Heaven goes to the dogs

Scott Ross of The 700 Club had a "Christian" Border Collie (actually he says the dog was the "best Christian" in the place" - referring to Love Inn in upstate New York.) The dog died after being hit by a car.

Border Collies are wonderful dogs and I'm sure his death was a great loss for Ross and his family. I'm not sure about the "Christian" part, though.

In an article, "Do All Dogs Really Go to Heaven," Mr. Ross tries to get a bit too cute and says pretty much straight out our canine pets will pass through the Pearly Gates.

With regard to the question, "do animals have spirits?", Ross quotes a couple of Bible verses: Job 12:7 and 10, and Proverbs 12:10. While neither of these verses answer that question or the question of animals getting into heaven, they would seem to suggest that God cares about non-human creatures.

Then he cites Ecclesiastes 3:19 which basically says that humans and animals are essentially the same and they both die and life has no meaning for either. The next verse says that humans and animal came from dust and will return to dust. Verse 21 wonders how a human spirit can go "up," and an animal's spirit goes "down."


None of these verses say anything about dogs or an afterlife. Rather they would indicate there is no afterlife! But the fact is they don't mean anything whatsoever; they are merely the rantings of a depressed ancient who has trouble justifying his life and has no understanding of either the earth or the universe.

That doesn't stop Mr. Ross, however: "...Scripture is pretty clear that there will be animals in the new world after He folds this one up."

No it isn't. There is nothing in "scripture" that would indicate animals go to heaven. Furthermore at the time the verses cited above were written the Hebrews did not believe in an afterlife. Some referred to Sheol, the place where dead people go, but there was no concept of heaven or hell.


Nevertheless, Mr. Ross claims that he once prayed for a sick dog and the dog "got better." Must have been God, thinks Ross, so he has "prayed for many animals since then."

Ross also believes his god "does care about animals." He stresses that "God's hand is in the life of every creature."


It would be nice to think that if there was a heaven and if you thought there was a chance you might make it past St. Peter guarding the door, that your little dog (or cat, or hamster, or pig, or horse, or snake, or turtle, or alligator) would be there waiting to greet you.

But...all of this is a fantasy.

Furthermore, if "God's hand is in the life of every creature," then every creature would get the same break in the "afterlife." That means ants, cockroaches, mosquitos, bees, buzzards, lions, tigers, crocodiles, fleas, muskrats, skunks, loons, seagulls, eagles, rats, mice, bats, bedbugs, lice, etc., etc., would all join us in the pleasures of heaven.

Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

This kind of thinking only becomes possible when one doesn't know very much about the Bible or history. Ignorance is the road to gullibility.