euthanasia and animals

hi everyone

i was just thinking about when i learned about euthanasia in RE at school, i remember that different christians have different opinions on it and feel very strongly about it.

one day i thought why do the christians that are against euthanasia not have any opinions on animals being put to sleep- why don't they protest against that?

so i asked my Re teacher and she said because christians don't beleive that animals have souls, so i said well isn't that just an excuse to treat animals how we want to treat them ? and she admitted it was.

what does everyone think about this, do you think its just an excuse or do you feel that animals don't have souls?.

personally it really annoys me that some christians don't believe animals have souls! humans are animals - so why make out that we are seperate from other animals?

peace and love
issy

 

lil' Flopsy the rabbit won't be able to join darling Beckie in heaven

 

Her statement in regards to animals not having a soul is true.

If nothing can be done to relieve the horrendous pain an animal is suffering (in regards to cancer or other diseases), then yes, I would support euthanasia. I would rather end their misery than watch them suffer. I happen to be an individual whose love for animals compels her to buy cruelty-free products, etc.

 

aaaaah i personally don't believe in heaven but i believe there is something after death but i don't think its important to worry about what it is, its the here and now that counts, but im sure they will be together

i completely agree with euthanasia and putting animals to sleep.

yeah its the best way, i've seen it done loads of times and the animals allways looks peaceful when its dying. do you feel the same way about humans being euthanised?

same here

yeah but why do christians beleive this? we are animals too so how come we have souls and they don't? i personally believe that animals do have souls, i believe that all living things (including plants and trees) have some kind of soul

peace and love
issy

 

animals were created before humans. When GOd made Adam He "breathed into his nostrils" and made him "In His image". Animals dont have souls..they are here for us, for food, for joy, for help, ect....they are a blessing to us. (I'm sure there will be animals in heaven, but they wont get there by dying on earth, they'll already be there..and they'll probably be spectacular!)


The Bible is full of reference to animals. It's not an exuse to do whatever we want to them, we are to take care and watch over GOd's creation, not abuse it or manipulate it or be cruel and heartless. Putting an animal down because of sickness is different than a human. Animals can't repent and get right with God before they die...humans can. That's the best way i can explain it from a Christian's perspective.

 

me too...it can be an horrendously hard decision sometimes, especially if it is a well loved animal....but prolonged suffering achieves nothing.

 

Two words: Bunny football.

 

i had an amazing doberman years ago that was my best freind & one time on 1 corner there wasa cat that was hit by a car, & she sat there licking it & even carried it gently to the sidewalk & watched over it while it diesd while i ran door to door trying to find its owner or get it help...a week later i was at a freinds a few blocks away..& her & her b/f got in a huge fight & she ran out the door with her b/f chasin her..& my dob ran after them to make sure she was ok..on the same corner she tried saving the cat, a van ran the red light & swrved to hit her on purpose, while she was at the vet dying, i sat outside meditating with my staff i used to have that had several crystals set into it & i invited her soul into 21 of them if she chose to stay with me..i never told anyone about it but i felt like she was with me..about 3 months later, thst same girl my dog was trying to help that day picked up my staff & was holing it & her expression went blank & she touched the crystal i invited my dog into & she says i dont know why..but this stone feels like natasha (my dob) so yopu cant tell my animals have no soul
humans are no different from animals exvept when it comes to arrogance & self ritousness

 

How do you know this is true?

 

lol... Yesterday I was thinking about loving animals, and that as long as they sense that you are not nervous, and you know they are not nervous around you, God will bring you together.

So today me and my girlfriend were sittin outside on my parents front porch lookin at these squirrels eatin seeds from under the bird feeder. The one squirrel came up to us, sat a couple inches from our feet and just looked at us. Stopped in front of me, looked at me, went to my gfriend, looked at her. The she said "What if he bites us" (I was a little wierded until I remembered what I had been thinkin about the day before) and the wise (you could tell) little guy ran away.

