WaPo 'On Faith': God Must Love Dogs

The Washington Post:

Religion is the understanding that our lives ought to be governed not only by the ethics and the laws we craft, but by the governance of love that does not want to see any sentient being suffer. And my love for my dog tells me that we will meet again.

Read the whole story: The Washington Post

Comments

[LBA7895]

08:19 AM on 07/11/2010

Google "The Rainbow Bridge" and have a hankie ready.

[LBA7895]

08:18 AM on 07/11/2010

It is very easy to communicate with your pet if you can accept the notion that they communicate using mental telepathy and the language of "pictograms". It takes a little practice and a lot of belief, but if you can accept the concept and once you get the hang of it, it's actually pretty easy. You must accept them on their terms if you wanto to "hear" what they are saying to you. And, once they realize you understand and are listening, they will start communicating with you even more! It's a joyful addition to your relationship, and helps them to know how much you love them! Try it!

[Enock Zamora]

05:40 AM on 06/24/2010

In heaven, you will find you aminals. They do not have a dog pound, or a ghetto heaven. It should not be a surprise. :)

[LBA7895]

08:19 AM on 07/11/2010

"The Rainbow Bridge" says it all.... Google it.

[Over40]

04:21 AM on 06/24/2010

Can't resist pointing to this link:

/www.andiesisle.com/GoD_and_DoG.html

[Imhotep40]

05:08 PM on 06/24/2010

"I can't match their love for me" says it all . . . .

Thanks for the link!

[fishnetdiver]

04:05 AM on 06/24/2010

this is the exact opposite of what my Sunday School teacher told me as a child: since animals have no souls they will never be allowed in heaven.
needless to say a cried like the 5-year old I was for days knowing that my dog couldn't get into heaven with me...

[olmossy]

08:31 AM on 06/24/2010

If the little child had ask the priest ' Father will my Jewish Grandmother be in heaven with me?' I wonder what the answer would have been ?.

[fishnetdiver]

09:44 AM on 06/24/2010

ow! would NOT want to be on either end of that conversation!

[LBA7895]

08:20 AM on 07/11/2010

They will be there, waiting for you in a joyful pasture. Read "The Rainbow Bridge"

[Imhotep40]

10:25 PM on 06/23/2010

God spelled backwards!

[MajorKong]

10:17 PM on 06/23/2010

DOG LETTERS TO GOD

Dear God: How come people love to smell flowers, but seldom smell one another? Where are their priorities?

Dear God: When we get to Heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it the same old story?

Dear God: If a dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad dog?

Dear God: Is it true that in Heaven, dining room tables have on-ramps?

Dear God: If we come back as humans, is that good or bad?

Dear God: More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.

Dear God: When we get to the Pearly Gates, do we have to shake hands to get in?

Dear God: Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?

CAT LETTER TO GOD

Dear God: Do you exist? I'm just curious. I don't care.

[meeks]

08:10 AM on 06/24/2010

lol. cute Especially the cat. My cat on cares about food, naps and ear scratching.

[OtayPanky]

08:21 PM on 06/23/2010

God Must Love Dogs

---

Dog Must Love Gods

[333888999]

06:48 PM on 06/23/2010

God does love dogs....it's the "purity of heart."

[el sistema]

06:28 PM on 06/23/2010

"(Dogs) are creatures of a Creator who loves them no less than God loves us. Animals are a part of the unfolding logic of creation."

This reminds me of Ray Comfort's explanation of how God made the banana. It's worrisome that adults are teaching children these false tales.

Dogs went through artificial selection for domestication from a single source. Mitochondrial DNA taken from dogs across the globe indicate a wolf ancestor some 16,000 years ago. There obviously wasn't a Creator producing dogs in their present form for human entertainment.

(See: http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/msp195)

[Tulka2]

05:39 PM on 06/23/2010

Oh dear. I find discussions of animal rights beside the point. The point is, animals are us. The whole of the earth genetic code is a shared one. The more humans awaken to this fact, if we can wake up in time, the more "humane" will be our attitude towards our brothers and sisters.

