Our Animal and Spiritual Nature

I have the loveliest dog named Shiraz. She is a Rottweiler cross, weighing about 70 pounds (32 kg.). She is one year old, gorgeous, friendly, highly intelligent and well trained. She is perhaps the nicest animal I have ever known. But she is clearly an animal with strong animal instincts.

Shiraz dominates our ancient poodle Amigo in ways that are both hilarious and cruel. When we feed Shiraz in her large dish and Amigo in his small dish, Shiraz walks over and quickly empties Amigo’s dish before leisurely finishing her own. If Amigo disputes the pecking order, he receives a growl or a quick bite.

This highly-efficient, competitive instinct has allowed Shiraz’s ancestors to survive when lesser dogs were starving. It is also grossly unfair to our little poodle. Although we have trained Shiraz better than any previous dog, we can not train her to surpass her animal instincts. Her aggressive wolf ancestry lurks just below the surface and comes out when least expected.

I share some of Shiraz’s virtues and also a few of her less admirable qualities. My temper can flare up in an instant. I too am competitive by nature, which has helped me succeed in the business world.

I had the good fortune to take a course in anthropology at Harvard with Irven DeVore, who still appears occasionally on TV nature shows. He told us wonderful stories about living with baboons in Africa, which illustrated graphically that we share a lot of behaviour traits with apes and other primates. For instance, male baboons wake up in the morning and sit around for an hour or more as if having a second cup of coffee, while the female baboons immediately spring into action to care for the young and get going on the day – that describes me and my wife.

Nevertheless, I am more that just a highly evolved animal. I am able to change and grow in ways that Shiraz and the apes can never emulate. I have a much bigger brain capacity. I also have spiritual potential that is nearly divine if I choose to develop it to its fullest. However, this spiritual side never quite fully transcends my animal nature. It seems like the struggle between my two natures—animal and spiritual—will always remain.

Sigmund Freud labeled our animal nature the “Id” and our spiritual capacity the “Superego”. Freud had profound insights about human nature which brought him fame. However, Freud’s materialist worldview limited his comprehension of our spiritual potential. Freud had no room for God and saw the spiritual side as repressing our legitimate animal desires. He never realized that this spiritual nature can enrich our lives immeasurably.

By contrast, his Jewish contemporary Albert Einstein achieved an even higher world stature; this is evidenced by Einstein’s selection by Time Magazine as the “Greatest Person of the Twentieth Century”, far surpassing Freud’s influence.

Einstein said that his faith in a Divine Creator gave him a distinct edge over contemporary physicists who believed in a randomly ordered universe. Einstein sought to understand God’s grand design which governs all matter, from sub-atomic particles to intergalactic space. Einstein paid tribute to God throughout his life. He said: “I want to know God’s thoughts. The rest are details.”

Debate on religious and spiritual issues has gone on for thousands of years and will confront us for the foreseeable future. But the biggest question is whether there is indeed a Higher Power from whom we originate, or whether humans are just the top of the animal pyramid, governed by random chance.

The question of evolution of life on earth is secondary. Most astronomers believe that all of the galaxies were created in one titanic explosion in a single instant of time—the Big Bang. If Einstein is correct that God orchestrated this entire cosmic production, we are wasting time on heated discussions about whether or not plants, animals, and humans change gradually through an evolutionary process. Because if God designed and ordered the most infinitesimal, sub-atomic particles, how could he not also control all subsequent development in all spheres?

We must feed and develop our spiritual nature. On the other hand, we don’t need to view our animal side as primarily negative – it too was created by God. The animal kingdom is wondrously beautiful and captivating. But we can become much more than super-intelligent animals. We have the potential to become sons and daughters of the most high God.

Viewing ourselves as spiritual creatures as opposed to merely being the highest evolutionary achievement in the animal kingdom makes a dramatic difference in our worldview. It changes our behaviour. It alters our destiny. That is what the concept “New Birth” or “Born Again” truly signifies. It means actively embracing our divine heritage and becoming a “Child of God”.

To be spiritual requires humility before a mysterious universe in which we play a special, but quite junior role. We comprehend a lot, but there is far more that lies beyond human comprehension. And our animal nature keeps us humble as well.

We should nourish our body, mind and spirit. Nourishing our spirit is a formidable challenge which takes a lifetime. In past centuries, we entrusted this domain to our religion. Now many people have left religious institutions while still trying to keep up their spiritual beliefs.

We spend a lot of time and money to develop our mind and body. But our spiritual side may be starving on scraps and leftovers. If we truly value our spiritual nature, we need to provide it abundant time and resources. We need to read inspiring books and to associate with others who are spiritually striving. Our spirit, like our mind and body, will atrophy without dedicated commitment and healthy discipline. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all Truth if we pray for wisdom.

Shiraz shares the animal kingdom with other remarkable creatures like the bear I saw in my neighbourhood a few days ago. I wouldn’t want these animals to become much more intelligent with their uncontrollable animal instincts—they are dangerous enough already; imagine what they might do with guns or nuclear weapons. If humans are merely super-intelligent animals, then heaven help us.

Our spiritual side is what links us to a higher order of creation and to the God who governs the universe with exquisite wisdom. Our spiritual nature can connect us to His transcendent wisdom, which should guide our behaviour, our families, our communities and our whole society. That wisdom – if we grasp it fully – could bring world peace and the fulfillment of all our dreams.

Perhaps surprisingly, Einstein would agree. He said:

“If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity.”