The Beasts of the Kingdom

Dearest Rachel –

So, over Labor Day weekend, Logan dragged Daniel and I (not too insistently, as we’d found the movie intriguing enough to consider checking out – we just don’t go out to do these things on our own without a little extra push, which Logan was more than happy to provide) to see Coyote vs ACME. In the process, we’d inadvertently double-booked ourselves; we had to dip out of a barbecue Jeff was hosting for the group and others of his friend circle, and return once the movie was over and done with.

Was it any good? Eh, it had its moments. I wouldn’t say it was any Roger Rabbit; still, it was a pretty fair way to spend an hour an a half (and it also kept me from eating too much at the cookout, since most everything was cleared out by the time we returned).

But it got me to wondering yet again about a subject that you presumably already know the answer to, but can’t tell me, or anyone else still here, about; that of the future of animals. Not what their future will be as various species, but as individuals – if individuals they are. I’ve mentioned the Rainbow Bridge in light of Chompers’ passing, and wonder whether you and he were reunited (as well as the previous generations of dogs your parents raised with and without you).

The thing is, the comedian Emo Phillips quoted Thomas Aquinas as having claimed that animals have no souls – the punchline having to do with being asked “is this seat saved?” all of which gives you a rough idea where I get certain theological ideas from – and yet there does seem to be some indication of a Edenic future that includes them:

The wolf will ·live in peace [^Llive; dwell] with the lamb,
    and the leopard will ·lie down to rest [^Llie down] with the young goat [^Cpeace within the animal kingdom symbolizes the restoration of creation; 65:25].
Calves, lions, and ·young bulls [or fattened calves; ^Lfatling] will ·eat [or be] together,
    and a little child will lead them.

Isaiah 11:6, Expanded Bible

But this goes back and forth; the link to chapter 65 suggests that this happens “on My holy mountain” as opposed to what we think of as heaven (which is to say, existing somewhere other than earth; as the songwriter put it, “we’d all be pretty depressed if we got to heaven and it was just like here”).

So, are they going to be there? And what will they be like?

For example, as I understand it, various animals are, literally by nature, carnivorous. Their stomachs were built to eat and digest meat; nothing else will do. If someone claims to own a vegan cat or dog, that’s not their pet’s choosing, by any means (and may even be killing the cat with presumed kindness; while dogs are omnivorous and can go without – despite preferring otherwise – cats cannot subsist on such a diet). And yet, that very fact seems incompatible with the peaceful coexistence described by Isaiah. Is the Lord going to reconfigure their digestive system and rewire their instincts? It’s not as if He couldn’t do those, of course, but it almost begs the question as to what is left of the individual beast, once they arrive in His Kingdom.

In considering these questions, I found myself thinking about the word of this strange recitation:

Now, I always heard the one line as assuring the listener that “the form of every single brain will be restored in glory”; the actual line referred to ‘grain.’ Then again, this wasn’t some mystic philosopher they were quoting, this was just their own writing, although several lines were borrowed from scripture (and you can probably determine which ones they are). At the same time, they also refer to the heretical Gnostic concept of the demiurge – although they refer to him and his workshop as being “stilled,” so maybe that’s the abolition of such heresy? – so maybe this is all fauxlosophy, anyway.

But I do find myself wondering what we will be like, in general. Assuming your mother is there, she can’t be there in the aged, senile state she was in during her last days, can she? If nothing else, should the answers to why life is as it is be presented to us, we ought to be permitted minds that will be able to take in and understand His plans – especially if we still have a part to carry out in establishing His kingdom on His holy mountain.

Then again, the book of the Revelation has the martyrs of the fifth seal (wouldn’t that be a great name for a band?) asking the Lord as to how long He would continue to wait before meting out judgement upon the earth for their fate, so clearly, we aren’t given all the answers instantaneously. But at some point, we will understand what He has planned, suggesting that we should have the capacity to do so. Also note that, despite being in His supposedly terrifying presence, they consider themselves bold enough to ask this question of Him, in contrast to Job when God confronts him. They are also given an answer – to wait a little while longer yet – and a gift of white robes to put on as they do so, so it would seem that their question isn’t considered to be out of line.

I realize this has gone far afield from the beasts of the kingdom that I had originally wondered about, but this is how my stream of consciousness flows. It does still leave me wondering about how and if they will be able to understand any of this. It seems unfair for them to be lesser beings, and know that they are, compared to humans; how does this fit with their own personalities (again, assuming they have any, and it’s not just something we impute to them, anthropomorphizing them so as to try to relate to them)? If they are so different from their earthly state, as Isaiah suggest, how much of ‘them’ is still there?

And I suppose these questions are a substitute for either of us wondering what we will be like then; with our rough edges sanded away, will we even still be ourselves? You know the answer, of course, but for many reasons (none of which I know or understand), you can’t relay them back to me. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t keep the secret if I knew it.

All I can think, at the end of this contemplation, is that “I was [or is it ‘will be’?] judged for my despair because I was unable to understand this / Let Thy servant depart, O my Lord and my God, having seen Thy salvation.”