Chimps share 98 percent plus of our genetic code, earthworms share 60 plus percent and fully 1/3 of our genetic code is shared with daffodils. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee."

On a lighter note... You think it's an accident dog is god spelled backwards? It's no accident. ("Og" meaning canine is one of the oldest Anglo Saxon words.)

[Hirnlego]

06:08 PM on 06/23/2010

"You think it's an accident dog is god spelled backwards?"
Yes. They didn't speak English when the whole Christianity thing was invented.

[Tulka2]

06:15 PM on 06/23/2010

It's my own little joke. Lighten up.

[Hirnlego]

05:24 PM on 06/23/2010

This to me seems closer to what the three religions say

Iran cleric says dogs "unclean" and not to be kept as pets
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100619/wl_nm/us_iran_islam_ayatollah

[Tulka2]

05:40 PM on 06/23/2010

Did you know the only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat?

[BebeLush]

05:49 PM on 06/23/2010

I don't think the bible should be used as a reference point for anything. Especially on the topic of animals, as in sacrifices to God.

[Hirnlego]

06:06 PM on 06/23/2010

Not sure, years since I read it. But from what I remember it pretty much says that some animals are unclean (and women from time to time too) and that humans have dominion over animals.

[thinkingwomanmillstone]

05:15 PM on 06/23/2010

Awful presumptive to believe that religion is the only way one can believe in taking care of the earth and its creatures. I don't believe in God but I fight my base nature and manage to feed my pets, the wild birds and not torture animals. I won't see Bluto,Vincent,Frieda,Loretta,Patsy,Rebecca, Mary,Judy, Acker, or Katie ever again..but I loved them. Now I have Adele and Linda who make typing on the Huff Post difficult and my life a whole bunch of fun.

[llisa]

04:02 PM on 06/23/2010

My dog's time is coming soon, and I will miss him. But when he is gone, he will live on only in our memories (and in the faint odors he has left around the house lately in his elderly incontinence.)

[monthofmay]

08:28 PM on 06/23/2010

My daughter Theresa loved a teenie kitten deeply. Her 2 year old brother killed it in playing. Theresa was heart broken. But she forgave him. She dreamed about the kitten and Jesus and was comforted.
Now we had a friend named Wendy who was taught by severe nuns that animals had no souls. Also that in the afterlife there is no lovemaking, no food, no sports...We are Catholic, too, and were hardpressed to change Wendy's ideas, which sounded like a row of 1930s Moscow apartments under the five year plan.
Theresa passed away unexpectedly at home two months later of a rare virus. She died in my arms. After the funeral some of us were in my house chatting. Wendy suddenly went pale, "Theresa was here. She was wearing a white dress with a bow in her hair, which was long again. She was holding that kitten on her shoulder...the same one. She was laughing at me and said, "See, Wendy, I TOLD you so!"
Heaven is about the charm of beautiful desires for other people. I hope all of you who love animals have your fill of joy with them in this life or the next.

[llisa]

08:41 PM on 06/23/2010

I'm so sorry for the loss of your daughter.

[Over40]

04:39 AM on 06/24/2010

I don't know if this is a true story or an allegory - but, if true, it must have given you huge comfort to know what your friend told you.

If life is eternal, then it holds true for animals as well as humans. I has a cat that I loved and cared for for 21 years. On the day she passed, the circumstances surrounding it were truly
horrible. I finally went to bed early in the morning, exhausted and numb. Some time later,
I became aware that she was walking across the bed ........ I just stared at her for some seconds ....... and finally reached out to touch her at which point she vanished. I am definitely not one given to dreams or visions or anything else, but that was an unforgettable
experience.

[f0rTyLeGz]

03:28 PM on 06/23/2010

"The importance of religion in the discussion surrounding animal rights is the lens it gives us through which to see the question."

What garbage! I have never believed in gods, but I still believe that we humans are destroying the precious flora and fauna. I love dogs, cats, birds, bugs, fish... all of them... each one of them.. and my love has nothing to do with any magical beings.

Life is precious... each life, every life. Life in the universe is rare, and down the road, when we have learned to stop killing each other, and starving each other, we will learn to treasure all life.