Does every living thing have a soul?

mattfivefour

Well-Known Member
Yes. All sentient creatures have souls. The Hebrew word is nephesh. Proverbs 12:10 says "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." In Hebrew that reads "A righteous man takes notice of the soul of his animal; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."

At creation, Scripture records, "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." (Genesis 1:20) In Hebrew the words the creature that hath life are nephesh hayyah ... literally, "living souls". The same phrase occurs in the very next verse: "And God created great whales, and every living creature (nephesh hahayyah, literally 'living souls') that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:21) And in Genesis 1:24 we read, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature (again, nephesh hayyah) after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. We are thus taught that all higher living creatures ARE souls given them by God.

In fact, every living thing IS a soul. Our bodies are only temporary; our souls are eternal.
 

vmoon

Well-Known Member
Since all created creatures have souls and the life in them comes from God should we respect all living things? Do you think people who are cruel to animals will be punished? I mean to use an animal for a purpose other than they were given to us? I do not mean that we should not eat meat or use animals to help us farm etc. I mean people who are cruel to them. Also do you think it is ok for us to pray for the animals we love?
 

Lily

Looking Up
I always assumed that the treatment of animals was very important to God and we were to respect all living things. I think that if a person dies in their sins having rejected Christ as their Savior, that if those same people are cruel to animals that, that, is indeed a sin and would be punished. I actually never considered it being any different than that. Maybe that's because it's the conscience that tells us it's wrong to be cruel to animals and thus it's a law that is written on our hearts?

I would think God would expect us to pray for our animals. Not only those we love as pets but before this age of machines, animals were vital to the welfare of the family. They were their food, clothing and transportation, so to pray for the animals under your care would seem natural, it would seem to me. If God cares enough to tell us that he notices when a sparrow falls, I think he's telling us that he's profoundly interested in all the animals under his creation. The Bible does tell us that God owns all the cattle on a hill, and that he knows when wildlife have given birth.

I think we will be held accountable for the animals God placed in our path. If we could make a difference or not, God knows. We can't be held responsible for every creature under the sun, but possibly there were a few now and then we had a choice about.

eta: I also think it is important not to place animals above people, in importance. People should always come first when a choice has to be made.
 
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sara ann

Well-Known Member
I like this thread!!.....I love love love my animals......stopped in the middle of the hwy to get a turtle out of the road yesterday...I don't always do that...but I always regret not doing it...I pray for my dogs and cats....two dogs and too many cats to number...I feed all who come to the table....I'm sorry, but I can not let something go hungry it it is in my power to feed it....hug your pets every day....thanks for this thread....and thanks to our loving God for all of the animals...sa
 

Zelda2927

Member
I believe animals such as dogs, cats, and horses have souls. But what is a "living thing"; according to the scientific definition of life, bacteria and individual cells are "alive." If this is true, we, being made of millions of "living" cells, would have millions of souls. This is obviously not the case. So, what things that we call "living" are actually alive, as in having a soul?

Do bacteria, phytoplankton, ants, and worms have souls?
 

Geri7

Well-Known Member
Psalm 150: 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 148
Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.
He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 36:6 ... O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. (Preservest- means to keep from decay)

Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
 
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livingskies

Well-Known Member
Ummm, are we talking body, soul, and spirit here? Like all living creatures have bodies, which are only granted life through the soul or breath of life from God. But man being made in God's image, possesses an eternal spirit, which places him above all other created mammals - giving him the ability to feel, choose, think, have self-knowledge and awareness, language, etc - surely we are not placing any other created mammal on this same plane? I do not believe animals have spirits or were created in God's image and are not eternal as humans are.
 

Vince Cacciato

New Member
Do you believe we will see our animals in heaven? I really want the animals that passed away to be there. I had a beautiful Russian Blue cat named Chunkers who passed away 2 years ago April 29th.
Will this include all the pigs and chickens and fish and cows we consume or flush?????? I have a feeling that we won't see these departed animals in heaven but hey I could be wrong....:smack2
 

Vince Cacciato

New Member
I believe animals such as dogs, cats, and horses have souls. But what is a "living thing"; according to the scientific definition of life, bacteria and individual cells are "alive." If this is true, we, being made of millions of "living" cells, would have millions of souls. This is obviously not the case. So, what things that we call "living" are actually alive, as in having a soul?

Do bacteria, phytoplankton, ants, and worms have souls?
Good question that is what the Hindu's believe. I do not..
 

Lily

Looking Up
Randy Alcorn's book Heaven has an interesting perspective on animals. Hint: God did think enough of them to save them in the Ark. The Bible does say that all living things that have breath praise Him. (Geri's post #14, up thread)

We live in a fallen world and I think it's hard to grasp sometimes just how fallen it is. Honestly, I don't think we have a clue as to how fallen. God's original plan for the animals wasn't this, just like it wasn't this for us.

I'm excited to see what future we have with animals. They are simply amazing creatures, an amazing work of God's hand. That is just my opinion on this though.
 
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