Do Christians Believe That Animals Used to Talk

[Skeptical]

Doing some research for The Logic of Satan's Temptation to Eve thread, I came across this article:

https://www.gotquestions.org/talking-snake.html

which says:

Still, why didn’t Adam and Eve find it strange that an animal was speaking to them? It is unlikely that Adam and Eve had the same perspective we do on animals. In our era, we know from experience that animals are incapable of speech on the same level as humans. Adam and Eve did not have a childhood, nor did they have other humans to learn from. Given that Adam and Eve had probably only been alive a matter of days, it is not unreasonable for them to believe that animals were capable of speech. It is also possible that this was not the first talking animal Adam and Eve had encountered. Perhaps Satan or even God Himself had used animals to communicate with Adam and Eve before. There are so few details given in the account that much is left to speculation and presumption.

Huh?

Therefore, I would like to know if there are any other Christians besides the one's from Got Questions who think that it's a possibility that animals used to talk a long time ago back in the Garden of Eden.

[JoeMama]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #60]

JW,

You said, "animals cannot talk so it could not have been the donkey that conversed with BALAAM."

My rebuttal:

There are a number of ways the donkey could have seemed to be conversing with Balaam, including by means of ventriloquism, as well as by God endowing the donkey with the power of human speech. You agree that God has the ability to do that, right?

So, it indeed COULD have been the donkey that conversed with Balaam.

Maybe it was ventriloguism, and maybe it was the donkey actually talking; you shouldn't rule out one of these possibilities in favor of the other, unless you have good reason. At the least, you should admit that it is not true that, as you say, "it could not have been the donkey that conversed with Balaam."

Joe Mam

[JehovahsWitness]

...you shouldn't rule out one of these possibilities in favor of the other, unless you have good reason.

I believe I have good reason. I have presented my reasons and have yet to see any valid counterargument. If I am being charitable, your self proclaimed "rebuttal" is weak and unconvincing : Just because something is possible does not make it probable, if it were there would be a many more inmates on death row.

To learn more please go to other posts related to...

LOGIC , FALLACIES and ... EVIDENCE

[JoeMama]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #62]

JW,

You said,

"animals cannot talk so it could not have been the donkey that conversed with BALAAM."

I claim that God COULD have given the donkey the power of human speech (not saying that he did), and therefore the donkey COULD have used that God-given ability to converse with Balaam. You, on the other hand, per your statement above, say that could not have happened, because "animals cannot talk."

Do you stand by your statement?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #62]

JW,

You said,

"animals cannot talk so it could not have been the donkey that conversed with BALAAM."

...
Do you stand by your statement?

Unless you can demonstrate an animal engaging in intelligent conversation I have no logical reason not to. You act as if this is a novel idea, is that because in your opinion animals DO talk,? If you believe animals talk then I wish you well. Literally.

As for whether I believe GOD reversed this observable and documented, universal (and scientific) reality on the occasion of biblical events, I have no reason to believe so. Not because he cannot (see post below) but because it seemed from the biblical accounts he DID not.

I am not a huge fan of repeating myself so I will simply LINK you back to the reasons for my position in this regard .
viewtopic.php?p=1123471#p1123471

JW

[JehovahsWitness]

...You, on the other hand, per your statement above, say that could not have happened, because "animals cannot talk."

Really?....

So, you believe that the omnipotent God didn't have the ability to make the donkey capable of human speech? ...

Logically an omnipotent God could, the question is: Is there enough indication in the text under examination that the God of the bible DID?

[boatsnguitars]

Smaug and Aslan could talk. Toad and Frog. Sneetches. So there's that - on the topic of talking animals in children's stories.

[JoeMama]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #65]

JoeMama wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:50 pm
...You, on the other hand, per your statement above, say that could not have happened, because "animals cannot talk."

Really?....

Yes. You really did say that. Once again, quoting you:

"animals cannot talk so it could not have been the donkey that conversed with BALAAM."

[JehovahsWitness]

I think animals talk also nowadays. For example I heard bird singing this morning. But, obviously the don't talk human. Maybe Adam and Eve understood animal voices better than modern humans.

Yes, I think we must not confuse speech with communication. I have a blackbird in my garden that sings every morning and he has quite a set of pipes on him ! He also seems totally fearless of humans and he comes down right next to me looking for worms when I'm digging. I admit I talk to him ... he has yet to answer!


JW