All Dogs Go To Heaven

When a Christian grasps the maximal greatness of God that is both implied in Scripture and deductively concluded via the Ontological Argument, everything seems to become clear and life gets better (even during times of suffering). One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis is the following: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Similarly, now that I grasp the utter perfection of God, I say something quite similar to Lewis:

I believe in perfect being theology as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see the maximal greatness of God, but because by it I see everything else.I believe in perfect being theology as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see the maximal greatness of God, but because by it I see everything else.

This has had a radical and awesome impact on how I interpret so many things – from confusing passages of Scripture, to how I think about heaven and hell, from how I think about God’s sovereignty and human freedom, to how I think about God’s justice. The list can go on and on.

Pets and Perfect Being Theology 

One aspect of life Perfect Being Theology has illuminated is how we should think of animals. I’ve sent many notes of encouragement to Facebook friends when one of their beloved pets have died. It’s common for pet owners to grieve the loss of their pet more than the loss of a brother or sister in Christ. Many have expressed that they feel guilty over this emotion. One reason this is the case – it seems to me – is that when a Christian dies, we know we will see them again. It’s a “see you later,” not a final goodbye. That makes the death of a brother or sister in Christ a little easier to mourn. When a beloved pet dies, however, many people think they will never see their furry friend again.

I think this view of animal death is dead wrong! When I see Facebook friends grieving the loss of a furry family member, I have often sent them comments such as the following:  

“For what it’s worth, based upon my years of theological studies, I believe your beloved pet is now in heaven and you will be reunited.”

I have received multiple messages from folks following up on these comments. Although this brings a dose of hopeful joy in the midst of their sorrow, people want to know exactly why I believe that animals go to heaven. They want reasons (as well they should)!

I have never really had time to craft an argument putting all of my theological thoughts together on this topic, but the present moment seems to be a good time to do so. This is because about a year ago my wife and I gave my parents a little puppy as a gift (we named her Luna). She instantly brought so much joy in the lives of my parents and I grew to love this little girl. Whenever I would visit my mom and dad, Luna was sure to shower me with attention. A couple weeks ago, however, Luna woke up and something wasn’t right. She started having seizures and over the course of the next few days she lost the ability to walk. We took her to two veterinarians and both of them had no idea what was happening. I held Luna in my arms like a baby, prayed for her, pleaded with God to heal her, and also prayed for my parents (there is nothing worse than seeing your parents cry)!

After two hours of holding the little girl, with tears streaming down my face, I told her all about Heaven and told her that if she does not pull through here on earth, I know that she will be fully recovered and flourish for eternity in heaven. Shortly thereafter, Luna passed away in my mother's arms while looking peacefully into her eyes. Needless to say, my family is heartbroken. 

Before Luna died, I explained to this little puppy what I am about to summarize in the form of an argument – The All Dogs Go to Heaven Argument. The argument is still in its early stages -- and it's always dangerous to craft logical syllogisms while in an emotional state -- so although it might currently be imperfect, the argument begins with perfect being theology:

• 1- If God is love (omnibenevolent), then God loves our dogs more than we do.

• 2- God is love (1 John 4:8).

• 3- Therefore, God loves our dogs more than we do.

The argument can probably stop there as most people can connect the dots and see what follows from the fact that the Creator of the universe loves your dog more than you do! Be that as it may, let’s continue developing this argument:

• 4- We love our dogs so much that we desire our dogs to go to heaven.

• 5- If God loves our dogs more than we do, and if we desire our dogs to go to heaven, then God desires our dogs to go to heaven.

• 6- Therefore, since God loves our dogs more than we do, God desires our dogs to go to heaven.

Awesome! Let that sink in: The Creator of the universe does not only love YOU more than you can imagine, but loves your beloved dog infinitely more than you do! God is love. God is perfect love. God is the perfect standard of love!

But what about Justice?

This does not mean that God is not also a God of justice. Indeed, it seems to me that a God of love would also be a God of justice. Some Christian philosophers, like Paul Copan, believe that justice flows from the fact that God is perfectly loving (after all, it seems unloving to turn a blind eye to the evil actions humans choose to commit). Others, such as William Lane Craig, believe that love and justice are two separate attributes. Either way, do animals deserve the wrath of God?

I do not think so. Why? Because, unlike humans created in the likeness of God, animals do not possess the libertarian freedom to think, and thus they are not epistemically responsible or morally responsible. With that in mind, let us continue developing this argument:

• 7- If a creature is not free in the libertarian sense, then a creature is not epistemically or morally responsible in a desert sense.

