My dog Cody has a soul.

bob b

Science Lover
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When I look into the big brown eyes of my dog Cody my heart melts and I know without any doubt that he has a soul just like I do.

Am I right or am I wrong?

Do any scriptures have a bearing on this subject?
 

The Removed

New member
I don't see any Scripture that really says animals don't have souls. Ecclessiastes gives a suggestion that animals may have souls like humans but I can't really say because of those verses alone.

Ecclessiastes 3: 18 I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.
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; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: 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, whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth?

Genesis 2: 7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
--I looked up the word soul in Strong's Concordance with e-sword and it says the word used in place of soul is the Hebrew word nephesh which basically means " a breathing creature, that is, animal."
"any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature,"
" lust, man, me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure".

I personally think animals do have "souls" but they differ so much from humans because humans are the only creation of Genesis that was made in God's own image.
Genesis 2: 27 And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
 

Gerald

Resident Fiend
bob b said:
When I look into the big brown eyes of my dog Cody my heart melts and I know without any doubt that he has a soul just like I do.
Just an observation here, but for a self-proclaimed "science lover" you put an awful lot of stock in warm, fuzzy feeelings...
 

bob b

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Gerald said:
Just an observation here, but for a self-proclaimed "science lover" you put an awful lot of stock in warm, fuzzy feeelings...

That is because in addition to the capacity for love I also have a soul. :)

"The Removed" of course has the correct answer. Animals have souls, but only humans were made in "the image of God", and God being a spirit (not a man) makes it is easy to guess what was meant by that phrase.

The interesting question that remains is whether the spirit in Adam and Eve "died" when they disobeyed, so that their descendants must be "born again" in order to come into the presence of God in heaven when they die carnally.
 

thelaqachisnext

BANNED
Banned
bob b said:
When I look into the big brown eyes of my dog Cody my heart melts and I know without any doubt that he has a soul just like I do.

Am I right or am I wrong?

Do any scriptures have a bearing on this subject?
Yes.
Job 12:10 In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Eccesiastes 3:18 I said in my heart, "Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals."
19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.
20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.
21 Who* knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Gen 6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein [is] the breath of life, from under heaven; [and] every thing that [is] in the earth shall die.

Gen 7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein [is] the breath of life.

Death came to all life in this kingdom which Adam was given to reign over, but only Adamkind was made in the image of God.

This earth will teem with living things in which is the breath of life in the regeneration -God wanted every creature to multiply after it's kind and fill this earth, in the beginning, with it's own kind, after which fullness, I believe, all things would have ceased multiplying, for hormones are in God's control, after all.
Fish are not the same as animals, and also the insects are not...as far as the 'breath of life' goes.
 

Sozo

New member
bob b said:
The interesting question that remains is whether the spirit in Adam and Eve "died" when they disobeyed, so that their descendants must be "born again" in order to come into the presence of God in heaven when they die carnally.

Without the spirit being alive, our souls are subject to the things of this world. We are carnally minded. A Christians is made alive in the spirit, and now has access to the things of God, and the mind is renewed. This is why salvation is life.

In other words...

Our soul is being set apart from the wisdom of this world, unto the wisdom of God.

We now have the capacity to know the things freely given to us by God. God renews our minds with the truth concerning who He is, who we are in Him, and the hope of glory.

"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ."
 

thelaqachisnext

BANNED
Banned
bob b said:
That is because in addition to the capacity for love I also have a soul. :)

"The Removed" of course has the correct answer. Animals have souls, but only humans were made in "the image of God", and God being a spirit (not a man) makes it is easy to guess what was meant by that phrase.

The interesting question that remains is whether the spirit in Adam and Eve "died" when they disobeyed, so that their descendants must be "born again" in order to come into the presence of God in heaven when they die carnally.
Of course the 'spirit' in Adam died the day he ate the foul fruit, but it did not cease to exist, rather, it ceased to be a son of God and the glory of the Father's presence departed; therefore, we wear clothes to hide the shame [the vanity of being, since the departing of the glory] of our nakedness.
All the beasts of this creation have their own 'clothing', fur, feathers, scales, hair, and whatever, but Adam, only, was made naked, to be clothed with the clothing not of this world, the presence of the Father's glory.
 

Evee

New member
bob b said:
When I look into the big brown eyes of my dog Cody my heart melts and I know without any doubt that he has a soul just like I do.

Am I right or am I wrong?

Do any scriptures have a bearing on this subject?
I believe you are right after all God created them.
I also love dogs and other critters.
Jesus comes back on a white horse but that may not mean a literal happening not sure.
 

chair

Well-known member
The first question ought to be: "Do humans have souls?"

Beyond that, It is interesting to note that animals are not treated in the Hebrew bible as being completely different than humans. They are to rest on teh Sabbath, and are punishable for certains crimes.

Joel
 

Delmar

Patron Saint of SMACK
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
neet stuff! I will have to look at this tread after I get some sleep and have a few more brain cells working!
 

Daniel50

New member
bob b said:
When I look into the big brown eyes of my dog Cody my heart melts and I know without any doubt that he has a soul just like I do.

Am I right or am I wrong?

Do any scriptures have a bearing on this subject?


Dearly beloved in Christ, I honestly tell you Animals have no souls.

You love them is different, many a times they are better than human beings.
 

bob b

Science Lover
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Daniel50 said:
Dearly beloved in Christ, I honestly tell you Animals have no souls.
.

Strong seems to disagree.

H5315 נֶפֶשׁ
nephesh neh'-fesh
From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):—any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.

G5590 ψυχή
psuchē psoo-khay'

From G5594; breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from G4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from G2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew [H5315], [H7307] and [H2416]:—heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

As should be obvious from above, the confusion about the English word "soul" comes about because it is overused in translations to apply to different concepts in both the old and new testaments, making it necessary to refer to the original Hebrew and Greek to properly determine the exact meaning in a particular verse.

The thread title was an example of my twisted humor being used to get a discussion going on an interesting and important subject.

BTW, I doubt if there is a reason why God couldn't resurrect our pets to be with us in heaven if He wanted to, but I am content to leave that totally up to Him with no input at all from me.

After all, He knows best. :first:
 

Jukia

New member
thelaqachisnext said:
Fish are not the same as animals, and also the insects are not...as far as the 'breath of life' goes.

On what basis do you make this claim?

And to answer the first question---no dogs do not have souls. No animals have souls.
 

Real Sorceror

New member
thelaqachisnext said:
Fish are not the same as animals, and also the insects are not...as far as the 'breath of life' goes.
:nono:
"Animals" consists of all non-plant living organisms. Fish and insects are types of animals, though I would find it hard to say that ants have souls. I'm sure at least some fish have souls, but insects just seem too mindless and simple.
 
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