A few weeks ago, Bobby died. It happened quite quickly. On Thursday, he was sitting merrily on his perch. On Friday, he was shivering and looking pretty unimpressed with life. On Saturday morning, he was standing on the floor of the cage with his eyes half open, rocking back and forth. At lunchtime, when the kids and I took him to the vet, he had decided it would be best to have a little lie down. The vet was kind but decisive.
We took Bobby home in a very small plastic bag. There were tears. My wife’s former history teacher (that’s a whole other story) dug a hole in the backyard, and another friend of ours found a little mournful-looking stone dog to act as headstone. Family, friends and the former history teacher prayed together that God would comfort us in our loss.
Then came the inevitable question from the 6-year-old: “Is Bobby in heaven now?” Hmm. I know that there will be a new, physical creation (Isa 65:17), and it seems like the new creation will contain, at the very least, contented wolves, baby sheep, lions, cattle and humiliated snakes (Isa 65:25). But will there be a spiritual continuity of identity between the Bobby we knew and a particular budgie in the hereafter? There didn’t seem to be enough biblical data to form a meaningful answer. So I answered as I only could: “The Bible doesn’t say”.
This answer seemed to provide a surprisingly high level of comfort to our six-year-old. The phrase “The Bible doesn’t say” was repeated as a mantra for the next few days as a way of coming to terms with the terrible events of the weekend. (Buying Billy the Budgie as a replacement also helped to alleviate the grief somewhat.)
Why was that phrase “The Bible doesn’t say” so comforting? Perhaps it’s because of what it implies. Non-Christian friends of ours, when faced with theological questions about God, heaven and hell, seem to feel a panicked sense of being out of their depth, and tend to make up whatever answer seems best to them, or whatever will make their kids feel better and stop all those difficult questions.
But when we say to our kids “The Bible doesn’t say”, there is actually an underlying subtext: “Mum and Dad don’t know everything, but that’s okay. God has it under control. Trust him. We don’t have to make it up. Anything that God wants us to know, he’s told us in the Bible. If we can’t work it out from the Bible, then clearly it’s not important for us to know.”
“The Bible doesn’t say” is actually a way of affirming that God has spoken clearly and decisively on the important issues, and that there is an authority beyond our own theological musings. If we need to know it, God has told us. And we’ll leave the rest up to him.
Well Said.
It takes epistemological humility and personal courage to say it.
Mike
Some years ago, my husband’s small niece drowned and one of the many things which distressed her (non-believing) parents was that they didn’t know the exact time she had died (they had searched for some time before she was found on the bottom of the pool). They too were comforted a little when I explained that although we didn’t know, God did. That He is in control.
And for what it’s worth, I think Bobby (and all the pets we love) do go to heaven, not in their own right, but because we are promised that in heaven there are all good things, and pets are one of the very good things in our lives.
I’m sorry for the loss of your pet. I agree with what you said. I do think that perhaps we may be able to say a bit more to turn it into a gospel opportunity. Here is my effort—http://www.indyopc.org/PetInHeaven.html
Dear Larry – your post is brilliant! I recommend our readers to check it out.
Interesting question.
Reminds me of Psalm 36:6:
<cite>O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
I have often wondered what exactly this verse means. Do animals go to heaven? Or is there some other meaning?
Hi Elly – I’d suggest that in the immediate context of the Psalm, David is speaking of God’s care for his people and his entire creation, especially as he provides protection from the plots of the wicked. The Psalms do sometimes have “life after death” on view (e.g. Psalm 16:9-11), but I’m not sure if you could build anything about animals in heaven on this verse alone.
I don’t know, and I’m happy to wait to find out. One thing I do know for sure however… my cat is certainly capable of sin. He knew exactly what he was doing at 4am last night when he noisily scratched the bag in the corner until my wife and I were both awake enough to give him attention!
Yes, a dilemna for young kids and adults too I guess. For we do become attached to our pets, especially those who have been a very special part of the family/ much loved etc.
And I remember when teaching, I could never belittle a student who wanted to pray about their pet, or their grief over a much loved pet’s death.
How could I turn that genuine need (ie, to pray) down?
Paul.
Hi Lionel,
Alas, poor Bobby. You knew him well.
I think your summary at the end is right on the money. However, I think here in statement’s like ‘The Bible doesn’t say’ is a failure in our apologetic.
Christian preachers and any who speak of God might quickly deal with a question that is not the main game with a short,‘The Bible doesn’t say.’ Behind this lies the assumption that God is good and in control and merciful.
However, if you don’t have those assumptions, then answer, ‘The Bible doesn’t say’ seems to either dodge the issue or maybe be dismissive.
This is a real issue if the person asking these kind of questions often isn’t just asking, ‘Will Billy Bob the badger be in heaven?’ but what is God doing in the world.
In short, what should we say before we say the Bible doesn’t say?
Glenn
Hi Glenn, great to hear from you! A question like, “What is God doing in the world?” always has a context. Do you have any specific situations in mind where a person has genuinely asked this question?