{"id":17422,"date":"2009-01-13T21:11:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-14T03:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=17422"},"modified":"2019-12-27T21:24:04","modified_gmt":"2019-12-28T03:24:04","slug":"do-animals-have-a-soul-or-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-animals-have-a-soul-or-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Do animals have a soul or spirit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I have a question regarding animals and souls.\u00a0 Does the Bible state definitively whether animals have a soul or a spirit?\u00a0 I was raised in the church of Christ and had always been told that animals (companion dogs specifically) do not have a soul.\u00a0 However, no one has been able to show me that the Bible states it as such.\u00a0I found the Scriptures and am wondering what each could mean, specifically the scripture from Job.<\/p>\n

Job 12:7-10
\nYou have only to ask the cattle, for them to instruct you, and the birds of the sky, for them to inform you. The creeping things of earth will give you lessons, and the fish of the sea provide you an explanation: there is not one such creature but will know that the hand of God has arranged things like this! In his hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of every human being!<\/blockquote>\n

You are probably wondering about my question.\u00a0 I just lost my dog of 11.5 years and some say I will see him again that he has gone to a place that Jesus has prepared, others say that dogs have no soul.\u00a0 Thank you for your time.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

The answer becomes much simpler if you understand the difference between soul and spirit. While we sometimes use them as synonyms, they don’t have the same meaning. There are two sermon outlines that go through the difference, and I would like you to work your way through them and read all the passages referenced. See Soul and Spirit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The similarity between men and animals is that we both have souls, which means “living.” But people have something that animals don’t have, a spirit, which means “breath or wind,” because we were made in the image of God and God is spirit. The passage from Job is saying that animals’ behavior shows that God is in control and that man should realize it as well.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, by the time you get through the two lessons things will be clearer. If not, let me know what is still confusing you and I’ll try to explain it better.<\/p>\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Thank you, I do understand to an extent. Does this mean that animals have a soul but not a spirit? Or rather when they die, they are simply dead and return to the ground? Does the Bible definitely say this? Does it say anything about animals going to another place that has been prepared for them?<\/p>\n

Thanks!<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Animals and men share the common characteristic that we both have life; that is, we have souls. But only men were made in the image of God, being given spirits.<\/p>\n

In discussing death, Solomon mentions in Ecclesiastes 3:18-21 that men and animals face the same fate — we both die. And Solomon notes that though by faith we are certain that men go to heaven, we can’t prove this while living in the physical world. “Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 3:21). Though expressed in a form of a question, notice that there are two different fates for men and for animals. Animals return to the dust of the world, so do the bodies of men. But the spirits of men return to God. “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).<\/p>\n

There is no mention of animals living on beyond death in the Bible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I have a question regarding animals and souls.\u00a0 Does the Bible state definitively whether animals have a soul or a spirit?\u00a0 I was raised in the church of Christ and had always been told that animals (companion dogs specifically) do not have a soul.\u00a0 However, no one has been able to show me that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[658,653,471],"class_list":["post-17422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-animals","tag-soul","tag-spirit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6817,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-ecclesiastes-319-teach-that-there-is-no-difference-between-men-and-animals\/","url_meta":{"origin":17422,"position":0},"title":"Doesn’t Ecclesiastes 3:19 teach that there is no difference between men and animals?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Doesn't Ecclesiastes 3:19 teach that there is no difference between men and animals? Answer: \"Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, iniquity was there. I said in my heart, \"God shall judge the righteous and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42391,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-discovered-your-site-looking-for-whether-animals-have-souls-or-spirits\/","url_meta":{"origin":17422,"position":1},"title":"I discovered your site looking for whether animals have souls or spirits","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I just discovered your website when looking for whether\u00a0animals have souls or spirits. Friends were visiting our home, and we got on the topic. I said to the gentleman that animals have souls but not spirits. He questioned this statement. Now I wanted to try and find it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2584,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-disappointed-you-didnt-answer-my-question-about-animals\/","url_meta":{"origin":17422,"position":2},"title":"I’m disappointed you didn’t answer my question about animals.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"I find it very interesting that you choose to ignore passages from the Bible that do not condone the inhumane treatment of animals. You still haven't answered my question. I suppose you will not answer it and continue to divert the subject to something it's not about. Unfortunately, I see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42200,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-animal-guides-compatible-with-christianity\/","url_meta":{"origin":17422,"position":3},"title":"Are animal guides compatible with Christianity?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a teen and I got in trouble with my mom just for trying to contact my spirit animal. She said not to do it again because she does not want me to get possessed by a demon. She did not explain to me how or why. I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14147,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-animals-put-to-death-when-it-is-the-person-who-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":17422,"position":4},"title":"Why are animals put to death when it is the person who sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: God condemns bestiality in Leviticus 18:23, but why does He command that the animal be put to death in Exodus 22:19. Answer: Unlike animals, man is given a spirit in the likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). In part, this gives man the ability to operate contrary to instinct. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83003,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-animals-have-spirits\/","url_meta":{"origin":17422,"position":5},"title":"Don’t animals have spirits?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading the article, \"Doesn't Ecclesiastes 3:19 teach that there is no difference between men and animals?\" You said animals have no spirit. The very next passage says that they do have spirits. \"Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}