Can Animals Speak, And If So, Do They Go To Heaven?

Originally written March 28, 2015, then emailed to nearly every person I knew because I thought they'd think it funny. Turned out I made quite a few people mad, and my grandpa and I ended up not speaking to each other for over three months. Ah, memories of when I've tried to be funny and failed... 

Picture of me when I was sixteen with my favorite dumb, non-talking beast named Catriona. I think she liked my necklace.

Animals—should we eat them? Are they just dumb beasts, or as C. S. Lewis' famous series suggests, are there animals that are possibly equal with us humans?

Most Christians argue that only humans are intellectual. Only we are capable of morality and true emotions.

Then there are the evolutionists. They, in essence, believe that animals are on the same level as humans. Of course, they also deny the fact that there is a heaven and a hell, and that someone else made all of Earth and what lives on it, dumb and sentient alike. Thus, because many of their beliefs are off-kilter, I'm discrediting their stance on this subject.

Then there are fit in no special category, who ask questions outside of all boundaries. They believe in Heaven. They believe in a Creator. They believe in souls ... but they aren't sure who has them.

These people ask every incomprehensible question.

Do animals go to heaven?
May we eat animals?
Is it wrong to have pets?

These are questions that are never answered satisfactorily to all parties concerned, whether soul-searching Christian or evolutionary vegan and these questions, above all, are what most often dives the two groups of people onto opposing battlegrounds.

Is it possible that both sides have some truth, just in need of a new point of view? Maybe we need to just open our eyes and search for common ground.

I plan to be the first to shed light on these mysteries. And I'll start with the oldest, most accurate book we have: the Bible.

According to Leviticus 11, we are allowed to eat certain animals, but not all. In fact, there are quite a lot of animals we may not eat. The funny thing is, most Christians do not follow this law. They consider it too restrictive or "done away with". Which is sad, because often I wonder if more animal-rights people would read the Bible if they knew about this passage.

Back to the point of the law of clean and unclean meats.
Why are some okay to eat, and others not?

There are two popular answers;
1) Because God said not to. He was testing to see how well we would obey Him in this matter (in this case, most of us have failed miserably on this test).
2) Because God loves us and wants us to be healthy. According to this theory, all unkosher meats are bad for us and may cause diseases and early deaths. Eating only kosher is suppose to be a lot more healthy (again, here we all fail, as most of us are obese and ugly with sickness and disease).

As we all know, truth is rarely found on any popular path. And so, I propose a third reason. A reason that many will never consider. A reason I hope all will embrace. And believe. This one reason may unite all people and all religions. And it will all be based on Leviticus 11 and the rest of the Bible.

3) Unkosher animals are equal to humans, and before the Fall, in the garden of Eden, animals could speak with humans. Now, their language has been changed so drastically that neither we nor the animals have much chance of ever communicating again on this planet.

"Whoa," you may say.
Where did I get this theory?

It is no mere theory, but something I can prove with both the Bible and literature; with history and science.

Firstly, ANIMALS SPOKE IN THE BIBLE. And it wasn't just any animal. The animals that spoke were in the list of forbidden meats.

The first example in the Bible of an animal speaking is found in the book of Genesis.

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman Yea, hath God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" ~ Genesis 3:1

A couple of the following verses also have the snake speaking to Eve. But there is no need for me to share those here. I think it is clear. The snake was an unkosher animal, and it spoke.

My next example is from Numbers 22: 28-30.
And again this animal was not kosher.

"And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass [donkey, or non-KJV readers], and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay."

From this passage, it is clear that animals didn't / don't normally speak, because of the words "And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass."

It is obvious that animals were cursed after the Fall to not be able to communicate with us humans. Because of this we forget of their equality with us and mistreat them. This is their punishment and curse, for the sins of the snake.

Now, to one of the great authors, C. S. Lewis. This man was very wise—wiser than most people will ever know, maybe even wiser than he realized.

He believed, according to his novels of Narnia, that there were once speaking animals on earth. He also wrote of the law of eating only dumb beasts (these beasts have no feeling or morality. To eat them is the same as eating a vegetable) as the Bible does.

Read this excerpt from "The Silver Chair", chapter nine, starting with paragraph five.

Suddenly Puddleglum turned to them, and his face had gone so pale that you could see the paleness under the natural muddiness of his complexion. He said:
"Don't eat another bite."
"What's wrong?" asked the other two in a whisper.
"Didn't you hear what those giants were saying? 'Why?' said the first one. 'Oh,' said the other. 'They say that when he was caught he said, Don't kill me, I'm tough. You won't like me.' " For a moment Jill did not realize the full meaning of this. But she did when Scrubb's eyes opened wide with horror and he said:
"So we've been eating a Talking stag."

In Narnia, it was wrong to eat any animal that talked, but the ones that were truly animals were permissible to eat.

It is unclear whether or not C. S. Lewis realized that he believed unclean animals were in actuality talking animals, but it is quite clear he felt this deep down.

Just think about it, would you eat a human? No! It would be cannibalism. It is the same with the unkosher meats.
You will notice that most of the talking animals in Narnia were what we would biblically consider unkosher—beaver, lion, horse, mouse and squirrel. Normally, if it were a kosher animal it would be half-human, such as Tumnus was half-goat, half-human.

Throughout history and mythology, we can see animals that were equal to or worshiped by humans, such as cats, dogs, blue whales, alligators, vultures, lions, and eagles, were usually always what the Bible defines as unkosher animals, i.e., not permissible for food.

Normally if a kosher animal was worshiped, it was worshiped because of it giving itself to us to be eaten. The Native Americans, for instance, praised buffalo or fish before eating them.

Many scientists have stated that there are certain animals that are almost or are as intelligent as humans. These are all animals forbidden to eat in Leviticus 11. Some of these animals are dogs, dolphins, monkeys, and certain birds.

And now I'd like to present the questions once more:

1) Do animals go to heaven?
Yes! If animals are equal to us, then they absolutely do! Dog-lovers, your best friends are safe and you will see them again! Please, do not eat your dog in ignorance. Read and take to heart Leviticus 11.

2) May we eat animals?
Only those that are equal to vegetables. Unless you want to be a cannibal, and totally disregard Leviticus 11.

3) Is it wrong to have pets?
Maybe that should be rephrased. Is it wrong to have a best friend, and to allow that best friend to live with you for free? No! So have as many as you like, and remember to treat them with respect!!

Now that you have been enlightened, what will you do with this new knowledge?
Will you continue to eat those that are forbidden, those that are your equals?
Will you totally ignore all that the Bible has to say on this only to gratify your own pleasures?

Remember, the choice is ultimately yours!

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." ~ Proverbs 16: 25