Do Animals have a Spirit?

[T.S.Bland]

I am very fond of all animals. My pets(7) each have unique personalities. They are filled with so much love and emotions.
In a church Bible study one man said animals do not have a spirit.
Is this true?

 

[rockytopva]

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. - Matthew 10:29

If God has that much care for worthless sparrows, so he also has care for the family pets.

 

[CoolDude68]

I would think animals have spirits, yes. Anything living I would say. However, where does that end? Plants are alive, do they have spirits? What about bugs? When we step on an ant, does it go to Heaven?

These are questions I've always struggled with too.

We had to put our dog down recently and I certainly hope her spirit is in Heaven right now!

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

Probably not in the same sense as humans, but only God knows for sure.

 

[Dave-W]

There is no scripture one way or the other; and a spirit is something we cannot apprehend in our physical world as it is beyond that.

So really there is no way to tell one way or the other.

 

[celestialpearl]

I don't know, but Numbers 22:21-39 certainly makes a point for intelligence of animals.

A little off topic, but it's been proven that dogs at least love us back. The chemical oxytocin which is released when we look at someone we love such as our child is also released when looking a beloved pet. Test have shown dogs also release the same chemical when they look or smell their owner..

 

[T.S.Bland]

When I am sick or feel sad, my dogs know. They stay by my side and give me comfort.
I believe they are pure little spirits.

 

[Adstar]

I am very fond of all animals. My pets(7) each have unique personalities. They are filled with so much love and emotions.
In a church Bible study one man said animals do not have a spirit.
Is this true?

The man made a mistake...

In the following passage the fact that Animals have a spirit is established.. See bolded part::

Ecclesiastes 3: KJV
19 "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. {20} All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. {21} Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? {22} Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?"

 

[RaymondG]

It is said that animals share a spirit....have a group spirit per species. They are not given individual consciences that humans have..... They also just live for now and do not differentiate good from evil. Whereas human....eat that fruit all the time and constantly worry about the future and think about the past. And you wont be able to get on animal to fear Hell or work towards a heaven. So yes, animal would have spirits....although, they may not be as separate and individual as the human spirit.

 

[AlexDTX]

I am very fond of all animals. My pets(7) each have unique personalities. They are filled with so much love and emotions.
In a church Bible study one man said animals do not have a spirit.
Is this true?

Lucian in #4 and Adstar in #8 answered it correctly. The man at your bible study is parroting the often thoughtless dogma that what makes man in the image of God is our having spirits. Since animals are not made in the image of God they must not have a spirit. The doctrine is stupid. As Adstar quoted Ecclesiastes (and there are many other verses elsewhere) animals have spirit. And as Lucian implied, 1 Cor. 15 makes it clear that not all life forms are the same. They have spirits but they are not like human spirits.

I do not believe we will see animals in heaven, but remember heaven is the home of angels not mankind. The earth was made for mankind and the animals. As a point of pure speculation on my part, if God is able to recreate us in our entirety in the resurrection - consider those who have been dead for thousands of years whose bodies are completely turned into dirt thus became food for plants and insects - He most certainly can re-create our pets if He so desires. Although, when we are in our glorified, sinnless bodies, I don't think we will need our pets since we will truly love one another as God intended and we will love the creatures that are there at that time, too.

 

[CoolDude68]

On a side note....

Our dog would sleep and her legs would often move as if she was running. She would also have a muffled bark too. I'm sure she had a spirit and in her "dream" state she was probably having so much fun running and barking. And no, this wasn't an epileptic fit, it was her spirit being filled with joy. I am confident of that because when she woke up she would often bark and wag her tail as saying..."Wow, that was so much fun!" She did this for most of her life. The vet said that was "normal" for dogs and that there wasn't anything wrong with her.