Genesis and Nonrational Creatures
Genesis 1 provides insight into the animals’ purposes. At the end of each day, God looks at his creation and declares that it is “good.” This includes the fifth and sixth days (v. 1:25) after God created “every living creature” in the sea and on earth but before he created humans. He gave them a natural goodness.
Thus, every living creature up to this point enjoys the same status as those things created on the previous days. However, when God creates man, He says something different. He declares everything is “very good.”
Everything was good prior to man, but after man, the pinnacle of creation, everything was very good. Thus, God lifted the status of all material creation when He created man. Other creatures did not lift man’s status. God gave man the power to understand His will and to love Him; powers that go beyond material powers. This points to a soul designed for supernatural goodness (i.e., grace and the Beatific Vision).
Additionally, God gave man alone the authority to subdue the earth and to have dominion over everything that fills it. Thus, God designed all nonrational creatures (any creature God did not order toward reason) to serve man because God gave man dominion over them.
This is crucial. God made nonrational creatures for man. Thus, they have temporal (not eternal) purposes. God did not make man to serve nonrational creatures because man has an eternal purpose, to serve God and then those He made in His image and likeness. However, man must care for God’s creation with the intellect, will, and laws that God has given to him alone.
(Fact #4: “Very good” in Genesis 1 means that God made man for supernatural life, but God made whatever is merely “good” for natural life only.)
More From Genesis
In Genesis 1:26-27, God says, “‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and the cattle, and all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
In observing the first creation account, we should notice a buildup to man. God makes everything and then says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” and then He gives man dominion. God is Existence, Eternity, Love, and Truth. Only man (and angels) reflect this image. This is clear from Scripture, introspection, and extrospection.
The evidence in Genesis 1 and 2 implies one unambiguous conclusion – God did not make animals to have eternal souls, because He did not make them in his image and likeness. He did not give them dominion because He did not give them the ability to know His will and to exercise it.
(Fact #5: God did not make nonrational animals in His image and likeness.)
Image and Likeness
Image communicates a similarity in substance, whereas likeness communicates how a substance behaves. For instance, I could have a son who closely resembles me, and we could properly say he is my image. Colloquially, some would say he is my “spitting image.” This language expresses his physical resemblance to me.
However, my son and I may be polar opposites in personality, such that someone might exclaim, I can’t believe he is your son! This language points to likeness (or lack thereof). In other words, my son bears my physical image, but he is not like me at all.
Returning to God and man, when God says that He made us in His image and likeness, He reveals that He made us of a similar spiritual substance (image) and have similar, though finite, spiritual powers (i.e., reason and free will directed toward truth and love, which are likeness). For more detail, please read Summa Theologiae I, Q. 93, a. 1, 2, & 9, which references St. Augustine’s De Genesi.
Saints Augustine and Aquinas are adamant that beasts do not have intellectual and volitional powers, which are spiritual powers, and thus do not have spiritual souls that survive physical death. Again, God did not give animals the ability to know Him. He didn’t even give them the ability to know themselves or to understand their own purposes. They do not have powers of introspection, extrospection, prospection, or retrospection.
If animals were capable of understanding concepts, they would be capable of understanding the concept of communicating concepts. They would have formed schools that explain concepts and ultimately build animal societies that communicate and build upon all kinds of truths, including moral truths. They would have long ago lifted themselves out of their lowly state. As it is, however, they have not and cannot.
Despite these many species having a much longer earthly existence than man, they simply have not developed, nor will they ever develop, the ability to conceptualize purpose, truth, love, justice, and morality. Therefore, nonrational creatures do not have immortal, spiritual souls.
(Fact #6: Animals do not have the intellectual and volitional powers to lift themselves out of their perennially low state.)
Common Sense
If animals had immortal souls designed to be with God for eternity, would we not make ourselves guilty of murder when we kill them for any reason other than self-defence? But God made a covenant with Noah, saying, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you” (Genesis 9:3), and Jesus declared all foods, including animals, clean (Matthew 7:19).
Also, God approved of Noah offering animal sacrifices to Him (Genesis 8:20), and He approved of, and even commanded their sacrificial deaths repeatedly throughout the Old Testament. This necessarily means that God made animals lower than man and to serve man.
Whether or not they die as food, sacrifice, or by natural causes, God made them for temporal, not eternal purposes. Therefore, we do not incur the guilt of murder when we kill animals.
