Are Divorced Pastors OK?

Plus: Beliefnet's Bible expert answers your questions about tattoos, the Book of Life, and whether pets go to heaven.

BY: Ben Witherington

Continued from page 2

In the Bible, God told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate from the tree. The snake told Eve that she would gain knowledge between right and wrong. Isn't that what did happen? I mean, they didn't die, so does that mean that the snake was telling the truth and God lied?

Actually, your interpretation is incorrect. Adam and Eve did go on to die, as God said they would. God did not say they would die instantly. The awareness that Adam and Eve gained from eating the apple was not proper moral knowledge of good and evil but rather an awareness that they had sinned. Also, an extreme form of self-consciousness and self-centeredness resulted from this sinful act.



My friend and I were talking about whether or not animals go to heaven. He heard someone speak about the animals in heaven, as stated in the Bible; did that mean all our animals or a selected few? It is my belief that animals have a soul/spirit too. But he won't believe me until I have proof from the Bible that states this. --Denise

The Bible is quite clear that only human beings are created in the image of God. Nothing in the Bible suggests that other parts of the creation have eternal spirits. Nor are there any texts about animals dwelling in heaven. What we do find is a promise that in the new creation at the end of human history there will be animals present, with even the wolf lying down with the lamb (Isaiah 11:6-7). Since Revelation 21-22 speaks of a new earth as well as a new heaven, there is no reason why God might not renew the animal kingdom as well as the human one when the final kingdom of God comes here on earth.

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