Dad Josh captures Luna’s emotional response to ‘The Lion King’

Luna cries as she watches Mufasa’s death. Photo: New York Post

Josh Myers took to Facebook to share a video of his dog’s reaction to a scene in “The Lion King.”

Myers said he and his girlfriend were watching the classic Disney film while his 4-month-old puppy, Luna, was playing with her toys. But when the movie got to the notoriously sad scene of Mufasa’s death, Luna stopped in her tracks to watch it play out.

And just like any emotional being, Luna began to whimper and cry at the sight of the king’s lifeless body.

The video also shows Luna lie down as Simba snuggles up to his dead father.

“The sweetest thing I think I’ve ever seen,” Myers wrote in the Facebook post. “4 months old and she’s already showing empathy.”

Credit: 10tv.com

The Soul or Nephesh and Animals

By Victor Brodt, M.Div.

In the Genesis creation account there is an interesting set of occurrences; new creatures are described with the Hebrew word nephesh. Nephesh in the creation accounts, depending upon the translation are often times worded simply “creatures” or “living creatures”, but the exact same word is more often used to describe humans. In the case of men and women the translation usually comes down to “soul” and the passions that are intertwined with the soul. This Hebrew word is used 754 times in the Old Testament and does not otherwise change in meaning. The controversy comes when animals are described as souls. Some Bible translations (for example Wycliffe, Darby, and others)  struggle a bit with the wording and use an awkward but more precise translation calling the animals “soulish creatures” or “living souls” used 7 times in the first 2 chapters of Genesis,  each which specifically describe animals; nephesh means human soul everywhere else. The concept of soul is used for God’s creatures through the first  chapters and the same word is applied to mankind later in Genesis, then by other writers throughout the Bible. Some may argue that it simply means life, or breathing beings but the fact is; the word is used as a very specific theological term when used in other places within Genesis. The Greek word psyche (Septuagint and New Testament) used for soul is also handled in the same manner for animal as well as mankind. It is a huge error to falsely say that the Bible tells us that animals do not have souls!

Since both the Old and New Testaments describe animals coming from or residing in heaven, for example (2 Kings 2:11) Elijah’s horse drawn chariot of fire from and back into heaven. In (Revelation 19:11-14) the triumphal return of Jesus, a myriad of horseback riders come from out of heaven to earth to set up the kingdom on earth; it is logical to conclude that animals have a place in heaven and some essence of them are certainly housed in the heavenly realm. Go as far as to through out any consideration of animals having souls, still there they are in the heavenly descriptions. To exclude animals from the heavenly realms would require overlooking the biblical text. To be fair this can easily be done because of assumptions strongly embedded in our society that believe death is the ultimate end… but that is not what God shows us. The Bible declares that death is only the beginning of life; eternal life for all creation.

It needs to be noted that some theologians or commentators do not accept the concept of animals in heaven, declaring mankind is special and unique. This stance is unfortunate and needlessly painful. Many of us who make the point about creatures in heaven wholeheartedly agree about the uniqueness of man (men and women need to make their own choices to enter into God’s presence; mankind needs salvation). Mankind must choose, yet it should be recognized that there is inclusion for all creation in the biblical scenario. There is no need to resort to the concept: “life dies with the body”; this idea as applied to men’s and women’s souls is deemed heresy. That teaching would be at odds with the overall teaching of the Bible that tells us there will be a resurrection of the body; even the all-consuming sea will instantly give up its dead at God’s command (Revelation 20:12-13). To assume that God will not do the same for various forms of life is quite limited in thinking, especially when His Word indicates otherwise with God inspired biblical glimpses into the heavenly realms.