(Fact #7: God made animals to serve the temporary needs of man.)
An Objection
One might argue that someday man will create, using science and technology, animals capable of reason. This might be true. However, if man were to accomplish this, man would merely have made something that is vaguely an image and likeness of himself and some animal, not God.
Whereas God gives man the capacity for His grace by virtue of making man in His image and likeness, man has no power to create an animal with this same capacity for grace because grace that leads to eternal life does not properly belong to man.
God gave humans intellects and wills ordered toward knowing, understanding, and loving Him, and being with Him for eternity. He has given us eternal purposes. But man cannot pass these purposes or the capacity for grace and eternity with God to nonrational animals. In other words, God alone is grace and only He can give a creature the capacity to receive Him and be with Him for eternity.
So, even if man somehow modified animals to understand concepts, including eternal ones, man cannot give them eternal purpose or grace because they are not his to give. Only God can do this. And given the evidence presented, we have no reason to believe that God will ever give nonrational animals, even those manmade animals, immortal souls.
(Fact #8: Man has no power to give nonrational animals immortal souls.)
Conclusion
So, we have eight reasons to reject the idea that animals have immortal souls:
- Animals have no conceptual powers to understand things or ideas, and they have no volitional powers to choose objects and actions that they cannot understand;
- Similarly, God did not make animals to understand Him or to seek the Beatific Vision;
- God eternally loves all creatures, but He did not create all creatures to eternally love Him;
- “Very good” in Genesis 1 means that God made man for supernatural life, but God made that which is “good” for natural life only;
- God did not make nonrational animals in His image and likeness;
- Related to reasons 1 and 2, animals do not have the intellectual and volitional powers to lift themselves out of their perennially low state;
- God made animals to serve the temporary needs of man; and
- Man has no power to give nonrational animals immortal souls.
Given all this evidence, the rational being has no reason to believe that God made nonrational animals with immortal souls. Rather, we have every reason to believe the opposite. And we should celebrate our immortality by serving God and those made in His image and likeness (especially the destitute) rather than by wasting time feeding a misdirected desire for animals to have immortal souls.
35 thoughts on “Eight Reasons Why Animals Do Not Have Immortal Souls- Part II”
NATE;
Why the abusive and close-minded words. like you said ‘try reality for a change’, i think you should try subtle and mild comments . Your are trying to get a point across not irritate them or arouse them negatively.
In all your years of study, were you not taught social etiquette or media ethics?.
some theologian you are
There are studies showing animals can understand conceptional ideas like the number “0” , so my question is if that is evidence for animals having conceptional ideas or no?
No. Many animals can be trained to know that zero equals nothing, but no animal understands why zero exists rather than 1 or 1 billion. This is because no animal can understand the whys of anything. Like I said in my article, if animals could understand, then they would understand the importance of communicating their ideas. They would understand truth, justice, and the importance of working together to build a society that seeks these things. Their understanding would mature over time, and we would see great advances through their inventions and their abilities to break out of their perpetually base state. However, despite their existing on this earth much longer than humans, they have not moved one iota beyond this state.
Nate, you said–
“So, you clearly don’t have a logical argument against my thesis.”
One man’s thesis is another man’s bane.
And again, you have nothing.
As with putting oneself in another person’s shoes, until we’re able to put ourselves in the paws, talons, fins, etc. of other creatures, we can’t know their minds. Being a person myself, I can safely say that man’s logic makes him arrogant.
So, you clearly don’t have a logical argument against my thesis. Also, it’s not man’s logic that makes him arrogant. It’s the irrational assertions of some that makes those people arrogant. Therefore, your irrational assertion makes you arrogant.
You got that right
The “Animal Personhood” Deception is indeed a massive and growing problem in the world and the Church today. ONLY man — that is; human beings, descendants of Adam and Eve — are rationa; only human beings have spiritual souls. This is extremely important. I discuss this at length in Part Five of my recent book (Only Man Bears His Image)
God bless you!
Daniel
A deception indeed, Daniel. Many people believe they have the power and authority to elevate nonrational creatures to the level of rational creatures made in the image and likeness of God. But only God has this power, and he clearly made them lower than us and His angels. One wonders if these people think they are God.
Also, many in our culture spend thousands on animal health insurance, vet treatments, animal clothing and food, and animal gifts. If people would stop this madness and give that money to help the poor, we could end human destitution immediately. Thank you and God bless!
