From Whence the Soul ...?

[StuartJ]

Do humans have a soul ...?

Is it a re-cycled soul ...?

Is it a pre-manufactured soul, sitting on a shelf in Heaven, waiting to flutter down and occupy the result of every successful human copulation ...?

[Jagella]

Do humans have a soul ...?

Is it a re-cycled soul ...?

Is it a pre-manufactured soul, sitting on a shelf in Heaven, waiting to flutter down and occupy the result of every successful human copulation ...?

The Greek word for spirit is (Genitive case) and is pronounced new-mah-toss. Note that this word is similar to the English word pneumatic which can be defined as "filled with air." So the early Christians as well as many other people of their day believed that our spirits are our breaths and made out of air. When a person died, obviously they stopped breathing, and it appeared to these primitive and superstitious people that the "breath of life" of the dead left their bodies. Along with that breath of life or spirit left that person's thoughts and feelings, and the person's breath or spirit became equated with their consciousness.

So in a sense we have souls or spirits if by spirits we mean breaths of air.

[ttruscott]

Do humans have a soul ...?

Is it a re-cycled soul ...?

Is it a pre-manufactured soul, sitting on a shelf in Heaven, waiting to flutter down and occupy the result of every successful human copulation ...?

Rather ask, "What is a spirit?" since a soul is only a word used to describe a spirit that is bonded into a body.

[Guy Threepwood]

[Replying to post 1 by StuartJ]


It was not so long ago, in some of our own lifetimes, that the mere concept of a cloud of knowledge, able to instantaneously and simultaneously interact with billions of physical conduits- was considered inherently 'supernatural'

We did not invent these possibilities, we just discovered that they already existed.

To answer your question in the wise words of Forest Gump 'Maybe it's both' !

[StuartJ]

I have to concede that I do sometimes wistfully smile at the inventiveness of people of faith in their methods of dodging a question.

[William]

[Replying to post 1 by StuartJ]

Do humans have a soul ...?

What are you meaning when you ask? There seem to be a number of ideas as to 'what is a soul'.

My own understanding is that a soul is like a storage facility recording an individuals experience of being that individual.
The soul stores the data of experience and is accessed by the individual to shape their personality which develops through the data of experience and the individuals choices.

What is 'The Soul' and is it Immortal?

[Tcg]

I have to concede that I do sometimes wistfully smile at the inventiveness of people of faith in their methods of dodging a question.

It's a shame we can't harness that inventiveness for something useful.

I suspect it will continue to be used for dodges however, especially when clear direct questions are asked that reveal the mythological content of faith.

[Jagella]

...a soul is only a word used to describe a spirit that is bonded into a body.

If spirits can exist without bodies, then what are spirits doing stuck to bodies to begin with?

[StuartJ]

[Replying to post 6 by William]

And which - if any - meaning is real ...?

Hence this topic.

You seem to posit that the soul evolves.

Others will posit that "Every Sperm is Sacred" ...

With acknowledgement to Monty Python.

[William]

[Replying to post 9 by StuartJ]

You seem to posit that the soul evolves.

In what way do you see my positing such, you do not say.