Will Our Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven? *

 Dan Story photograph

Part Eleven:  Do Animals Have Minds Distinct from Their Brains?

In my last blog article, I pointed out that ethologists (scientist who study animal behavior) have demonstrated over the past half century that many complex animals exhibit devotion, grief, empathy, sorrow, affection, play, joy, altruism, inter-species friendships, thought-driven behaviors,  and other mental states analogous to humans. Such qualities in humans demonstrate the existence of immaterial minds distinct from our material brains, since such qualities can't be reduced to physical matter. Because sentient animals possess similar cognitive and emotional states as humans—albeit not as fully developed and intensely experienced—it suggests that they too possess immaterial minds distinct from their physical brains. And since the mind is the essential faculty of the soul in humans, it further suggests the presence of souls in sentient animals.

So the task at hand is to demonstrate that our minds are distinct from our physical brains. If we can demonstrate this in humans, it’s reasonable to conclude that it’s also true for sentient animals. This would be additional compelling evidence that animals, like humans, have souls that survive physical death. So, let’s explore the scientific evidence for this.

Mind As Opposed to Brain

Evolutionary materialists (people who think nothing exists but physical matter and physical laws) believe than all mental activities in humans (and animals) can be reduced to chemical and neurological processes operating within the brain—that is, to mere matter. They posit that all human thoughts and emotions, including religious beliefs, tastes in music, political opinions, feelings of fear, love, and all other psychological states of mind, have their origin in neurological processes operating strictly within the physical matter of our brain cells. There is no immaterial reality. There is no such thing as a “mind” independent of the brain, let alone a soul; just brain cells. Thus, materialists claim that what theists believe are immaterial minds or souls are merely inventions of material brains. But is this true? Recent studies in brain science indicate that it’s not true. In fact they suggest just the opposite. It’s been demonstrated that human thoughts can only be explained in terms of an immaterial mind operating independently of the physical brain. This isn’t hard to understand, and there are several ways to demonstrate it.

To begin with, most of the cells in the human body are regenerated or replaced about every seven years. So physically we are totally different persons than we were seven years ago. Yet we all have memories that go back to early childhood. This alone demonstrates that our minds are not identical to brain matter. Apparently brain cells do not regenerate in the same fashion as other cells in our body; nevertheless, they still gain and loose atoms and molecules and are constantly changing relationships to each other. Thus, at a sub-cellular level, even brain cells undergo physical changes—just like all the cells in our body.

Here’s another way to explain this. Right now you are reading my article, which contains thoughts I’ve generated from research and reflections on this topic. I always print a copy of my articles to file away, as well as back them up on a USB storage device. Afterwards, I post the articles in my blog and send notices to people on my personal blog email list and to several Facebook groups. Someday I’ll combine these articles into a book and email the manuscript to a publisher. The editor will make hard copies and/or emailed the manuscript to proofreaders and perhaps other editors. But notice that in all these various mediums, although my thoughts remain unchanged, the printed words, computer file, electronic transfers, and so on are all physical matter. If you examined a printed page with a magnifying glass, you would see only paper and ink. My thoughts exist apart from the paper and ink and before they were recorded in any other physical form. In like manner, memories and other thoughts in my mind exist apart from the physical matter in my brain.

Here’s another illustration to help make this clear. If you cracked open a skull and put a piece of brain tissue under a microscope, what would you see? Just brain cells. What you wouldn’t see are memories, feelings, emotions, and other thoughts. Why? Because the mind cannot be reduced to the physical proprieties of our brain, just as my thoughts cannot be reduced to the physical properties of paper and ink. Again, this can only mean that our minds (thoughts, memories, etc.) must exist independent of our physical brains.

If thoughts, emotions, and other mental activities originate in an immaterial mind distinct from brain matter, it’s strong evidence that our mind can survive physical death within an immortal soul. Remember, our minds are the essential faculty of our souls.

Now, some will argue that my illustration of cracking open a skull and peering inside to see if we can observe thoughts and emotions inside the brain is simplistic. I would argue that the materialist assumption that thoughts and emotions are somehow hidden in the physical tissues of our brain is unsustainable reductionism. The fact is matter has shape, size, density, weight, and so on—but not cognitive awareness such as thoughts and memories. My thoughts about Rocky Road ice cream are not identical to the physical ingredients of Rocky Road ice cream, that is, they do not have weigh, density, and so on. Neither can our belief in God, taste in music, and other mental states be identified as merely physical properties in our brains.  Mind and matter are entirely different properties, entirely different dimensions of our being.

