After finishing the reading on animal pain, I found myself pondering animal immortality. However, since it appeared to be a rather vast topic I quickly put a stop to my pondering. Why deal with the headache? Instead I turned my thoughts to animal Mortality. I'm not ready to dive in to whether or not animals are reincarnated or have a special corner in heaven, so why not look at their lives on earth.
What's the difference between an animal life and a human life? Besides the debatable soul argument animals tend to have shorter lives. Yes, there are exceptions like sea turtles and elephants, but most animals, especially domestic animals tend to live between 1o and 2o years. Why is this so? There are probably numerous biological explanations, but lets think on a religious level. Does God want his creatures to live shorter lives? Are animals lives short because we get bored with them after they're not babies anymore? Lewis argued that animal pain is either due to the fall of man or direct corruption from Satan. I'm going to argue that it is due to man's fall so as to not shift the blame. If men cause animals to suffer because we've neglected our stewardship, then perhaps animals are graced with fleeting lives. If a creature doesn't have the capacity to choose life over death and vice-a-versa and is doomed to be under the care of man perhaps it is mercy to let them "die young."
If a man is unsatisfied with his life, he has the choice to end it, whether right or wrong that is for another story. To the extent of my knowledge, animals don't have this particular choice except by accident. Can we really say that Goldy was trying to kill herself when she jumped out of her bowl? (Not that I'd blame a gold fish for wanting to leave her bowl to go to that vast, heavenly sea) Anyway, because man has strayed and caused animals to suffer, perhaps God has provided an outlet for these animals where they can leave their pain behind and move on to nothingness or a great heavenly wonders.
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