From time to time I get asked if I believe that animals (usually dogs or cats, but sometimes goldfish, hamsters, etc). Most often it is a person under the age of 15 asking, but not always.
To be clear: the Bible doesn’t say one way or the other. There’s no way to make a case except by making an “argument from silence” (AFS). An AFS can be dangerous. You could make the following AFS: “The Bible never records Jesus going to the bathroom, therefore he must not have gone to the bathroom.” Well of course the Bible never mentions a lot of things, and we are meant to draw conclusions from what we know about the character of God and God’s nature. Then there are other times when we can adhere to the letter of the law, such as “Do Not Murder” and think we’re doing just fine even if we go through life “killing” people in a lot of symbolic ways: emotional abuse, extreme sarcasm, manipulation, etc.
So, given that we don’t have a clear answer from the Bible, how might we think through this issue?
What is God like?
The idea that animals cannot go to heaven seems to indicate a belief that the default state in which God exists is that God wills for hell to be fuller than heaven. Such a theory is difficult to defend against the idea of a loving and merciful God who is routinely compared to a loving Father. (Assuming the Scriptures we are talking about include the so-called Old and New Testaments common to the Christian Bible)
It also seems to miss the fact that animals were an important part of the creation process, showing up before humans (and then being named and cared for by Adam). Before “The Fall” of humankind, God had created perfection, and it included animals. So why should we assume that God would exclude them from heaven?
Let us also remember that in the story of Noah and the flood, it is not only Noah and his family who are saved, but also the animals. Were those animals saved because the other animals are sinful? No, it was a purely logistical issue: building an ark large enough to fit all of the animals would be impossible.
What is the purpose of hell?
The belief in the existence of hell is certainly no longer a given in today’s society, even in many churches. My point here is not to argue for or against hell, but presumes, at least for the sake of this discussion, whether or not there even is a hell.
If there is a hell, why would animals be sent to it?
Animals are incapable of sin. They are commonly understood to lack a “soul” — which is not to say that they lack something we might call “intelligence” or even emotion or even such higher-level abilities such as “compassion”.
“Soul” might not be the proper word, I’m not sure if “self-awareness” would be better or worse. Could we even say that animals have “free-will” or are their actions guided more by instincts and preferences?
(Even though it is outside the scope of this article, I should also like to pause to mention that even if we agree that animals do not have souls, that does not give us the freedom to do whatever we want to them because they are “just animals” — we will say more about this below.)
Regardless of what term we use, I have never heard anyone claim that animals can somehow understand the will of God (such as the Ten Commandments, as just one example). If they cannot understand the will of God, if they lack anything we might commonly refer to as a “soul” how could they be held accountable for breaking the law? And if they are not capable of understanding their actions in light of the will of God, how could God be said to be just if God sent them to die in hell when they had no chance for salvation? That is not a “Just” God, that would be a cruel God which would seem 100% at odds with the model of God as a loving parent.
Some Possible Counter-Arguments
The counter-argument might be made that they also cannot demonstrate faith and/or receive salvation. However, since they are not capable of sinning, what need do they have of redemption or forgiveness?
In the 4th chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he wrote “For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation” (verse 15). If the animals cannot understand the law, they cannot sin, if they cannot sin, it would be unjust for God to send them to hell.
Again this goes back to the “default state” - do we believe in a God who prefers to send living beings to hell but only lets some escape, or do we believe in a God who prefers eternal life for as many as possible? Most religious scholars in any major theological university would say, I believe, that God would prefer salvation.
The main counter-argument here would likely be that heaven is just for humans, but what is that based on if we believe that God was involved in the creation of animals and their rescue as part of Noah’s Ark? Why were there animals in Eden if God did envision them as an important part of a perfect life?
Let us also not overlook or forget the plain and simple fact that animals are mentioned prominently in the prophet Isaiah as having a part in what we commonly understand as the coming kingdom. Their transformation is an indicator of the peace that is intended between animals and humanity (and animals and one another):
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11)
These animals did nothing to “deserve” or “earn” this transformation, it appears to just be a de facto part of God’s order.
Notice that the violent animals, the predators, the carnivores, are seen as having been changed into herbivores. In fact, in this picture of the “holy mountain” of God’s perfection, humanity is barely mentioned at all!
Q: Are there verses in the Bible which might suggest that animals cannot go to heaven?
As part of the vision of the end-times in the Revelation to St. John, we read Revelation 22:15: “Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
Sounds like dogs are excluded, but the obvious question is “Are these literal dogs?” If so, why are dogs being singled out? Are dogs somehow innately evil?
Isaiah 66:3 says:
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human being; whoever sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering, like one who offers swine’s blood; whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and in their abominations they take delight…
There can be no debate that God is referring to actual animals, and it is said that killing an ox is as bad as killing a human being. Killing a lamb is as bad as killing a dog. That sounds like something God is saying we should avoid. So dogs are apparently not somehow innately evil.
Even without the reference in Isaiah 66, it would be difficult to argue for any interpretation of Revelation 22:15 which considered “dogs” to mean literal “dogs”. Instead it would make much more sense to read it as we read Philippians 3:2: “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh!”
We do this even today, right? When we say “it’s a ‘dog eat dog’ world” or the “dogs of war” we aren’t talking about literal dogs. Neither is the Bible in Revelation.
Beyond the Bible
I began by confessing that all of these arguments can not be settled definitively from the Bible itself as we have it. There are some questions the Bible was never intended to answer. “Where should I go to college? Should I marry this person? What kind of job should I consider?” are all good questions that you are unlikely to find an answer for in the Bible.
Can animals go to heaven? At the core of my belief, at a place beyond intellectual debate, it makes no sense to me to think that God, the creator of life, would throw away all the animals God created, simply because they were not human. Especially knowing the benefit that many animals give to humanity, it would seem entirely unjust and unfair of God to toss them all into the fire.
That’s simply not a God I could believe in.