At times our brain and mind work in tandem—but they are still distinct. For example, when I hide behind a bush and watch a doe with fawns, the light reflecting off the animals passes into my retina, stimulating the cells in my optic nerve, which then carries data to my brain. At the same time this physical activity is going on, my mind is thinking how much I’d love to play with the fawns; I wonder if their fur is soft or if it’s course like their mother’s; I sure hope they survive to adulthood, and so on. There is a clear distinction between physical events and mental events. Thoughts cannot be described in terms of physical laws or body chemistry. 

Now, why am I going into all this? The reason is because the mind is the essential faculty of the soul. If there is no immaterial mind distinct from the physical brain, it would be hard to justify the existence of immortal souls and therefore life after death in a resurrected body. Without immortal souls, there could be no eternal life for humans or animals. On the other hand, if it can be demonstrated that our immaterial minds are distinct entities of our being, we have powerful evidence for the existence of souls—and eternal life. And if sentient animals also possess minds distinct from their physical brains, we have compelling evidence that they too have immortal souls.

All this will become clearer in my next blog article, where I’ll provide additional evidence to demonstrate that our minds are separate entitles of our being. We’ll also look at the troubling question of brain injury. If injury to our brain can affect our mind, doesn’t it mean there is no mind distinct from our brains, that they are one and the same? We’ll see that while in our physical bodies our minds are “housed” within our brains, and the brain acts as a medium of transmission for our minds, but they are not identical. In fact the mind can actually modify brain function! This too will become clear next week.

^*  The blog articles in this series are adapted from copyrighted material and may not  be reproduced in book or article form, either electronically or in print, without my written permission. But feel free to send links to these articles, with a brief introduction, to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, or other people who may enjoy them. Or post a link on your own website. If you would like to be added to my personal blog email list (people who receive an email notice whenever I post a new blog article), contact me through my website: www.danstory.net.

Will Our Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven?

Al Hochrein photograph 
  

Part Ten:   More Arguments against the Immortality of Animal Souls

In my previous article, we examined the three Bible passages skeptics most frequently use to justify their rejection of the immortality of animal souls.  I explained why none of the passages are relevant, that is, none of them actually speak to the issue of animal immortality. Therefore, they all three fail as valid arguments against the existence of animal souls. In addition to these three Scripture passages, however, there are three other arguments skeptics often use to refute the likelihood that earth-bound animals possess immortal souls, and therefore they will not inhabit the eschatological new heaven and earth.  In this blog article, we’ll briefly examine them and see why they too are invalid arguments.

Only humans were created in God’s image, therefore animals do not have immortal souls

This is probably the most common argument used to “prove” that animals are merely physical creatures without immortal souls. The assumption is that because only humans were created in God’s image, animal souls expire at physical death.

It is unarguable that humans have a special relationship with God that animals do not share. We are the “crown” of God’s creation (Ps. 8:4-8); only people were made in His image (Gen. 1:27). By virtue of this, humans alone possess the communicable attributes of God, and we are of far greater value than animals (Matt. 6:26). Moreover, as far as we can tell, at least here on earth, only humans are innately aware that God exists (Eccl. 3:11). And as I explained in a previous article, animals have souls, but not spirits. Thus, they do not have the spiritual connectedness with God that humans enjoy.

But why should this mean that animals can’t have immortal souls? It doesn’t.  God could bless animals with immortal souls if He chooses to do so, and it’s presumptuous to say He can’t. Theologian Andrew Linzey sums it well: 

There is something theologically odd about all discussions of immortal souls—the plain absurdity, no less, of humans deciding for themselves which essential or substantial qualities qualify them for eternal life and which may or may not exclude animals. . . . Eternal life is God’s own gift; it is not something which we can merit. . . . If full weight is given to God’s gracious and wide-ranging activity in creation, then it is inconceivable that the God who redeems will be less than the God who creates. In this sense the issue of animal immortality is wholly integral to the view that God does actually care not only for the whole world but for each and every individual being within it, including—of course—sparrows. (Animals on the Agenda, 119)

Human dominion over animals means they do not have souls 

This argument claims that because the human race was instructed to have “dominion” over the animal kingdom (Gen. 1:28, KJV), animals do not possess immortal souls. This is probably the weakest argument against animal immortality. Not only is it clearly a non sequitur, but it doesn’t make sense. Space does not allow me to provide an analysis of what dominion means when examined within its full biblical context, but most theologians agree that dominion means stewardship. It denotes mankind’s caretaker role in creation; it doesn’t give people a license to use animals anyway we please. I devote five chapters in my book, Should Christians Be Environmentalists?, to  demonstrate this fact (Kregel Publications, 2012).