Nate:
From “Jim”: I agree with your bottom line – animals don’t have an immortal soul. Isn’t that scary?
Yet, I must point out that we don’t have immortality until the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:50-58) and our gathering to the Lord takes place after two events (2 Thessalonians 2).
From today’s Office of Readings, St. Athanasius said:
“The only-begotten Son, the Wisdom of God, created the entire universe. Scripture says: You have made all things by your wisdom, and the earth is full of your creatures. Yet simply to be was not enough: God also wanted his creatures to be good. That is why he was pleased that his own wisdom should descend to their level and impress upon each of them singly and upon all of them together a certain resemblance to their Model. It would then be manifest that God’s creatures shared in his wisdom and that all his works were worthy of him.”
ipse dixit.
Hey Bob! I completely agree with this quote. But St. Athenasius is merely saying that the animals resemble their Model. They resemble Him by their existence, procreative powers, and nurturing their offspring. However, trees, shrubs, grass, and other plant life resemble their Model by existing and creating new plant life. None of this means that they have immortal souls designed to know and love God for eternity.
Nate, how would you interpret the phrase “shared in his wisdom” that St. Athanasius used?
Bob, all of creation share in God’s wisdom by being a product of it. But sharing in His wisdom does not equal having an immortal soul designed for knowing and loving God for eternity. I gave eight reasons why animals do not have immortal souls, and neither you nor any of the other commenters have been able to refute them. At some point, you have abandon your own misguided opinion.
Nate, I guess C.S. Lewis and I are just sentimental fools, or so you seem to imply. I interpret “God’s creatures shared in his wisdom” as the words say. by the way your caustic comments are not likely to convert those who don’t accept everything you say into belief. So, I’ll not comment further since this discourse has ceased to be courteous.
Bob, I do not think you’re a fool at all. I’ve read some of your CS articles and you seem like a very smart guy and a good Catholic. However, I completely disagree with your position here and your interpretation of St. Athenasius. Again, thank you for commenting and God bless!
“An Ordinary Papist” has the clearest vision here.
To say that the creatures who share this world with us don’t communicate with each other by vision, the audio spectrum and non verbal gestures is an insult to God’s creation. Imagine the transition from leaping to flight along an unimaginable timescale (evolution); then learning to fly for thousands of miles by using either the air currents, magnetic flux lines or topographical features – and then to deduce through hubristic ignorance how they couldn’t ‘learn’ some free form of ‘trans-algorithmic computation. This, coming from ensouled humans who allow and participate in war – something the animal kingdom has no need; although it makes you wonder too what God had in mind in Gen: 9-5, requiring “ an account from every beast …” over spilled blood. Conscience: n 2, conduct in accordance with one’s sense of right. Living in the country presents me to witness a murder of crows punishing one of their own for breaking rules we can merely guess at. Every animal species knows its pecking order and to go against that invites chastisement from their own kind. Dogs have learned to love, save those they do at risk to their own life – this, coming from predators who once threatened lives, this coming from an animal that sings. Elephants cry and its a very short step from that to gazing at the moon and stars in loving wonder. Yes, when you set aside that Garden myth it’s easier to understand how much spiritual evolution humans still require to truly understand ensoulment.
OP, your first sentence demonstrates your inability to understand simple English. Who knows, maybe you are a nonrational animal. Now, I did not say that animals cannot communicate. So, stop lying. I said that they can’t understand what communication is. If they could understand this simple concept, they would have long ago move beyond their perennial state. Learn how to read and then maybe you’ll be able to construct a proper argument.
Brilliant response. Fine expression. You have my friendship. Sat Nam.
Nate, you don’t seem to have much experience with being around animals. Debates of this nature should be settled by seeking a revelation from God, yet few there seem to be who are adept in that regard. In the second chapter of The Acts of the Apostles, verses 22 and 43, we see that Christ and the Apostles were approved through signs, wonders, and miracles. This involves the anagogic interpretation of Scripture — the spiritual, mystical interpretation of the Gospel. With the emphasis on charity, we must not overlook the worship of God in spirit and in truth, right? Thus, I’ll be impressed when our globe’s spiritual leaders are given to showing signs from God that they truly represent God’s will. Let’s have the planet’s spiritual leaders be interviewed carefully, in order for them to express to us exactly what they believe concerning the presence of the Spirit, and their ability to show us that they truly are holy men. Afterall, to enter into the presence of God you must be sanctified.
