There is an assertion that I make that some others have a problem agreeing with. I have compelling reason to believe that anything with a will to live is a supernatural person and is eternal. This includes not only what we call "animals," but insects - flies, mosquitos, ants, etc. I at first reached this conclusion for any multi-celled creature with a brain. But my brother said he heard that even single-celled animals, like bacteria, protozoans, etc., exhibit a "fright and flight" response to possible external threats. I didn't know what to think about them, for a while. But more recently I have concluded that ANYTHING with a will to live is eternal.
Here are two components of the compelling evidence upon which I base this conclusion. The first is that science has a real problem in trying to figure out consciousness: awareness of one's own existence and of one's environment. That is because there is no natural mechanism which can cause consciousness. I saw a book in a bookstore one time which attempted to address consciousness from a scientific point of view. it even made the claim that consciousness was "the collapse of the wave function." (Wave function has to do with quantum physics.) Also, a teacher of mine in high school one time brought his dog into the classroom. His dog was a St. Bernard named "Brandy." This was a philosophy class and the teacher had something to say about animals. He insisted that animals were not aware of their own existence. He assuredly thought this because there is compelling reason to believe that awareness is a supernatural phenomenon. He, as a Jesuit brother, could not believe that animals have spirits. If they are just biological mechanisms, they cannot be aware. But if anyone looks at how any animal behaves, one can readily see that animals are aware of their own existence and of their environment.
The other major piece of evidence is this: When God created the earth and all its creatures, everything in nature was perfect and set to last for eternity. If not only Adam and Eve had not sinned, but NO ONE in all earth's history sinned, the creation would have remained in its original, perfect state forever. All living things created a during creation week, and all their offspring that would come about during the history of the earth's time of procreation, would have remained alive forever. Because of Adam's sin and the Curse which God placed on Nature, all living things became doomed to die. Through no fault of their own, all lower-than-human creatures lost their eternal life that they otherwise would have been blessed with. Is that like God to curse someone into non-existence due to someone else's fault? No! All creatures on earth were given eternal life according to the original plan of creation! Therefore, I conclude that all denizens of what scientists call the "animal Kingdom" are supernatural, eternal beings.
Here are two components of the compelling evidence upon which I base this conclusion. The first is that science has a real problem in trying to figure out consciousness: awareness of one's own existence and of one's environment. That is because there is no natural mechanism which can cause consciousness. I saw a book in a bookstore one time which attempted to address consciousness from a scientific point of view. it even made the claim that consciousness was "the collapse of the wave function." (Wave function has to do with quantum physics.) Also, a teacher of mine in high school one time brought his dog into the classroom. His dog was a St. Bernard named "Brandy." This was a philosophy class and the teacher had something to say about animals. He insisted that animals were not aware of their own existence. He assuredly thought this because there is compelling reason to believe that awareness is a supernatural phenomenon. He, as a Jesuit brother, could not believe that animals have spirits. If they are just biological mechanisms, they cannot be aware. But if anyone looks at how any animal behaves, one can readily see that animals are aware of their own existence and of their environment.
The other major piece of evidence is this: When God created the earth and all its creatures, everything in nature was perfect and set to last for eternity. If not only Adam and Eve had not sinned, but NO ONE in all earth's history sinned, the creation would have remained in its original, perfect state forever. All living things created a during creation week, and all their offspring that would come about during the history of the earth's time of procreation, would have remained alive forever. Because of Adam's sin and the Curse which God placed on Nature, all living things became doomed to die. Through no fault of their own, all lower-than-human creatures lost their eternal life that they otherwise would have been blessed with. Is that like God to curse someone into non-existence due to someone else's fault? No! All creatures on earth were given eternal life according to the original plan of creation! Therefore, I conclude that all denizens of what scientists call the "animal Kingdom" are supernatural, eternal beings.
