Originally posted by ragesRemorse
All wild animals act on instinct. There is no way around that. There is nothing anyone can say to disprove this fact. Yeah, i am sure there are accounts out there, where domesticated animals have done somthing to save their masters. Then again, is this instinct or choice? When a gaurd dog protects it's owner, It is doing so from instinct that has been impressed over years, and sometimes centuries of domesticated training. the point that matters though is that a wild animal acts on nothing but instinct. when a domesticated animal does somthing rash to protect it's owner, it is not using rationality, it is not weighing the pro's and cons of the situation. It does not know that it's life could possibly be on the line. Animals dont understand right from wrong, unless they are trained, even then it is only learning from repetition, and not by a conscious decesion.As for animal mothers protecting it's young, yes this is instinct. Yeah, there could be a bond between the two, but it is still instinct. an instinct that nature chose to give to the mother. The male counterpart does not protect it's young, atleast in many races of animals. What about the mother wolf who will sometimes eat it's young?
I agree with you to a point, but some animals DO think and make conscious decisions like humans do. I think you're throwing the word "instinct" around too much.
in·stinct __ _P___Pronunciation Key__(nstngkt)
n.
An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli: the spawning instinct in salmon; altruistic instincts in social animals.
An instinct isn't something that can be taught. A mother animal protecting its litter is definitely an instinct. A dog running into a burning building to save its master is not. Dogs are not totally stupid, they know that the fire is probably dangerous and are certainly not acting entirely on impulse when they run inside the building to save a person. What do people and animals both do when a building is on fire? They get out of it, out of instinct, or conscious decision, or whatever, but if they have a choice they will almost invariably run outside. Hence, whether by instinct or experience, dogs know that fire is dangerous, or at least frightening. You can't say that a dog that runs back into a situation which it knows is dangerous to save a person is acting on impulse. This is an example of an animal making a conscious decision against its inborn instincts that tell it fire is dangerous.
Originally posted by Jackie Malfoy
I read somewhere that animals have souls but unlike humans it is a different kind of soul.One that does not make them go to heaven when they die unlike us humans.
What do you guys think of this?JM
I think that's retarded. If they don't have an afterlife, they don't have a soul, just a body and a mind 🙄
Originally posted by Linkalicious
Heaven is not a place, it's a concept created in the mind of Human beings.Animals are not capable of creating such complex concepts in their mind.
Contrary to you people who believed Fifel when he said there were no cats in America and the streets were filled with cheese.
A useful idea originally put foward by Feuerbach, in a more possible way, useful but useless in it's own way, requiring the non existence of Heaven to be a self evident law.
You mean a good place where somebody cares for all their needs? They could easily have a primitive concept of heaven, the more advanced ones.
Who's Fifel?
Originally posted by DreampantherWe are judged on our faith alone, not on anything else.
In the end, if there should be a "Christian God", I would expect Him or Her to judge us not on intellect, but on loyalty, courage and steadfastness.
Originally posted by YtakerWhere does it say there is a specific size to hevean? I was under the impression that it was of unlimited size.
I wouldn't say that it would be a pointless effort. If the biological balance of the earth collapses, we're dead meat. You need animals like you need the sun. Not that my previous words are false. Just that If God created the earth, then he'd need animals for life.Another detail I recall is that, allowing for two thirds of heaven to be filled by vital heavenly services, someone calculated that every human in history would still have 1,000,000 square metres of space each (there’s a measurement somewhere in the bible). This suggests either that aliens are allowed in, or, a happy thought, that pets are included.
Originally posted by bakerboyAre humans the only creatures to kill for pleasure? Have you been doing interviews of the animals?
What are you talking about? Mr Parker was right, animals are much better than people. what person could be more faithful than a dog with its owner? none. Also, the man is the only animal who kills by pleasure or evilness, that is clear. So, if there are a heaven, animals should be there much more than humans. That is clear.
I personally think that there are animals in heavan. Not animals which have ascended, but animals that are there.