Tab Notes Answers To Tough Questions By Pastor Roosevelt Wright, Jr.

I  was asked a question today and I thought I knew the answer, but before I tell this individual the answer, I want  to make sure I'm right.  Do animals have souls?

   Genesis 2:7 says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of  the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
   According to Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Evangelical Thelogy, the Hebrew word in The Old Testament which means soul is "nepes." While it appears 755 times in the Old Testament, in most of the instances the references were point to two words:  "soul" (428 times) and "life" (117 times).
     It generally refers to the principle of life possessed by a living thing. In Genesis 1:20,21,24 it "nepes" refers to "living creatures." In Genesis 2:7 the same term is used to describe man after he has received the breath of God and becomes a living being.
     Humans have one thing in common with animals, they are both living beings or souls.
     While both man and creatures have souls, man has been made a knotch above other living creatures and in this respect shares a special relationship with the creator. Psalm 8:4-9 says:  4 What is man, that  thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a  little lower than the angels, and  hast crowned him with glory  and honour. Thou madest him  to have dominion over the works of   thy hands; thou hast put all things  under his feet:
     Thus man has a soul in that he is a living creature. Animals have souls to that extent. It is man however that enjoys the special relationship with God that warrants the great blessings and promises noted in scripture.