Do animals have souls?

Whew! I think it's always hard to decide on a topic to start these things. This topic resonates strongly with me though, especially as I'm cuddling with my sweet kitty! ;) The Bible actually says quite a bit about animals, and it sometimes seems a bit contradictory. So, where to begin? Well, first I think we have to determine what a soul is. In short, the soul is where we have eternal life. It is our spiritual self, a place where we connect with God. Humans have them, but do animals?

Several times the Bible talks about animals being different from men. In Psalm 8, verses 6-8, the passage makes it clear that we as man are not only different in nature, but are in charge of the animals: "You make [man] to rule over the works of Your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea." With such dominion over animals, we are charged with their care, an idea shown in Proverbs 12:10, "A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal." Often times, the Bible depicts animals as not having the wisdom of God, which can be shown in Job 39. The Lord is describing how cruel an ostrich is in abandoning her eggs because "God has made her forget wisdom and has not given her a share of understanding." Furthering the idea that animals are cut off from God, in Ecclesiastes 3:18-21, the Bible compares animals "sons of men," or men who choose worldly ambitions over a relationship with God. The passage says that these groups share the same fate of death; they all start and end as dust. It refers to death not as a physical occurrence, but in the eternal sense. From this scripture, we can deduce that animals have not been given access to God's Word, and will not live on in a relationship with Him.

It is interesting, to note however, that the passage in Job says God "made her FORGET wisdom." This implies that animals did once have access to God's Word. This is backed up by many verses throughout the Bible. Animals, even after being separated from the knowledge of God, seem to have an inherent understanding of who God is and respond to His commands. One of the best depictions of this happens in the book of Numbers. We see a pagan prophet, Balaam traveling on a donkey with the purpose of cursing the people of Israel against God's command. In anger, God sends an angel to stop Balaam. Seeing the angel, the donkey turns and walks the other way. Balaam, who is unable to see the angel strikes her and urges her forward three times. At this third time, the Lord allows the donkey to speak and she asks, "Why have you struck me these three times?" Balaam answers that he strikes because she is making a fool of him. She then replies, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?" Upon answering no, Balaam is able to finally see the angel who admonishes him saying, "But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me. If she had not,..I would surely have killed you just now and let her live." Even when Balaam, who should have been aware of the angel's presence could not see him, the donkey, a simple animal saw him. This trend of animals being more spiritually aware than humans is also depicted in Job 12:7-10, when Job says of animals, "Who among these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of all mankind?" It is further carried through Isaiah, where it says, "An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master's manager, but Israel 'does not know'; my people 'do not understand'." This is echoed yet again in Lamentations 4:3, saying, "Even the jackals...nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel like the ostriches in the wilderness."

This last passage, beyond painting ostriches in a bad light, brings another facet of the animal issue - wild animals verses tamer ones. Can animals be taught of a relationship with God? A passage in Jonah implies that domestic animals share the same punishment as their owners. Jonah 3:8 says, "Both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands." In this particular case, both man and animal must humble themselves for forgiveness. If this is the case, do man and beast also share the same salvation? And if so, is it our charge to show them God's love through our relationship with them? Is that why we are commanded to be compassionate towards them? Though I'm not quite sure on this point, it is evident that animals have the capability of receiving the wisdom of God. It is also quite clear that with Jesus' second coming, animals WILL have access to God, which is shown in Isaiah 11:6-9 which talks of wolves dwelling with lambs and cows and bears eating together saying, "They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord."

We can say for sure that animals will have a relationship with the Lord in the future and that they enjoyed that same relationship in the past. As for the current situation, however, it is not as clear. Animals seem to know the Lord on an instinctive level as their creator, but aren't allowed access to the knowledge of His plans and His instructions, which were given to mankind in order to prepare us for His kingdom. But, for the sake of this discussion, and based on our previous definition of the soul as being the spiritual part of one's being that allows us to connect with God, I have to conclude that animals do in fact have souls, just not in the same way as humans do.

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This site aims to answer life's tough questions by examining Biblical scripture in an objective, open, loving, and truth-seeking manner. I do not claim to be a theologian or an expert in any way; I am merely a Christian who aims to find truth amidst the noise of media hype, religious wars, inter-Denominational bickering, and hearsay. I welcome you to join me in my quest. Feel free to ask questions and give feedback on the topics being discussed!