Curious wrote:Jose wrote:
Genesis 1:20-22
KJV wrote:[20] And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
[21] And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
[22] And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.I can't find the souls. Maybe that's because I'm a guy, and we can't find things in refrigerators either.
Sorry about that I forgot you might be reading KJV translation. Makes it hard to explain when most bibles have been translated incorrectly. Ok I figure even KJV cant get this next translation wrong:
Genesis 9:4-6
BTW I don't believe in the Genesis account of creation so I'm probably not the best person to ask for evidence to support it.
New KJV 9:4-6 wrote:But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man."
If you are referring to the animal's life force (I'm coining a phrase here) as its soul, the word soul was not used in this translation, and I am not surprised, as I am not referring to a being's life source. The life force ceases go exist when the animal, plant, or person, dies. The life force, as I am defining it here, is really just the physical manifestation of the complex chemical reactions that makes something "alive". When something dies, the "life force" has ceased to exist. When I talke of one's spirit or soul, I am referring to the being that is the real us, the being that inhabiting our body. When our body dies, our spirit, being not of this world, lives on. I am explaining for the sake of clarity, not debate, so that I can try getting us onto common ground regarding biblical interpretation of the sould and the spirit.
I have found that in every day life, people do not distinguish between "soul" and "spirit". In fact, you will find that I do not generally distinguish between to two. However, I occasionally encounter one who will say the "soul" and the "spirit" are not the same, and will refer to the "soul" as being the life force that ceases to exist upon death.
You will find that I am particularly tied to my vocabulary. I try to use words to be clear, and will embrace your own definition for the sake of clarity when my own does not communicate my meaning to you. So, if you are interpreting "soul" to be "life force", then I will agree that animals have a "soul". However, in everyday conversation with Christians, "soul" generally means "spirit", and since animals do not have spirits, there can be an apparent disagreement when really the issue is vocabulary.
Finally, to relate this back to the thread, monkeys may have souls (depending on your definition), but do not have spirits. You will not find any physical manifestation of the spirit, and so by ruling out scientific or repeatable physical evidence, I will have to concede that there is no evidence of the spirit. Personally, I believe there is a distinct quality to the human being that goes beyond our mere physical differences. It is something I see even in mentally handicapped people... though I often stop seeing it in elderly who reach a chronic vegetative state from causes such as dementia and alzheimers disease. I have in fact wondered whether the spirit doesn't leave a body when the body is still alive, but useless. I only think these things however, because I truly believe, and think I perceive, God and the spiritual. Were I an atheist however, with no perception of God or the spiritual, then I would conclude that the distinctness in humanity is simply a result of our evolution. Therefore?
Therefore, I see how alike human DNA and chimp DNA are, and I find it interesting that the small difference is enough to make our bodies suitable for God's purpose. No evidence of the non-spiritual nature, and this thread is seeking non-spiritual evidence. Sorry, I have none to give. However, I can attempt to provide clarity on what someone on my side of the aisle believes. I have nothing to debate you with, but I can discuss.