Will Snuggles Go To Heaven?

There I was - eighth grade at Jonesboro Middle School... My English teacher, Betty, a Presbyterian preacher's wife, announced to the class that our pets would not go to Heaven when they died. Now I remember almost nothing else from the eighth grade. I remember my desk and I remember the cheerleader who sat three desks away from me. But I do remember that announcement. Why she felt it neccessary to share this bit if her personal theological perspective, I don't know. But something about her tone as she spoke has always stuck with me and irritated me. That's why an article I came across the other day stirred my interest.

Hank Hanegraaff - also known as "The Bible Answer Man" wrote the article Pets in Heaven? and I've excerpted portions below:

"Scripture does not exclusively tell us whether our pets will make it to heaven. However, the Bible does provide us with some significant clues that animals will inhabit the new heaven and the new earth. First, the Garden of Eden was populated by animals, thus there is a precedent for believing that Eden restored will also be populated by animals.

Furthermore, the Scriptures --from first to last-- suggest that animals have souls. Both Moses in Genesis and John in Revelation communicate that the Creator endowed animals with souls (see Gen. 1:20, 24; Rev. 8:9). Throughout the history of the church, the classic understanding of living things has included the doctrine that animals, like humans, have souls.

Finally, while we cannot say for certain that the pets we enjoy today will be resurrected in eternity, I am not willing to preclude the possibility. Some of the keenest thinkers --from C.S. Lewis to Peter Kreeft--are not only convinced that animals in general, but that pets in particular, will be restored in the resurrection. Dr. Kreeft, for example, is convinced that animals will exist throughout eternity. He writes, "Are there animals in Heaven? The simplest answer is: Why not?" Regarding pets, he writes: "Would the same animals be in Heaven as were on earth? 'Is my dead cat in Heaven?' Again, why not?

Though the Redeemed have better things to do than play with pets, the better does not exclude the lesser."

One thing is certain: Scripture provides us with a sufficient precedent for suggesting that animals will continue to exist after the return of our Lord. Isaiah 11:6-9 provides a particularly stirring image:

"The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

So maybe Ms. Betty will read this blog post and realize the error of her ways. Probably not. I'm sure her point was that pets can't "get saved" like people and thus "go to heaven". I agree with her there. And, no, I don't totally buy into the proposition that our pets might meet us in Heaven (though I would love to see my old sheltie Chelsie there). But I really love what Dr. Kreeft says: "Why not?"

Our God is kind and perfectly loving.

Why not?