Do animals have Soul ?

“Soul” and “Spirit”—What Do These Terms Really Mean?

WHEN you hear the terms “soul” and “spirit,” what comes to your mind? Many believe that these words mean something invisible and immortal that exists inside us. They think that at death this invisible part of a human leaves the body and lives on. Since this belief is so widespread, many are surprised to learn that it is not at all what the Bible teaches. What, then, is the soul, and what is the spirit, according to God’s Word?

“SOUL” AS USED IN THE BIBLE

First, consider the soul. You may remember that the Bible was originally written mainly in Hebrew and Greek. When writing about the soul, the Bible writers used the Hebrew word ne′phesh or the Greek word psy·khe′. These two words occur well over 800 times in the Scriptures, and the New World Translation consistently renders them “soul.” When you examine the way “soul” or “souls” is used in the Bible, it becomes evident that this word basically refers to (1) people, (2) animals, or (3) the life that a person or an animal enjoys. Let us consider some scriptures that present these three different senses.

People. “In Noah’s days . . . a few people, that is, eight souls, were carried safely through the water.” (1 Peter 3:20) Here the word “souls” clearly stands for people—Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. Exodus 16:16 mentions instructions given to the Israelites regarding the gathering of manna. They were told: “Pick up some of it . . . according to the number of the souls that each of you has in his tent.” So the amount of manna that was gathered was based upon the number of people in each family. Some other Biblical examples of the application of “soul” or “souls” to a person or to people are found at Genesis 46:18; Joshua 11:11; Acts 27:37; and Romans 13:1.

Animals. In the Bible’s creation account, we read: “God went on to say: ‘Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.’ And God went on to say: ‘Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind.’ And it came to be so.” (Genesis 1:20, 24) In this passage, fish, domestic animals, and wild beasts are all referred to by the same word—“souls.” Birds and other animals are called souls at Genesis 9:10; Leviticus 11:46; and Numbers 31:28.

The Bible does not give any explicit teaching on whether pets/animals have “souls” or whether pets/animals will be in heaven. However, we can use general biblical principles to develop some clarity on the subject. The Bible states that both man (Genesis 2:7) and animals (Genesis 1:30; 6:17; 7:15, 22) have the “breath of life”; that is, both man and animals are living beings. The primary difference between human beings and animals is that humanity is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), while animals are not. Being made in the image and likeness of God means that human beings are like God, capable of spirituality, with mind, emotion, and will, and they have a part of their being that continues after death. If pets/animals do have a “soul” or immaterial aspect, it must therefore be of a different and lesser “quality.” This difference possibly means that pet/animal “souls” do not continue in existence after death.

Another factor to consider is that animals are a part of God’s creative process in Genesis. God created the animals and said they were good (Genesis 1:25). Therefore, there is no reason why there could not be animals on the new earth (Revelation 21:1). There will most definitely be animals during the millennial kingdom (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25). It is impossible to say definitively whether some of these animals might be the pets we had while here on earth. We do know that God is just and that when we get to heaven we will find ourselves in complete agreement with His decision on this issue, whatever it may be.

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/pets-heaven.html#ixzz3...

It is a question no one can answer for certain, I think maybe they have a soul and life force, but not a spirit like we have, I think we are Spirit, Soul, and Body. Animals maybe just have soul and body. This only applies to maybe animals that are alive in that they breath air. Insects, fish, and smaller life forms, plants, are basically just biological machines without a soul. At least this is my theory.

Its evident that animals like Humans have Subjective MInd which has perfect recall or memory.

A permanent in-built recorder. For what reason? Why on earth do we have the function of Mind of permanently recording experiences? They say God is Love. Animals love, don't they?

I feel sure I will yet meet my beloved 'Snoopy' once again in some other mode of existence.

Genesis 1:20

20 Then God said: “Let the waters swarm with living creatures,* and let flying creatures fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”*

*Or “souls.”

Humans and animals ARE souls, they don't HAVE souls. jw.org

Yes. Leviticus 24:18 -" And the fatal striker of the soul of a domestic animal should make compensation for it, soul for soul."

No one has a soul and we are all animals.

There's no evidence indicating that anything like a "soul" exists. So no, animals do not have them. Neither does anything/anyone else.

No, souls do not exist.

Animals have no concepts of gods, souls, heaven, hell, etc.

....God breathed Life into mankind and made him a living soul...He spoke the animals into existence He did not breath into them nor make them a living soul...so No they do not !!