We All Love… Silly Pet Pictures

Seen here, Izzy, the dog has “rescued” a discarded empty of chips from the trash bin, apparently in hopes of obtaining a smidgen of a tasty morsel. / Photo by SRL

Do Animals…

Things like this – Cat LOL videos, stories of animals having friendships, and other similarly expressive photos & stories (such as the depressed goat which was separated from, then was reunited with it’s longtime donkey companion) – are quite fascinating.

The reason why should be self-evident. Which is, that we find them humorous or entertaining because we ascribe human traits to animals.

From childhood, I never considered the denial of anthropomorphism (“interpretation of nonhuman things or events in terms of human characteristics“) to be a valid thing, per se, because from a Judeo-Christian perspective, it seemed clear to me that if “the Earth is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof,” and as the Christ said, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!,” then not only are there things unknown by us (mysteries of the world), but that everything is dynamic, perhaps even living… even if does not seem so by our standards.

Now, that is NOT to say that I believe in animism, for I do not. And for your benefit, dear reader, animism is a type of religious practice most commonly found among primitives and other remote, unlearned people groups, which, in essence, claims that non-living things such as rocks, wooden planks, paper sacks, trousers, shoes, etc. – all have a soul, and is pantheistic.

Continuing…

However, from a purely logical, rational perspective, it would seem inconsistent, if not irrational, for a Being whom is life to create anything that is ~not~ life. Because everything flowing from that same Being would reflect the nature & intent – indeed, the very core – of that Being whom is life and love.

While to our rational mind it seems inconceivable that an otherwise “inanimate” object such as a rock would give voice, if we – at the very minimum – acknowledge that we do ~not~ know all there is to know about even one minuscule thing, then we leave the door open to all sorts of possibilities… including rocks crying out. After all, before reanimating (resurrecting) Lazarus, the Master did say, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

And if mere minerals can be capable of crying out (and the dead raised to life), then how much more the animate objects? In the Scripture, there are at least two examples of animals speaking – Baalam’s donkey, and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Thus, it would seem reasonable – indeed, we have observed as much – that, in addition to some degree of intellect, animals most certainly also possess emotions – anger, joy, sadness, excitement, happiness, curiosity, etc. And therefore, because they do, we can identify them with us even more so. And that is neither theoretical nor anthropomorphic; that is factual.

And so, here ends my free dissertation on this photo of a dog.

Look for more wonderful thoughts in your grocer’s frozen food aisle!

Oh yes… I do like it. 😉