I grew up in rural Tennessee, and I was literally surrounded by farm animals. We had dogs, cats, and even horses. But this has nothing to do with my article and the facts I presented therein. And your comments do nothing but dodge the clear truth that animals do not have immortal souls.
It does not follow logically from
animals do not have immortal souls
that there will be no animals in heaven.
Guy, Texas
I never said that there would be no animals in Heaven. In fact, I said the opposite.
I should clarify that I believe animals will roam the new earth, but they will not experience the Beatific Vision because God did not create them for this.
Nate, I absolutely agree animals do not have immortal souls. I stand by my comment. From this fact alone you cannot logically conclude that there are no animals in heaven. If you think otherwise, present the argument with this fact as a first premise and you will realize there are and must be one or some intermediary premises to get to the conclusion that therefore there are no animals in heaven. Guy, Texas
Nate, I agree! Guy
Guy, please clarify. Are you saying that animals will have the Beatific Vision? I ask because I’m saying that the Beatific Vision (Heaven) is for those who have souls designed by God to understand Him, themselves, and their relationship to and with Him. Animals clearly do not have this nature. Therefore, God did not design them for Heaven. And if God gives animals the Beatific Vision, then He changed there nature and they are no longer the animals we know in this world. Again, please clarify your position. Thanks!
Let’s take a closer look at the first chapter of Genesis, verses 29 and 30:
“And God said: Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves seed of their own kind, to be your meat:
“And to all beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may feed upon. And it was done.”
When God had created the creatures of the water and the fowls of the air, verse 22 declares that He blessed them.
Thus, in the Garden of Paradise, man and animal dwelt in harmony, and man did not have the impulse to kill animals. It was Abel who offered an animal sacrifice, while Cain had offered the produce of the ground. The name “Abel” means “breath,” or “temporary,” or “meaningless.”
What of man, who was made in the image and likeness of God, just prior to the Flood of Noach (or Noe — “No-eh”)? Let’s check out Genesis 6.5-7:
“And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great upon the earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times,
“It repented him that he had made man upon the earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart,
“He said: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them.”
Having been cast forth from the paradise of pleasure, Adam and Eve found themselves in the equivalent of Purgatory. “There is no death, only change.,” as one character exclaimed in H. Rider Haggard’s great novel, SHE. Ignorant man would not learn of this — his condition on this planet — until Moses spelled it out in the 25th chapter of Leviticus, and until the second Adam was sent into the world to make fully evident the existence and presence of God, who is Spirit.
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Peter Singer of Princeton University is considered the “father of animal liberation.” Though Singer may have slightly modified his tune, he used to claim that great apes could learn American Sign Language. I have NEVER met anyone fluent in ASL making such a claim. It shows ignorance of ASL & is degrading to Deaf people. It is bigotry, plain and simple.
Singer has said that lifesaving preference for a child with cognitive limitations over a great ape was “speceism.” Yet, he would probably agree that great apes do not go to Heaven, because he does not believe in Heaven!
Not all anti human bigotry is as obvious as that of Singer. Our culture aborts so many pre born babies and neglects elderly people, while spending enormous sums on pet food!
P.S. I am intrigued by Capt C’s mention of the science fiction story by the real John Boy Walton!
Hey Joe! I completely agree. Apes can certainly mimic what the sign linguist teaches them, but they cannot understand what they are being taught or why they are being taught it. Thank you for your comment! God bless!
As I read these arguments for why we are superior beings, I got a creepy feeling. Then I realized they sound similar to justifications for racism, slavery and misogyny.
Everyone knows that animals are one thing, humans another, though we might disagree as to how many differences there really are. But what was the purpose of these articles anyway? What harm is there in people thinking animals (such as their pets) go to heaven? I’m reminded of the classic Twilight Zone episode, “The Hunt”, written by Earl Hamner, Jr.
Oh no, the creepy-feeling argument and the racism argument rolled into one. Resorting to this stupidity only demonstrates that you have no cogent arguments against my article. As usual, you lack intellectual integrity.
Also, I mentioned the purpose of this article in the first paragraph of the first part. Try reading. Regarding believing things that have no basis in reality, the harm is that we dispose ourselves to believing all kinds of things that have no basis in reality. The fact that you can’t see this tells me that you have believed too many false things in your life. Try reality for a change.