An intelligent dog can recognize about as many words as a human child 2 yrs. old. Do you think children, because they are inferior in intelligence and responsibility, are less worthy of protection than adults? Dogs and some other animals display a loyalty to their human companions beyond that of most humans. There is a Christian argument for kindness toward beasts: we are their superiors, and have been entrusted with their welfare by our common creator. There is also a materialistic, evolutionary argument: our Neolithic ancestors rose out of a desperate existence because of their ability to nurture and raise domestic animals. They survived because the animals in their care survived. Therefore love of animals is hard-wired into normal human beings. I would never trust anyone who was not affectionate toward and grateful toward animals.
Very well said. And though I know you did not say this, it’s ridiculous to accuse someone that is uncertain of whether or not the Lord chose to endow a dog with some type of everlasting quality as a person who doesn’t “take our religion seriously”
Assertions that animals do not have souls is based solely on personal opinion.
The soul is the animating force in humans. When the soul leaves the body, the body is a lifeless shell. The soul is the source of consciousness. Animals have consciousness. Their eyes aren’t just there for decoration. People used to say that blacks or Indians didn’t have souls. Sometimes people used to think that some other “inferior” people didn’t have souls because they could then mistreat them with a clear conscience, same thing with animals.
In the Vedas and in the Bible it is clear that humans are meant to be the guardians and caretakers of the creation, which does not mean “cruelly exploit” but “husband carefully”. With care, with love - knowing that none of it, including other people, animals, the entire planet - is not ours, but His.