Philo, given you believe in a theistic creator, that point of view is understandable. But take that out of the equation, and it doesn't really make much sense. Every individual human of course has their own purpose in life, but the species as a whole cannot be meaningfully be said to have a purpose, any more than a galaxy can be said to have a purpose.

"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution"
-Theodosius Dobzhansky

Without evolution, biology ceases to become a theoretical science and merely a descriptive cataloging of organisms and systems. This is why most biologists "believe" in evolution and some get quite annoyed by people who have no idea about why they do so. Intelligent design and "creationism" has no useful purpose or hypotheses other than to maintain illusions held by certain people.

Y'know, one of the more objectionable bits (in my view) about the christian faith, was the elevation of humanity above the rest of 'god's creatures' as it were.

Whilst there were various passages which instilled the importance of mankind looking after animals and not being cruel etc, there was still the overwhelming impression that animals are just here for our use, and while we may have a responsibility to look after them, they're still little more than items for our own convenience.

I've a number of problems with this. First and foremost, observing the world from an ecological perspective, you see pretty quickly we're just one part of the system. We are an animal species like any other, we just have a higher intelligence.

This doesn't make us better than animals. It just makes us smarter.

So when I see the concept that it's only people who can gain access to heaven, I'm a bit disgusted really. Anyone who has looked into the eyes of a chimpanzee, or even seen the rascally way a loved pet dog can schmooze its owner for food, realises pretty quickly that animals can and do have their own personalities.
The idea that they don't have a soul or warrant an afterlife, and people do, is a little abhorrent to me. Quite frankly, I find it arrogant.

Cont'd

I note some of the earlier comments in this thread - runner implied that the people with a different perspective must just be smoking pot or something like that. Quite frankly, I disagree, and think this is a small minded attitude, perhaps reflected on a certain philosophical background. I probably sound a little judgmental here, but I'm not the one dismissing other views as just a by-product of some drug.

Another common view is to see animals and humans as different rungs on an evolutionary ladder.

I don't think this is right either. Aside from my earlier comments about ecological systems, and the fact we're all reliant on one another, there isn't really any objective measure of what makes one species 'better.'

We can talk about more effective species in terms of reproduction, in which case, ants, influenza, cockroaches and rodents can all give us a run for our money.

You can also view us as simply another species in a niche without a predator - which ultimately results in that species breeding out of control then starving as resources dwindle. Put aside the intelligence issues, and we're a classic case of an introduced pest species. In which case, we're a lesser species than those that fit into the carefully calibrated norms of their ecosystem.

Those that argue humans are 'better' are using purely human means of objectivity. As I said earlier, it's understandable because they're human, but as humans, they should also be able to assess that other points of view may differ, and there may be a case for a different set of assessments.

As a Christian we uphold all creation have a divine purpose and design and makes up an ecological balanced environment. And man in that environment has total accountability for its care. No other creature has that moral responsibility. Of all creatures man is most accountable and is most responsible for its management. Man is the only manager appointed to the Earth and its resources.

However heaven is not a physical place it is rather the state of the spiritual of which only man can experience. Try putting lions of dogs in a community where they do not fight for dominance. Heaven is for instance a state of peaceful cooperation within a society. The Bible does speak of a day when all lions will live in peace with lambs. This is a symbolic representation of what heaven is like.

That's just it Philo. You're saying that heaven is only open to man because it's a philosophical difference due to the fact that we're so very different to animals.

I'm saying we're not. We just like to think we are. As far as our stewardship of the planet, quite frankly, it can look after itself, when we're not messing it up. Again, we're not deserving of setting ourselves apart.

I tend to think it's this attitude that we're different - this attitude that we're somehow better or different to the animals and the systems around us, that makes us think we can mess with our environment.