True Nirvana

Saturday, March 19, 2005

And the meaning of life is...

Like most of the titles on Miller's blog I think I'll make mine have nothing to do with my post just to annoy those who are seeking the meaning of life (I'll give you a hint you can probably find it somewhere in the world’s best-selling book). Anyway with spring break coming up and the Marian seniors' high school educations coming to a close the teachers feel it is their duty to stack as many projects on us as possible before we escape from their clutches. I know they are actually doing this to help us out. I mean teaching at Marian is practically volunteer work for people with 4 years of college like them. I had no idea that the teachers at Marian made so little money. I've heard from some semi-reliable sources that Marian teachers start at 23,000 a year... and veteran teachers make it to the lower 30,000's. Many of the teachers have to take up second jobs to support their family. I've been told that Mr. Gross is a deliveryman for a local pizza parlor on the side. Anyway it's time I mentioned some controversial subject that everyone argues with me about hmm... ok I got one "All pets go to heaven when they die if they are good (except for cats because they are useless blobs of fur)" hmm I think I'm going to have some harsh consequences for writing that but oh well... until next time.

posted by Andy at 1:28 AM

13 Remarks:

  • Heres why I dont think cats can get to heaven:

    1. Cats are pillows that you have to feed

    2. Noone thinks a pillow is going to heaven

    Plus, they suck.

    leahciM

    By Blogger Mike, at 10:38 PM  

  • Why animals don't go to Heaven:

    Heaven, indeed, is perfection, as it is our perfect union with God. Yet it is likely more of a metaphysical realm than a physical embodiment. When on earth, if one is so in love with objects of a worldly nature, then they will likely not enter the Kingdom of heaven immediately, but rather, be cleansed of all greed and selfishness and love of such objects in purgatory. Thus, upon entering Heaven, their souls are in ecstasy at their closeness to God. They are no longer satisfied by things of mortality, only the immortal Love of Christ.

    Michael brought up a very good point yesterday: Behind every object that we love on earth, is some portion of our love for Christ. Anything beautiful, adorable, or attractive is only so because God is present in it. What man seeks pleasure, it is because he is seeking perfect happiness, he is seeking Christ. So when one says 'My dog makes me happy, thus, I wish for my dog to be in heaven,' they are really only shorting themselves. Why have the imperfect joy of this world when you can have the flawless, unending joy of the next? Since none can ascend to the Beatific Vision with a blemished soul, those who do will see no need for animal companions.

    I hope that made a bit of sense. I'm quite tired.

    Erin

    By Blogger Erin Marie Hall, at 8:31 AM  

  • Well, take a nap..

    THEN FIRE ZE MISSLES!!!

    ahem. Anyway, back to why cats suck. I'm allergic to them. Which means they suck. Plus dogs just rule. So cats suck. Plus cats are acorporeal. They dont have a physical form. Any animal that big that can fit through a hole the size of a golf ball just can't have any matter to it. Plus, have you ever touched one? They are squishy, like jello.

    Oh, and yeah. Erin's right. We are made for heaven, not the other way around. Therefore irregardless of what we want heaven to be (full of dogs and other such animals), we don't get to choose. And you can look at Erins comment for a reason why they won't be there anyway.

    leahciM

    By Blogger Mike, at 8:50 AM  

  • Hmm, I really expected there to be more controversy over the whole "cats suck" thing than the controversy of animals going to heaven. Anyway it sounds to me like you guys are treating animals as material objects. They are not manmade creations like this computer I am typing on. They were created by God just like we were. I agree that they would not go up to heaven with us because of the whole lack of souls thing, however I find it comforting to believe that God has a place for all of his creatures and not just us. The universe is vast, maybe even endless, so how can we believe that we are the only creatures out there worthy of God's eternal love?

    By Blogger Andy, at 2:57 PM  

  • Haha well I have a lot to say, so forgive me if I get boring.

    Jonathan, you are correct in your deductions that there must be a slightly corporeal aspect of heaven, given Mary's Assumption and numerous other accounts. What I meant by saying metaphysical was that it would not be a place of worldly being. From the reading I've done, the majority of Church scholars agree that our glorified bodies in heaven will indeed be physical, yet, as the name implies, lacking the flaws and limitations of the bodies we know now.

    Andy, I am treating cats and dogs and lemurs and duckies and African swallows as objects, because that is precisely what they are. God did make them, true, but as you said, they do not have souls. They have no need for eternal rest, as they really cannot cognize life in the time-space manner that we do. We aren't worthy of God's eternal love, He gives it to us mercifully. We are miserable sinners, but we can choose to seek His love. That is why we are created with free will. We can choose His love. Domesticated and wild animals cannot. Take a look at the 5 levels of existence, it explains quite a bit. And, as Michael said, we are made for Heaven, not vice versa.

    Finally, Heather, I love kittens and puppies and animals in general, but I acknowledge that they won't be with me in Heaven. I am far from bias in this argument. ;)

    By Blogger Erin Marie Hall, at 10:00 AM  

  • First off, about the whole physical part of heaven. I thought I read somewhere that in Revelation it was said that after all is said and done all of the people who made it into heaven will get their physical bodies back. I dunno about it though, as I can't remember any more than that.

    leahciM

    By Blogger Mike, at 1:41 PM  

  • Yep. Physical, but glorified.

    By Blogger Erin Marie Hall, at 12:59 PM  

  • Yeah so cats are good. And dogs are good. And this fact is irrefutable. I refer to the good book (Gen 1:31) when I quote "God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good." Bam, I win.

    I am however fairly sure that both Pretty Kitty and Fat Cat are leaving me forever when they die....

    By Blogger Alex, at 3:55 PM  

  • I don't think cats existed when God thought that or else he would've made an exception.

    By Blogger Andy, at 4:16 PM  

  • Those are possibly the most boring names in the history of the human race.

    By Blogger Erin Marie Hall, at 6:17 PM  

  • You all make very good points, however I still firmly believe animals will go to heaven. Does it say that they won't in the bible? I mean how do we know animals don't have souls? You cannot see souls.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:40 PM  

  • Nat, that was the greatest pun, EVER.

    By Blogger Alex, at 3:40 PM  

  • Dear Anonymous,

    The fact that animals can't get to heaven can be reached fairly easily, as long as your not afraid of the fact that they won't get there (many people let their affection for their pets cloud their judgement).

    As for animals souls. Their is no mention of their souls in the Bible, no. While you may think this may mean that they have as great a chance to have them as to not have them, that is not necessarily true. Any being that has a soul was given it by God. That means that that soul must be made to meet it's creator in the end. This is the only logical reason for a soul to be given to an animal. That being said, if they were meant to be with us in heaven, the bible would mention it. They would need Gods salvation as much as we would, if they had free will. If they don't have free will, they can't get to heaven for a different reason. And as for having their own heaven, that is absolutely ridiculous.

    The thing that seperates us from the animals is not, contrary to popular belief, the fact that we aren't afraid of vacuums. It is that we are aware of ourselves. A cat does not know what he is. He only knows that food makes him happy, and fire hurts. An animal's world is nothing but a string of different physical sensations. I mean, a goldfish has a memory of three seconds! How the heck would that ever be able to make the choice to get to heaven?

    Don't let your love of animals cloud your judgement. If it truly bothers you that animals probably don't go to heaven, you may be a little too attatched to your pet. I love my dogs, don't get me wrong, but in all honesty I have come to realize that if they came to heaven with me, if they were necessary for my eternal happiness, heaven is lame.

    leahciM

    By Blogger Mike, at 7:08 AM  

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