This is NOT a serious debate and I'm mostly looking for personal belief on the issue. Let's keep it light



so yeah, simple question.... do you think animals go to heaven?

I think they just die only humans go to hell or heaven animals are to stupid to know about god and Jesus






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icrazyforpokemon : why do animals need to know about Jesus? Can they sin?

the only way into heaven is jeusus






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you didn't answer my question....

I asked why they need Jesus and whether or not animals could sin.

If they can't sin then they don't need salvation. If they can sin then they do, but how would they achieve it if they can't be taught about Jesus.

whoa...did you delete the last thread? I was gonna look at everyone's responses.

play4fun : I trashed the old one yes. I wanted a fresh start on the discussion. Partially cause I missed a lot of it and it got off track.

Yes they do. I think because they're suppose to live so they can't go to hell because they killed an animal.

Since I've never been there, I can't know for sure,lol
But if you ask what I wish, then yeah I'd like animals to go to heaven too. I had a couple of animals, that died, and I would really like to see them again, during afterlife.
(Note: As I said, that's only what I wish for, I'm not saying it's the truth or anything like that).

I believe they do go to heaven. I mean, heaven, to me, applies for all living creatures, not just those who believe in Jesus and all of that stuff.

I'd like to say yeah because I believe that animals have souls, the Bible confirms that they do in a few scriptures as them having the same "breath of life" as us. However, the Bible expresses that people are made in the image and likeness of God whereas animals are not. I think what defines a soul is mind, emotion, will, and spirituality--all characteristics that an animal has, except for spirituality.

Thus--while animals were part of God's creative plan, I believe that their soul is of a different essence--which could possibly mean that their soul would not continue on after death, but the Bible gives no explicit teaching of this.

There could be animals on the new earth (Revelation 21:1) because it is expressed that there will definitely be animals here during the millennial kingdom (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25). However, it's impossible to say whether these animals will be the pets we had in this life--I'd hope that we would be able to have our pets though.

I would really like to believe they will.
And I know for sure they'll be in the New Heaven and New Earth.
As for the current Heaven... I've seen nothing conclusive either way :/. That's nothing I've seen discussed in the Bible.
One thing though of note is this: Heaven is perfect paradise, right? So was Eden before the Fall. Animals were in Eden. It's not conclusive, no, but that alludes that animals will, in some form, appear in Heaven. Or that's what I feel.

If there is a heaven then Animals would go to it, but the question is whether you should be rewarded for being unintentionally ignorant...

Humans may or may not, so it's a bit unfair if animals just get a "free pass".

I think animals go to heaven, because they can't do anything bad to make them go anywhere else. Jesus died for our sins, but since animals don't have sins they don't need to do anything involving Jesus. They don't have the ability to learn about God or Jesus or anything, so they aren't accountable for that. For example, the Mayans never had anyone teach them about Jesus, but that doesn't mean they're all going to hell because they never had a chance to learn. God isn't unfair or cruel like that, he's got a plan for everyone. Like his plan for sweet, cute little bunnies. How could something so small and cute not be in heaven? How can you have a paradise without bunnies or puppies? LOL

I think that animals might go to heaven, but not the same one as humans. I believe that god made some sort of special place-maybe like a zoo-for all the animals to go. The people who run could be people who liked animals during their time on earth, and wanted to continue that destiny in heaven. I don't have any proof for this;it is just my thoughts.

If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. With that being said, yes I do believe all animals go to heaven. Like humans, animals have a soul and feelings....unaware of right from wrong. They can not be judged for simply being an animal.

Interesting...I personally believe that we will see animals in heaven, but not animals that died from earth. I do not believe that animals have souls. I don't think this view has been thrown out there yet...

No they go to a better place


EDIT: YUP YUP

You know, I might be wrong, but I don't think there is any part of the Bible that says animals don't have souls. God gave humans dominion over animals, but the only difference between humans and animals in the Bible is sin. Perhaps they are more like us than we think, and God has given them a unique purpose that is hidden from us. If that is true then animals may go to an afterlife, but not necessarily the same one as ours. Or perhaps not, who really knows? After all, no one has ever come up with a way of effectively communicating with any sort of animal.

The first question to ask in this debate is do animals have souls to begin with? A friend of mine reasoned that since animals have no concept of beauty, they lack the intelligence to suggest that they do have souls.

I personally, however, like to assume that they do have souls, because animals feel emotions. Have you ever had a day where your cat was particularly naggy for attention, or been through a thunderstorm where your dog got scared?

Anyway, on to the debate. I think that if animals do have souls, and assuming they don't sin, it would take a very cruel god to send animals to Hell or, more generally, to withhold Heaven from them. Animals take a lot of abuse here on Earth, and God had planned for them to be in paradise, which is the reason he allowed humans to go to heaven in the first place. Therefore, logically, I believe animals go to Heaven.

However, a lot of people here are arguing that animals don't sin. Unfortunately, that's not true. Animals have been known to rape each other, for example. Animals indulge in necrophilia. They get drunk and lust. Dolphins have been known to kill babies and use them as beach balls. Doesn't that spell "serial killer?"
I've played with the idea that all creatures, not just humans, were given an opportunity to choose. Doesn't the Bible record a serpent rather than an angel who tempted Adam and Eve? In that sense, I think it's most logical to assume that animals have souls, can sin, but can choose to be forgiven the same as humans. They're certainly not stupid; they're capable of intelligent choice. I think they have every opportunity, just like us, to go to Heaven. what happens if they refuse? Probably the same as us.

Remember that when Adam and Eve started out, they weren't much different from the animals that we know today. Was everything affected in the same way by sin?