Joe Blackwell holds Marshmallow, one of his and his wife's cats, during a blessing of the animals at St. George's Episcopal Church, led by Assistant Rector Fletcher Wells (right). SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

CLERGY: ANIMALS ARE A GIFT FAITHDo all dogs really go to Heaven?

Do animals have souls? Clergy don't really know

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Date published: 10/10/2007

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Katie, 12, has volunteered at church for about eight years now.

She greets visitors, cheers up the office staff

and eats lunch with the parish administrator.

Katie comes to St. George's Episcopal Church in downtown Fredericksburg just about every day.

But will her faithful attendance be rewarded with a trip to heaven in the next life?

"Some would say yes, and some would say no," said the Rev. Gay Rahn, associate rector at St. George's. "I don't know the answer to that."

Katie hasn't committed any sins that could keep her on the other side of the pearly gates.

She is Rahn's dog.

And scripturally, most clergy say they don't know whether or not all dogs go to heaven.

Or any dogs for that matter.

"I think heaven will be whatever makes us whole and complete and if that involves animals, that will be OK with me," said the Rev. Steve Aycock, executive director of the Fredericksburg Area Baptist Association. "But there's nothing in the Scriptures that says if animals will be in heaven."

Last week, many religions honored St. Francis of Assisi, known for taking care of animals.

St. George's and Trinity Episcopal churches marked the day by blessing animals.

The ceremonies provide a way to thank God for the companionship pets provide, said the Rev. Kent Rahm, rector of Trinity on William Street.

As to whether animals will go to heaven or if they have souls, he said, "I'll leave that particular question to God, and God will figure that out for us."

But it's not so much of a question for Cathie Fisher Braman, an ordained United Church of Christ minister and a pet bereavement counselor.

"I very definitely believe our pets are going where we go," she said.

You can tell animals have souls just by looking in their eyes, Braman said.

And Ecclesiastes 3:19 begins, "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other"

Most clergy agree on one point, though. Animals may not have souls, but they were created by God. So people are supposed to treat them with care.

The Humane Society of the United States recently launched a campaign calling on religious groups to learn about how animals are treated and to advocate for better treatment.

"I don't think it's just by chance that humans were given animals," Braman said. "It's up to us to protect them."

She said God would probably be very upset at how some people treat animals--Michael Vick's recent public dogfighting charges came quickly to mind as did animals gassed in shelters "like some kind of Holocaust."

On the other hand, God would be happy to see those who spend their weekends saving animals, Braman said.

And the creator would love for everyone to learn the lessons she and her husband get from rescuing pets.

Last year, they adopted a Chihuahua which couldn't stand for more than five minutes at a time.

The dog suffered brain damage and permanent blindness in one eye.

But he now runs around with Braman's other pets.

"It's just because we gave him a lot of love," she said.

Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com

The Humane Society of the United States collected official statements from several major religions describing the faiths' views on animals: Assemblies of God As stated in Genesis 1:27-30, we believe God has given mankind complete dominion over the Earth's resources. These resources include the land, the water, the vegetation, and the earth's minerals; as well as the animals, fish, and fowl. Like the earth, we acknowledge these to be gifts from God to mankind; and as gifts they are to be appreciated and cherished. As Christians, we believe dominion requires good stewardship of our temporary home--Earth. Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod While both are creatures of God, man and animals are clearly not on some kind of equal footing. For reasons that God has not revealed to us, man's diet prior to the flood was limited to "green plants." However, recalling for man the divine arrangement at creation, God tells Noah and his sons, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth" (cf. Gen. 1: 28a) and "they [animals] are given into your hands" (9:2; cf. Gen. 1: 28b). The Creator Himself expressly permits the eating of animals. The exercise of man's dominion now permitted by God to include the use of animals for food, Genesis tells us, drives fear into the creatures under man--and understandably so. We might add here that in general the Christian tradition has long held that animals may be killed and eaten for food in keeping with what is said in Genesis 9. That this is not a mere concession to the human race in its fallen condition, is the apparent assumption of Jesus and His apostles that animals may be eaten without sin. At the same time, we are to remember that animals are God's creation, that He provides for them (Matt. 6), and that they may serve as very fitting images for higher spiritual truths, most especially truths about how the Kingdom of God comes (Luke 15:3-7; John 10). They are not to be treated with cruelty but received as God's good gifts over which He has placed us as stewards (Gen. 1:28)--which includes our use of them for food and for our enjoyment. It is possible that the wise saying in Proverbs 12:10 has some application in this connection: "A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast..." The Presbyterian Church (USA) It helps to see plants, animals and their communities as having interests that humans should respect No part of God's creation has value only in relation to human needs and human understanding Seventh-Day Adventists Since the 1860's when the church began, wholeness and health have been an emphasis of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Seventh-day Adventists present a health message that recommends vegetarianism and expects abstinence from pork, shellfish and other foods proscribed as "unclean" in Leviticus 11. Southern Baptist Convention The official statement on environmentalism rejects "elevating animal life to the place of equal value with humane life." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and George Cannon, the founder of the LDS church and two of its most influential leaders, each suggest abstaining from meat unless it is necessary for survival and condemn animal cruelty. The Episcopal Church The 74th General Convention approved a resolution which "encourages its members to ensure that husbandry methods for captive and domestic animals would prohibit suffering in such conditions as puppy mills, and factory farms[and committed to] educating its members to adhere to ethical standards in the care and treatment of animals [and]advocating for legislation protecting animals." The Roman Catholic Church Pope John Paul II: Animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren. Animals are the fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect they are as near to God as men are." The United Methodist Church We support regulations that protect the life and health of animals, including those ensuring the humane treatment of pets and other domestic animals, animals used in research, and the painless slaughtering of meat animals, fish and fowl. We encourage the preservation of all animal species including those threatened with extinction. Reform Judaism The Jewish concept of tsa-ar ba-a-lei chay-yim, of mercy toward animals, has always been a principle of our faith.

Date published: 10/10/2007

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