We saw in parts two through five in this blog series that God loves, enjoys, provides for, and values the creatures He created. If human dominion (stewardship) over creation teaches us anything, it’s that God desires for all animal life to fulfill the purposes for which He created them. Animals have far more value to God than just their instrumental use for humans. It’s reasonable to conclude from what we’ve seen in previous articles that God’s love for non-human life will not end with their physical death. There is no reason to assume that His love for the animals inhabiting the Earth today will not extend into eternity; that God has more in mind for animals than their short sojourn on this present Earth.

Animals lack the mental attributes that indicate the presence of an immortal soul

This argument claims that animals do not have immortal souls because they lack soul-like qualities. In other words, animals lack the cognitive and emotional attributes humans associate with the existence immaterial souls in us. This may have been a legitimate argument decades ago, but no longer. Since the mid-twentieth century, ethologists (scientist who study animal behavior) have demonstrated that many complex animals exhibit devotion, grief, empathy, sorrow, affection, play, joy, inter-species friendships, altruism, and other mental states analogous to humans. Some mammals and birds even exhibit thought-driven behaviors, and in some cases, a degree reflective reasoning that can trump instinct. Such qualities in humans demonstrate the existence of an immaterial mind distinct from our physical brains—the essential feature of a soul. If some animals possess limited but  similar cognitive and emotion states as humans, why would it not reflect immaterial minds and thus souls? The fact that these mental states are not as fully developed and intensely experienced in animals as they are in humans does not lesson the likelihood of their origin in immaterial minds/souls. This is such an important concept to grasp—that many sentient animals exhibit soul-like qualities—that I’ll spend the next one or two blog articles examining the scientific evidence for this in more detail.

But let me add this for now. Even if animals do not possess human-like thoughts and emotions and instead functioned totally on instinct, there is still no reason why God would not grant them eternal souls and extend His love for them into the next life. He may do so for no other reason than for His own pleasure—and the pleasure they will give humans. On this earth, wildlife is what makes the wilderness wild,  and numerous varieties of animals are our friends and companions. Nothing in Scripture suggests that the new heaven and earth will be inhabited only by redeemed humans, or that animals will not continue their role in the restored new earth. Indeed, the Old Testament in particular says much about animals in God’s eternal kingdom—as we’ll see in future articles. I like the way Randy Alcorn put  this in his acclaimed book, Heaven.

Why [do] so many people find such companionship, solace, and joy in their pets?. . .  I believe it’s because of how God has made animals, and us….It would be simple for him to re-create a pet in Heaven if he wants to. He’s the giver of all good gifts, not the taker of them. If it would please us to have a pet restored to the New Earth, that may be sufficient reason.”

(p. 385)

Next week we’ll examine scientific support for the biblical evidence that at least sentient animals possess an immaterial dimension (a mind/soul), which is distinct from their physical brains. This clearly supports the reality of immortality (new life after physical death) for animals—just as it does for humans.

^*  The blog articles in this series are adapted from copyrighted material and may not  be reproduced in book or article form, either electronically or in print, without my written permission. But feel free to send links to these articles, with a brief introduction, to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, or other people who may enjoy them. Or post a link on your own website. If you would like to be added to my personal blog email list (people who receive an email notice whenever I post a new blog article), contact me through my website: www.danstory.net.

Will Our Pets (and Other Animals) Greet Us in Heaven?

Dan Story photograph

Part Nine:   “Animals Don’t  Have Immortal Souls!”—Objections Overruled!

In this and the following blog article, I’ll examine the major arguments raised by skeptics who reject the idea of animal’s possessing immortal souls. In this article I’ll focus on the three Bible passages skeptics most frequently quote to support this claim. As you read them, notice that the first two do not even speak to the issue of animals souls. (All Scripture from the New International Version.)

Psalm 49:10-20: 

 The first passage is Psalm 49:10-20, in particular verses 15 and 20: “But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself….A man who has riches without understanding is like the beast that perishes.” At first glance this passage may seem to imply that godly men will be rescued from the grave (resurrected) but animals will perish. Why this interpretation? Because skeptics assume the passage is focusing on spiritual death. Thus, since animals allegedly lack eternal souls, at death they decay in the grave (14) while humans, who do have eternal souls, eventually rise from the grave (15). But is this what the passages is concerned about? Not at all. It explains that both humans and animals die physically (12); the fate of our bodies is no different than theirs—we all return to dust.

