I wanted to love this book. I really did. The best
I could do was like it, with reservations.
I was
expecting strong biblical passages providing evidence that our pets will meet
us in heaven. Sure, I hope Mewsette, Isaiah and Sarah Jane – three cats I had
who have all crossed the Rainbow Bridge – will be waiting for me in heaven.
The Scriptures he uses do refer to all creation
praising God, which would include animals. The original creation – which God
said was good – included animals. So it is entirely possible – even likely –
there will be cats in heaven. Animals do not have souls that are capable of
saving faith, though. Though as my
husband has pointed out, cats never fell. All creation suffered when Adam and
Eve committed the first sin.
As a Franciscan, Friar Wintz relies heavily on the
life of St. Francis of Assisi. I would have preferred that he had stuck to
Scripture. Not coming from a Catholic background (disclaimer: every church I have been a member of was
Baptist and those I have been involved with without being a member were
evangelical) the testimony of Catholic saints does not carry much weight with
me.
He cites three things that support our faith:
Scripture, Christian teaching, and the life and example of St. Francis of
Assisi. The only one I can wholeheartedly accept is Scripture. Just because
something claims to be “Christian teaching” does not mean it is biblical. And
the life and example of a fallible human being may have admirable bits, but it
does not rank on the level of Scripture.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the
leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the
fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear
shall graze: their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat
straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned
child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in
all My holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6-9 Animals will be perfected in the
restored kingdom of God. So I believe cats, dogs, horses and all other
domesticated animals will be in heaven.
If the author had stuck to Scripture – and only
Scripture – as his evidence, the book would have been exactly what I was hoping
it would be. All in all, it was not a bad book, but it was not what I was
hoping it would be.
