Are We Worshipping Our Pets?

We love our pets but are we taking that love too far? We know bestiality is a sin but is sharing your bed with your furry friend okay? And do we value animal life a little too much? Perhaps there is a thin line between our covenant of care and pet idolatry.

Bible verse James 3:7 — We can have pets of any nature

The History of Animal Worship

Animals and religion have always gone hand in hand. Even in the bible, Jesus is compared to a lamb and a lion. Many gods in ancient cultures were viewed as animal deities or had animals that symbolized them.

Today, countries still use animals as their national representatives. These animals embody the power, strength, wisdom, or hope of the country they represent. In some cases, these national animals were also worshipped as gods by the country’s natives.

Worshipping pets is nothing new either. In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods, and cows were treated like sacred brothers in India. Worship is bad and leads you to sin but getting too ‘close’ to your pet is also a grave sin.

Our obsession with furries is not a new thing. In both the past and present, people dressed up as animals and performed sexual acts with them and other humans. In some cases, this was also a form of worship or part of some spiritual ritual.

Bible verse on Bestiality Exodus 22:19 — Did you know beastiality is hardly discussed? Why do you think we talk about that sexual sin?

What the Bible Says About Animal Worship

We all know what happened to the Golden Calf. So it is quite clear that animal worship was not acceptable in the eyes of God. Even though the bible describes both Jesus and God with animalistic characteristics, they are also recognized as formless deities or spirits.

Animal sacrifice may have been part of Jewish customs but animals were never set above humans or regarded as gods. And when you recall the laws on handling animals in the Bible, you’ll see animals’ rights were not always above human rights. Animals were to be respected and cared for but not worshipped.

And not loved. As in the romantic love between a man and a woman. The warning not to lie with an animal is repeated in the bible with death being the penalty. And for such a harsh penalty we should pay attention to just what ‘lie’ means.

Are We Worshipping Our Pets

But exactly denotes worship?

Worship means to revere and adore someone or something. And as much as we watch animal videos and spoil our pets, can we call it worship? If it is then when we do the same for our human friends is that not worship also?

We idolize celebrities and athletes but not on the same level as we idolize our pets. At the most extreme, we treat our pets like part of the family. And that is not worship, it’s care as you would for any family member.

This care is also in line with what God has called us to do as stewards of the Earth. However, when you delve into the realm of Beastiality or Zoophilia we have crossed over into the realm of sin. We love to share our beds with our pets, but does just sleeping with them equal sin?

The Bible says laying with your pet is a sin. But we also know that laying is very different from the sexual actions of a sinner. Here I think we can stay on the side of God and simply keep the pets out of the bedroom. After all, your dog humping you may not be that funny in hell.