{Men and Animals}[3rd October 1987]

[Redbook4:88-89][19871003:1650e]{Men and Animals}[3rd October 1987]

19871003.1202

[continued]

This* raises the interesting question of how Animals differ from Men. Given that Animals are capable of having individual characters of a mental or behavioural kind, it is conceivable that they also have something analogous to a Soul**; or, on the other hand, that their behavioural differences are purely 'mechanical' in the sense that they are due to the differing influences of the Material World. It does not matter all that much, because I am fairly certain that no Animal has the Spirit of God within him as do*** Angels and Men.****

Since it is the Spirit which knows God and in due course returns to God, leaving the Soul around it, it follows that Animals do not “go to Heaven”. I am fairly certain about this absence of the separated Spirit of God in Animals (not to be confused with the immanent presence of God# hidden*** in and pervading all things material), because a sure sign of the Spirit of God in men (as in Angels) is an interest in God – in worshipping God, or discussing the existence or otherwise of god, for example – provoked by the recognition of the Spirit within.

So far as I know, no animal has ever shown the slightest sign of worshipping God#* or even being an atheist: so far as I know, all Human societies have had some form of supreme God in their mind's eye, even if the opposing forces are sometimes given equal status.

The existence of Individuals who profess atheism does not avoid this argument, as the occurrence of the question itself is enough. If we were to encounter a race of animals or aliens who recognised the possibility of God, I think we should do well to consider them Human.

*[See last previous entry.]

[This entry is not an argument against the scientific description of Man as an Animal, which is accepted. It might make it easier if one were to mentally insert the word “other” in front of “animals” wherever it occurs.]

**[See footnote **** to last previoue entry.]

***[{Underlining} added later.]

****But (see VI.217) in some other way, as e.g. p89 [in this entry at #.]

#Yes – the Spirit, more or less veiled. <891001>

#*It would serve me right if we found that what we had thought were territorial markings by dogs and cats were in fact sacrifices to nature-spirits.... <871003>

[I suspect that this analysis is affected by its viewpoint inside the Universe. From the viewpoint of “God”, outside this Universe of time and place, it may be that as all things exist in a Moment, there is no question of anyone or any thing “going to Heaven”: from that extra-universal viewpoint, each creature (that is, each created entity, however created) is to some individual extent, or none, “in Heaven”, i.e. with (God) the Spirit, in that one Moment, depending on the degree of separation of its essence, information structure, mind or “Soul” from the Spirit (of God). That does not in itself invalidate our intra-universal points of view: it is, at the end of the day, all a question of perspective. Cf. next entry, final sentence.<20160831>]

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