I received this question in Quora (you can follow the link and click “follow” me there also): “Do animals or pets have souls?”
Animals have souls because they display thoughts and emotions, but they do not have spirits, that part with which we commune with God and worship. No animal worships a tree or animal or a statue of another animal. Animals function mainly on instinct. Therefore they are not spirit beings like God, angels, humans, and demons.
Some people are convinced animals have spirits. The Bible indicates that demons can possess animals, as the “Legion” of demons did 2000 pigs in Mark chapter 5, an incident of demon casting involving Jesus Himself:
“And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the SWINE, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the UNCLEAN SPIRITS went out, and entered into the SWINE: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. (Mark 5: 12 – 13 KJV)
No religion in the world seems to distinguish properly between soul and spirit except for Christianity. The Bible is clear that humans, created in God’s image and likeness, are composed 3 parts: spirit, soul and body. Humans are three-in-one, much like God is Three-in-One. The theological terms are: God is Trinity, man is triune.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (KJ21) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are an eternal spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body. It is so difficult for the unsaved and untrained to distinguish between soul and spirit that only the Word of God can properly divide the spirit from the soul.
Hebrews 4:12 (KJ21) For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Word of God is able to separate our God-given conscience, intents of the heart and divine inspiration (in our spirit) from our more instinctive desires and carnal thoughts (in our soul). Animals, however, have only souls and bodies. They are not inspired to worship, write, sing, draw, paint or create for the glory of God. They are missing that part which makes humans unique on the earth. You are very precious to God because you alone are made like God; that’s what it means to be made “in God’s image and likeness”.
You are of infinite worth, which is why the infinite God came down in the form of a sinless human 2000 years ago to redeem you from your sins. If you’d like to know God, pray this out loud:
“Dear God, I believe You made me special and You love me. God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, that I who believe in Him should not perish in hell, but have eternal life now and in Heaven. Please forgive me and save me from my sins. Make my spirit born again. Give me a second chance at new life. I put my whole trust in Jesus who died on the Cross for my sins and after 3 days rose again from the dead. From this day forward, I belong to You, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
Your life will never be the same again when you pray that prayer sincerely. See my answer to a related question “Do pets go to Heaven?” posted at Quora: Where do pets go when they die? Clicl “Follow” me at Quora and upvote my posts to support Christian answers from the Bible.
WHO IS STEVE CIOCCOLANTI?
by Discover Ministries: Discover Ministries | Pastor Steve
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