Posted on 08/20/2006 5:44:49 AM PDT by Gamecock
Edited on 08/21/2006 10:36:56 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
I was kinda' hoping that heaven would be BJC free, however reuniting with my beloved Tinker, Snoopy, Sitka, and Bear is enticing.
If there are no animals in heaven, then heaven can not possibly be heaven.
And here I though Heaven was about God.
All I know is that if there are animals in heaven, my wife will be in charge of the squirrels.
True, but Scripture makes it clear that God isn't the only person in Heaven. Angels are there, for instance, and saints. In Heaven, we will be perfectly happy; only God knows what we need to be perfectly happy. Pets on earth serve as a substitute for the love we don't receive from other people, and the love we don't feel we receive from God. Obviously that won't be a problem in Heaven, where we will all be perfected in love, like our Lord.
Ultimately, at the end of time, there will be "new heavens and a new earth," where God will dwell among men. Will there be animals? I don't know, but the fact that God created animals for man at the beginning suggests that they'd be included in the renewal of creation at the end. He must have believed that the animals would be of benefit to man, and it wasn't as food or labor, at least before the Fall.
Of course, it says Revelation 22:15 that dogs will be outside the Heavenly Jerusalem, and that's fine with me. They poop all over the place, and bark when you're trying to sleep, or just walking by on the sidewalk. My cat never went into a frenzy because someone wanted to go to their own mailbox!
It would be downright blasphemous to think otherwise. ; )
Thank you for the ping FRiend
One of those "by and by" questions (as in "We'll understand it better, by and by").
If "lion will lie down with the lamb" is not metaphorical, then animals will be in the Kingdom.
However, we do know this: Heaven will be complete, and there will be no regrets nor unhappiness.
"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (I Cor 2:9b (ESV)
And my dog wishes to register a protest. She is so modest that she backs under a bush before she poops (I always pick it up anyway.) She only barks when the doorbell rings (just to let me know somebody's there), and she sleeps peacefully on the foot of the bed until the alarm clock goes off. She does raid the garbage can occasionally, but she is always sincerely repentant afterwards.
I've also read that the word rendered in English as "dog" in a couple of places actually means "homosexual prostitute."
I can only assume that there will be no untoward barking in heaven, or it wouldn't be heaven to me! (My cat was known to piddle on the bathroom floor when in a bad mood, and she walked on the kitchen counters at night.)
I don't know the context of the passage, and I doubt if the passage expands on this but my gut feelings are that the context of the passage is that ox's would by nature not gore a person to death unless they extremely felt threatened and were boxed into a corner which I don't think the context of the passage is talking about, but I wouldn't even really know about that. My gut feelings are that if the ox were to gore someone there probably was something seriously wrong with the ox medically. Kind of like a family pet dog, if your family pet dog starts attacking even the humans that it lives with something serious is wrong with the animal like rabbies.
Since the bible is silent on this, Lewis' speculations, a lot like Roman Catholic arguments from natural law, are interesting--and may well shed light on the issue. Lewis reasons that it is in the nature of love to love what is loved by your beloved. If you really love a woman who likes the color red for example, you too will soon become fond of red also--even if you never were before--for it reminds you of your beloved. In the same way if we love a creature especially--appreciating what the Creator put in that creature, than our Father the Creator will also have a special love for that particular creature. This means that a bear in the middle of the woods who dies a brutal death in the wilderness may well not have any eternal existance, but a beloved pet of a believer will...
Interesting speculation--if taken that way (as Lewis intended)--in any event.
This is the first genuine reformed reflection I've seen on that, and I'm glad it comes from the OPC. I agree too that no animal can commit a sin, since they never had any choice in the matter. As far as R.C. Sproul's speculation that killing a killer animal proves some sort of guilt--that's a silly argument. It's simply a practical matter that an animal that has killed is very much at risk of killing again--hence must be eliminated.
*That's a joke guys, Lewis--at least on predestination--was anything but reformed--on other issues though, coming from the Anglican church, I think he did show reformed instincts.
Obviously. Pets are what Heaven is about. As Boethius put it,the complete possession all at once of illimitable life, is incomplete without my goldfish, Gil.
When I think of all of the people I will be reunited with in Heaven, my kitties of the past are with them, waiting for me.
Ping.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.