Besides the mistaken assumption that the passage is focusing on spiritual death—which it’s not—this interpretation is grossly out of context. The passage says nothing about the eternal state of animals. It’s speaking about the fate of a godless rich man (represented as sheep—v. 14) who “will take nothing with him when he dies” (17). In other words, just as animals have no material possessions to carry to the grave, neither do humans. When a person dies, regardless of the riches or honor he or she enjoyed in this life, they take nothing with them to the grave—just like animals. The passage says nothing about animal souls or their eternal destiny.

Matthew 25:31-46:

The second passage that skeptics believe refutes the notion of animals possessing immortal souls is Matthew 25:31-46, especially verse 46: “Then they [the unrighteous] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” But read the entire passage. It’s not talking about animals at all. Jesus is distinguishing righteous people (represented by the sheep on His right) from unrighteous people (the goats on His left—v. 32). The passage is saying nothing whatsoever about whether or not animals (i.e. the sheep and goats) possess souls. Indeed, if it were speaking about the destiny of animal souls, at least some (the sheep) would “go away . . . to eternal life” (v. 46).

Ecclesiastes 3:19-21:

Probably the most common passage used to discredit the immortality of animal souls is Ecclesiastes 3:19-21:

For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath (ruach--spirit) and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust [i.e. their physical bodies]. Who knows that the breath (ruach--spirit) of the beast descends downward to the earth?” 

 Skeptics interpret this passage to mean that while the bodies of people and animals both decay (turn to dust), human immortal spirits go to Heaven but animal spirits (souls) do not. Again, this is an assumption. The author points out that human and animal bodies “all go to the same place.” Then he asks a question (not make a statement): “Who knows” if the breath (i.e. ruach—spirit) of animals “descends downward to the earth?” The most obvious interpretation of this passage would seem to be the opposite of the skeptic’s. If the “fate” of human and animal bodies is the same, that is, “all go to the same place” (physical death—dust), the author may well have assumed that the spirits of humans and animals also go to the same place. But perhaps he wasn’t absolutely certain about it (just like many Christians), so he asked the question: “Who knows that the breath (ruach--spirit) of the beast descends downward to the earth?”

Some skeptics have attempted to support their interpretation by arguing that verse 12:7 clarifies the issue. When the teacher says,  “and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it,” they assume that the dust returning to the ground is the animal’s spirit in verse 3:21. Thus, animal spirits are extinguished at death while human spirits ascend to God. This is pure speculation. In context of all chapter twelve, verse 12:7 is obviously referring to just people. It’s saying that people’s spirits go to God while their physical bodies return to dust. It says nothing about animal spirits (souls).

As these three examples illustrate, the passages skeptics rely on to justify their belief that animals do not possess immortal souls, in reality, say no such thing. To conclude otherwise requires the skeptic to read his or her own presumptions back into the text.

Is There a More Fundamental Reason People reject the Immortality of Animals Souls?

It’s true that animals do not possess spirits in the tripartite sense of a unique spiritual connection with God, which only humans enjoy by virtue of being created in His image (see part seven). But this is no reason to conclude that their souls are merely corporeal and without God-given eternal qualities. The fact is nothing in Scripture speaks about the annihilation of animal souls.  Thus, if animals do have souls, it seems reasonable they would be immortal—just as in humans.

I believe that the reason many people reject the immortality of animal souls is not for biblical reasons, but for philosophical reasons. They worry that if we admit animal souls are eternal, we are elevating animals to human status or are acquiescing to some kind of pagan, earth-based religion where there is no value distinction between people and animals. There is no reason to have this concern. Animals were not created the same as humans (1 Cor. 15:39), nor do animals have the same value to God as people (Matt. 6:26). In the future new heaven and earth, we can expect these distinctions to remain. (We’ll look at this in detail later.) Just because animals have souls that survive physical death does not change their status in the hear-and-now nor in the age to come. Animals in heaven will still be just animals.

^*  The blog articles in this series are adapted from copyrighted material and may not  be reproduced in book or article form, either electronically or in print, without my written permission. But feel free to send links to these articles, with a brief introduction, to your personal email list, Facebook friends and groups, or other people who may enjoy them. Or post a link on your own website. If you would like to be added to my personal blog email list (people who receive an email notice whenever I post a new blog article), contact me through my website: www.danstory.net.