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Do animals pray to God ?

Thief

Thief

Rogue Theologian
chinu said:
Do you think animals, insects, bacteria, viruses pray/can pray to God for their requirements, desires etc ?

Thoughts:)
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SCIENCE!

saw the documentary
and apparently not

they can mourn
dream
cry in pain
express guilt
and a variety of emotions more

but no evidence they even suspect a spiritual life
 
Thief

Thief

Rogue Theologian
S

Saint Frankenstein

Gone
Premium Member
Thief said:
took a look.....not buying it

that animals mourn.....is not worship
that they dream.....doesn't show they dream of heaven

do animals pray to God?
no evidence

the article you offered had observation followed with speculation

but no indication of focus toward a Greater Being
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It would help if you stop projecting your Christian idea of spirituality on to them. That is not how spirituality began with humans so of course it's not going to look like Christianity among non-humans. Going by your narrow definition, I'm not spiritual or religious, either. But that's not true.
 
Mock Turtle

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
Toddlers might display the same kinds of behaviour as some animals when encountering new things or those that inspire awe, and I doubt they have any concept of God unless put there by a parent. Why would non-human life have any concepts of gods or anything similar? And hence, wherefore art thou prayer?
 
SigurdReginson

SigurdReginson

Grēne Mann
Premium Member
You know, there was this little girl who would feed the crows outside of her window. As time went on, more showed up. Eventually, they started bringing her gifts like shiny stones and bits of metal in exchange for her generosity.

The girl who gets gifts from birds

How is that so different from prayer?

Also, there was a study involving pigeons and feeding times- the subject matter was how these birds exhibited superstitious behavior.


The hopper that opened a door to their food was automatic. They found that if the pigeon was flapping it's wings or bobbing it's head at the time of the hopper opening, it would continue it's behavior thinking it influenced the event.

Though not exactly prayer, it isn't so different, either.
 
Whisper

Whisper

New Member
No, I think animals do what is natural for them. I believe they rely on instincts rather than reason in the human sense of the word. However, I believe animals are spiritually connected beings. They notice things that most humans don't...
 
MNoBody

MNoBody

Well-Known Member
jaguars are well known to indulge in chewing MAO inhibitors along with other vines loaded with DMT so, who knows, they seem to enjoy the experience from what has been caught on film of it....
but pray, not likely in the sense that you mean in the OP. they would have a whole priest caste and temples and all that extraneous religious baggage then, which they do not, so the data does not support the conjecture.
ba73e6efc1cbd49bc242feebd3b12e29.jpg
 
Thief

Thief

Rogue Theologian
Saint Frankenstein said:
It would help if you stop projecting your Christian idea of spirituality on to them. That is not how spirituality began with humans so of course it's not going to look like Christianity among non-humans. Going by your narrow definition, I'm not spiritual or religious, either. But that's not true.
Click to expand...
I do not project

so do not project toward me
 
SigurdReginson

SigurdReginson

Grēne Mann
Premium Member
Thief said:
ooh no.....

animals shift behavior
as interaction to their surroundings

no indication they have turned their thoughts to heaven
Click to expand...

:shrug:

I don't presume to know what animals think.

Heaven is a relatively modern concept for human beings, but there is plenty of evidence to show that even the ancestors of humans and their cousins (like neanderthals) had ritualized burials. That suggests more than just mourning, imo.

New Neanderthal remains associated with the ‘flower burial’ at Shanidar Cave
 
SigurdReginson

SigurdReginson

Grēne Mann
Premium Member
Thief said:
I cannot agree

grief is the drive

to see carrion picking at the carcass of a loved one.....is grief

a shallow grave won't keep the canines away

burial is response to grief

not God
Click to expand...

What of sky burials? Zoroastrians wanted vultures to pick apart their loved ones, and that was also driven by their spiritual beliefs.

It seems to me that if there is ritualized behavior surrounding the death of a being, there's something more at work,but that's just me.
 
Thief

Thief

Rogue Theologian
SigurdReginson said:
What of sky burials? Zoroastrians wanted vultures to pick apart their loved ones, and that was also driven by their spiritual beliefs.

It seems to me that if there is ritualized behavior surrounding the death of a being, there's something more at work,but that's just me.
Click to expand...
a developed ritual
hmmmmm

but not aimed at heaven

just some vague form of continuance

can't say that indicates animals believe in God
 
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