Sad News

[judyserenity]

Shaynie wrote:
> Today my cat Blacky died. He was fourteen years old....
> Before I send this out I was wondering what everyone's thoughts
were 
> on animal afterlifes. Two of my parents friends are very very 
> religious, and they told us on several occasions that animals do
not 
> have souls. I want to believe that they do have souls, but since
they 
> have read the bible several times I'm questioning my beliefs. Does 
> the bible say that animals don't have souls? And this is OT, but
what 
> does it say about homosexuals?...

Oh, Shaynie, I am sorry to hear about your cat.  It is very hard to
lose  a pet.  At least you have the comfort of knowing that you made
him happy for many years.

I imagine that other people here are wondering about your questions
about religion, and I think I can say a few things that may be
informative, while not being inflammatory. In general, the Bible is
not very specific about the afterlife, mostly just referring to it as
a garden. (Paradise means garden in Persian.) I don't think it ever
clearly says whether animals have souls, but there are certainly
places where God expresses his concern for animals. For example, God
tells Jonah that He has spared the evil city of Nineveh for the sake
of its innocent children and livestock.  (Jonah is my favorite book,
and is very comforting if you think God is angry with you.) 

As for homosexuality, discussions of it in the Hebrew Bible (the Old
Testament) pretty clearly refer to men only, not women.  One should
also note that the Old Testament bans a huge variety of behaviors that
are quite accepted in modern society. In the New Testament, I don't
think Jesus ever mentions homosexuality at all, although he does
condemn some other types of sexual behavior (for example, a man
divorcing his wife for another woman.)  I think the only mention of
homosexuality in the New Testament is by Paul. 

I really can't claim to be any expert on the Bible, but then again,
maybe your parents' friends aren't experts, either!

I hope this helps.

Judy