Once upon a time, I was scanning Facebook when something caught my eye. It was a funny picture of a puppy wearing a scarf that said something like, "This is why we can't have nice things." Dog shaming is a silly trend. It seems kind of pointless, and only marginally amusing, but I've never felt upset or offended by it.
This Facebook user, however, was deeply and personally hurt by this photograph. It cut her to the core. How dare a pet owner treat their furbaby so cruelly? She invited the original poster to reflect on the intent of "dog shaming." Then she went further and pointed out that you wouldn't treat your children this way. Up till this point I was mostly amused by her ire. The post was weird and convoluted, but still kind of funny. And then it took a turn, and I felt like I had slipped down the rabbit hole.
She insisted that the dog owner pray for her pet, and tell it about Jesus. And then... then, dear reader, she explained that she reads the Bible to her cats every night, and confided that it "does make a difference."
I had to take a step back and examine my life. I currently have both a dog and a cat. We had a dog when we were growing up. I've owned many different kinds of rodents. Have I failed them all by not preaching the good word unto them? Would my hamster have been happier if we had a little baptism ceremony, giving him the chance to accept the gospel?
-Prepare for Sunday School-
No. Baptism symbolizes a "death" of sin in our life, and a "rebirth" in Christ. Since animals don't sin, they have no need of baptism. I'm not here to make any statements about whether or not our pets will be with us in the next life, but I can tell you for sure that they do not need baptism.
Having said this, I'm still willing to try reading scriptures with my cat. I'm pretty sure she'd be open to it. She's a very broad-minded animal, so I bet she'll have a lot to add to the discussion.
I use to play Ozzy Osbourne for my dog. He started eating bats
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