Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!rex!ukma!seismo!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: ta00est@unccvax.uncc.edu (elizabeth s tallant) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: do dogs go to heaven ? Message-ID: Date: 12 Feb 91 09:23:29 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of NC at Charlotte Lines: 49 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , schram@tramp.Colorado.EDU (SCHRAM STEVEN P) writes: > [Suzanne Forgach wrote, on the question of whether dogs go to heaven > >If the lion and the lamb will be lying down together there, then it sounds > >like there will be animals there. I myself think you will see your dog again. > --clh] > > I could be mistaken, but I thought that the lion and the lamb lying together > was a prophecy about the world, not about heaven. > -- > *********************************************** > * Steven Schram -- schram@tramp.colorado.edu * > *********************************************** If you read the story of Noah in Genesis, you can find that Noah did not gather all of the animals by himself. The Bible says that God told the animals to go to Noah, and that the animals obeyed. Thus, animals are aware of and have demonstrated obedience to God. Just think of all the animals that have died in saving their owners' lives. Obviously, compassion and love are not just God's or mans' characteristics. One night, I recently got on a strange train of thought about animals being in Heaven. I wondered if they need salvation. Then I recalled that the animals in the garden of Eden never committed any sin, and that their "animal" behavior came about as a result of man's sin. The animals never posed a threat to man while they were in the garden, but after man was cast out, the animals posed a threat. Next, in prophecies such as Elijah, the Bible says that when God establishes His kingdom on Mt. Zion, that animals that are now meat-eaters will eat grass instead of each other. It says that snakes will no longer pose a threat to human beings. Further, Revelation tells us that when God establishes His kingdom on earth, that all of the creatures of the land, air, and sea will praise Him. Since people don't live in the air or the sea, then the Bible must be talking about the animals. I once read in Billy Graham's column a question about whether or not animals would go to Heaven. Graham's answer was something like "... in my opinion, yes." So, I agree with Mr. Hedrick. I think that these references are more than just symbolic. When I go to Heaven, I expect to find all of my hound dogs there. Elizabeth