My gfriend wanted bread to feed them. So I went inside, chopped off a piece of whole grain wegmans nutbread and brought it out to her. I sat down beside her, and she made a couple chirping noises to the squirrel. The little bugger ran right up to her and looked at her. She broke off a piece of bread and handed it to him (he daintily took it from her, nibbled for a couple seconds and ran off).

Anyway, God can relay your love to animals, and animals will love you back which is really all that matters. Their soul (complete being) might be less complex then ours, but this does not make them less capable of feeling the love and peace that God grants all beings.

 

i read that as "my gfriend wanted to breast feed him". other than that, a very beautiful story.

 

You're sweet. I was sucking on my gfriends nipple last night and got all turned on... things went the way they go when we feel the love...

 

kharakov, your honesty never ceases to impress me.

 

lol... the flow.

 

Epiphany, for the first time, I disagree with you.

IMO,Animals DO have souls: They have a mind, a will, and emotions.
And they go to heaven.

However, THEY ARE missing a Spirit: A connection to God.

We were made in G-d's image because we've got a flesh (Jesus), a soul (The Father), and a Spirit ( Holy Spirit).

( which also answers the question of the thread-starter Animals aren't made in the Image of God, that's why. And eventhough I disagree, I also agree with my friend here. It's better to prevent an animal from suffering for the rest of it's life rather than to have it go on. )

Animals have 'only' have a flesh and a soul. And plants have no more than a flesh.

No attack on you Epiphany. Just a different viewpoint.


Another thing, according to Christian Dogma, moon, I don't think they teach you that in RE ( Religion class, for you that don't know. We've got that in Europe, so don't feel bad if you don't know what she meant. )

But Humans aren't animals.
Biologicly, yes.
Physicly, yes.
Spiritually, no.

It used to annoy me too before I became Christian. But now I understand why. And most Christians don't believe in evolution.

 

animals dont have souls. They cannot choose to do evil or do good. Sure, they kill and fight and steal food from eachother, and yes they save lives and protect and nuture humans and other animals, but they are acting out of pure instinct.

 

So you say your cat doesn't feel hurt, doesn't get scared?
It can't choose to nurse a kitten, you can't teach it how to listen to it's name?

I'm sorry, but that sure sounds like mind, will, and emotion to me.

It's true that they're innocent though. Because they didn't eat the fruit.

 

animals feel pain, and get scared, yes. They nurse thier young and are trainable. But that's still acting out of instinct and doesnt mean they have a soul.

 

Mind, will, emotions.

Don't animals have those?
I doubt being trainable is an instinct. And some cats reject their young, -their choice.
They don't have a spirit though.
Animals:think, feel, and make choices.

EDIT: OK, I'm not arguing with my sister hear anymore. She's got her oppinion and I mine, so that's cool.

 

soul & sprit are just words can you prove we have eithr?
and you say "we were created in gods image" because you read it in a book but have you seen god? or did we make gods image to resemble us? whsat if god came to visit & looked like a chicken or maybe an amoeba (spelling?)
the only differene between people & other animals is the size of the brain which allows for more complex thoughts including creativity & fantasy which were needed to create religion & fantasize god (and soul/spirit..which are really thought/emotion) animals do not act strictly out of instinct, they act out of emotion as well, & even get irrational too.. why else would an eagle soar to 60,000 feet when the nearest food source is over 10 miles below? stricktly for the joy of it, thats why.
another thing that pisses me off is the elitism of inteligence, we feel outr larger bains make us superiur, yet the more we use outr brains, the more harm we do to the earth, society, & all the races human or other
also the misconvception that we are the top of the food chain..which is a circcle & has no top, but the reality is, we are simply bug food.. as you read this millions of insects are on your body no matter how clean you are, theyre eatting you constantly, & when you die your completely consumed by bugs
if there is a higher life form on this plannet, its the insects..or possibly germs..just think about it, no matter how hard we try to wipe them out, they flourish, trillion & trillions for every 1 human
still think your the rulers of the world? guess again
the only difference is with our large brains we have the capability of destroying ourselves.. still proud to be human?