The Mary T. and
Frank L. Hoffman
Family Foundation
and
All-Creatures.Org

Letters and Responses

Letter From Andy Concerning Animals - 16 May 2003

I agree with you that animals should be treated with respect, but I fail to see what this has to do with religion.

In Christianity, it says that those people who do not follow Jesus will be sent to hell.  Do you actually believe this? And so animals don't have to do anything and will go to heaven?

I would also like to ask what your views are in terms of the fossils we get that show what scientists agree are ape-like creatures who have a remarkable resemblance to humans. They are thought to have evolved from other ancient apes.

And finally, what about insects?  No one seems to care about insects.

Reply from Frank L. Hoffman - 17 May 2003

Dear Andy:

Thank you very much for your email and questions.

One of the primary reasons that there is so much violence in the world is the failure of religious leaders to speak out against it, and in far too many cases they actually support it, whether it is directed against fellow human beings, the animals, or the environment. Part of our mission is to try to correct this misrepresentation.

If there is a heaven, there is also a hell. It may help to look at heaven as being in the presence of God, and hell as being absent from God.

Animals do have a will of their own, but to what extent this affects their relationship with God, we don't know, but if humans go to heaven, then animals do, too, because according to the Bible we are all living souls.

We know that there is evolution going on all the time, being most evident in bacteria, prions and viruses. There are also discrepancies in the fossil records that contradict some of your contentions. I personally believe that God created the heavens and the earth, but, at the same time, He appears to have allowed for some evolution to take place.

Insects are animals and living souls, and we try to preserve them as much as possible.

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank

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