side/heaven/Valhalla, whatever you want to call it where all of the energies reside after the physical life is over. To think that any living thing doesn't have a soul is truly ridiculous. Animals have lived eons before mankind ever walked the Earth and they would never have survived if they couldn't think, feel and learn.
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| Lessons Learned, Ghosts and Spirits |
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| Pets and the Afterlife 2, Pets and the Afterlife |