• 8- Dogs (unlike humans) are not free in a libertarian sense.

• 9- Therefore, dogs are not epistemically or morally responsible in a desert sense.

Dr. Craig sheds further light on the state of animals and the moral dimension:

“On the atheistic view, human beings are just animals, and animals have no moral obligations to one another. When a lion kills a zebra, it kills the zebra, but it does not murder the zebra. When a great white shark forcibly copulates with a female, it forcibly copulates with a her but it does not rape her—for there is no moral dimension to these actions. They are neither prohibited or obligatory.”

With the fact that animals to not possess moral obligations and are not responsible in a desert sense (they do not deserve blame), consider the final premise and the final conclusion.

• 10- If God desires a creature to go to heaven and the creature is not epistemically or morally responsible in a desert sense, then nothing prevents the creature from going to heaven.

• 11- Therefore, since God desires all dogs to go to heaven and nothing prevents dogs from going to heaven, all dogs go to heaven.  

As I type this, my dog Rondo is literally (okay, not literally, but figuratively) connected to my side. I love Rondo more than I can express in words. It brings me great peace to know that the Maximally Great Being loves Rondo infinitely more than I do.

Rondo is getting old and will join Luna and the beloved pets of my past sooner than I would like. I know I will cry so hard when that day comes (I am literally fighting back tears just thinking about this as I type these words), but it brings me great peace – and utter joy to have good reason to believe that Luna has met Jesus and is running with Scruffy (my dog from my childhood), along with Raisin, Patches, and Ninja (my cats from my childhood) and that Rondo will one day join them.

But what does the Bible say? 

We know from Scripture that animals will be in the New Heavens and New Earth. God’s inspired Word describes animals in this state of affairs:

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:6-9).

Isaiah continues to describe this Narnia-esque state of affairs:

“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord” (Isaiah 65:25).

Why can’t these animals be our animals — the animals that have walked this earth? Indeed, I believe these animals described on the other side of eternity are the animals that previously walked the earth (including our beloved pets)!

In my opinion, J.P. Moreland is the world’s leading philosopher of mind/soul. He believes that animals have an immaterial aspect of their existence (a soul), but notes that they are different from the kinds of immaterial minds created in the likeness of God that humans possess. He writes:

“For centuries, most Christian thinkers have believed in the souls of men and beasts, as it used to be put. Animals and humans are (or have) an immaterial entity–a soul, a life principle, a ground of sentience–and they have a body.”

Be that as it may, it seems to me that if my dog has an immaterial aspect of his existence, then my dog can conceivably survive the death of his body and get a new one (just like humans will experience). A Maximally Great Being certainty possesses the power to do such a thing. When we consider God’s perfect power and His perfect love, we have good reason to conclude that our animals will survive the death of their bodies and get new ones. That brings me to tears of joy and the worship of our wonderful God. He is the one and only Maximally Great Being! 

Conclusion

After considering the relevant data: perfect being theology, desert responsibility, the philosophy of mind, and scripture, we have a justified and reasonable belief – a reasonable hope – that one day we will be reunited with each of our furry family members, along with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Praise God!

I'll see you later, Luna! ♥

Stay reasonable (Isaiah 1:18),

Dr. Tim Stratton

Notes

*The featured image is of my mom holding Rondo (my miniature pincer) and sweet little Luna who just passed away today. 

See my book, Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism for biblical support of God’s maximal greatness.

This quote from C.S. Lewis comes from his closing line in a paper presented to the Oxford Socratic Club, entitled “Is Theology Poetry?” In this essay we also get glimpses of my favorite of Lewis's arguments for God -- the Argument From Reason (which is highly related to the Free-Thinking Argument). 

In this YouTube video Adam Lloyd Johnson and I discuss papers that were presented by Paul Copan and William Lane Craig at the 2022 EPS Conference in Denver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vv8sy5H0M8&t=1372s

J.P. Moreland and I explain why humans are free in a libertarian sense and how this entails that humans are epistemically responsible in our paper, An Explanation and Defense of the Free-Thinking Argument.

William Lane Craig, On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision, p. 132

J.P. Moreland, The Soul: How We Know it’s Real and Why it Matters, (p. 10). Moreland concludes that animal souls are not as richly structured as the human soul, do not bear the image of God, and are far more dependent on the animal’s body and its sense organs than is the human soul.