Soul

[Youkilledkenny]

What is a soul?
Some say it's an energy of sorts but even animals (and some say plants) possess this energy. Does this mean every living thing has a soul? Or is the concept of the soul simply something that makes people feel superior to every thing else on the planet? Or, is it, (as some claim, like so many things 'Christian') simply a means of power and control over others - a piece of a larger puzzle so to speak?

Assuming a soul is real, how does the Christian concept of the soul clash (or meld) with other religions' concept of the soul?

Or is there no soul - no energy/inner self/spirit/etc. - and when you're dead, you're dead? Was the soul something people thought up to make the ease into nothingness (or the unknown) more palatable?

[marco]

What is a soul?
Some say it's an energy of sorts but even animals (and some say plants) possess this energy. Does this mean every living thing has a soul?

My childhood catechism informed me that man, animal and plant have a soul. Only the soul in man is capable of existing when separated from the body. It has two great powers: intellect and will. It has a two-fold life - natural and supernatural life of sanctifying grace. Though the soul is immortal, sin can kill the supernatural life by sinning, but not the natural life.

It is difficult to see how such details came into man's domain, but there are wise people in the world.

Even wiser people differentiate between soul and spirit, drawing up a wonderful theology.

Because we are proud, read books and use google we probably think we possess something special that cat or a dormouse doesn't have. Ergo - a soul. Reading GOOD BOOKS, of course, confirms our belief.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 1 by Youkilledkenny]

For Jehovah's Witnesses the word "soul" is simply another word for "person" (or animal). We do believe that people are real but when they die they cease to exist.

... when you're dead, you're dead?

Yep... pretty much.

... Was the soul something people thought up to make the ease into nothingness (or the unknown) more palatable?

Probably.

I did write about this earlier, perhaps you missed my post
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 856#330856


JW

[William]

[Replying to post 1 by Youkilledkenny]

For Jehovah's Witnesses the word "soul" is simply another word for "person" (or animal). We do believe that people are real but when they die they cease to exist.

... when you're dead, you're dead?

Yep... pretty much.

... Was the soul something people thought up to make the ease into nothingness (or the unknown) more palatable?

Probably.

I did write about this earlier, perhaps you missed my post
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 856#330856


JW

Matthew 10:28 English Standard Version (ESV)
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

It seems that the soul is not the same as the body according to the Jesus quote above. The body is different from the soul.

If the soul is the person, and the person isn't the body, then the soul may not cease to exist when the body dies.

Matthew 16:26
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

It appears that the soul is not the person according to the above quote. The soul seems to be something else which a person can forfeit.

It might be the data of experience. Like a hard-drive which stores information. If the soul is forfeit, the data of ones experience is deleted. That effectively means that the person (individuate consciousness) starts again with a blank slate.

[Kenisaw]

What is a soul?
Some say it's an energy of sorts but even animals (and some say plants) possess this energy. Does this mean every living thing has a soul? Or is the concept of the soul simply something that makes people feel superior to every thing else on the planet? Or, is it, (as some claim, like so many things 'Christian') simply a means of power and control over others - a piece of a larger puzzle so to speak?

Assuming a soul is real, how does the Christian concept of the soul clash (or meld) with other religions' concept of the soul?

Or is there no soul - no energy/inner self/spirit/etc. - and when you're dead, you're dead? Was the soul something people thought up to make the ease into nothingness (or the unknown) more palatable?

Souls are fantasy, regardless of why the concept was created or how it relates to any belief system that uses that concept. They are baseless, devoid of empirical data.

[OnceConvinced]

It seems to me that whenever anyone talks about the soul, it involves things that the brain does. So from what I can see, "soul" is just another part of the brain.

[marco]

It seems to me that whenever anyone talks about the soul, it involves things that the brain does. So from what I can see, "soul" is just another part of the brain.

When Hadrian wrote a poem about his soul he wished it farewell when he died and hoped it found a nice place to go. I think the idea of something surviving us after death is pretty universal. It's also a nice thought. Some individuals claim that after death they had a pleasant experience before being revived. Who knows?

[Tired of the Nonsense]

[Replying to post 3 by JehovahsWitness]

For Jehovah's Witnesses the word "soul" is simply another word for "person" (or animal). We do believe that people are real but when they die they cease to exist.

Youkilledkenny wrote:
... when you're dead, you're dead?


Yep... pretty much.

JW's and atheists seem to find themselves in agreement it would seem. At least on this subject. And I was unaware of it. So I will try to remember it in our future conversations. Please refresh my memory if I fail.

[Tired of the Nonsense]

It seems to me that whenever anyone talks about the soul, it involves things that the brain does. So from what I can see, "soul" is just another part of the brain.

When Hadrian wrote a poem about his soul he wished it farewell when he died and hoped it found a nice place to go. I think the idea of something surviving us after death is pretty universal. It's also a nice thought. Some individuals claim that after death they had a pleasant experience before being revived. Who knows?

When people die who are especially close to us, it can leave a huge hole in our lives. Some people often find comfort in talking to the departed as they did when their loved one was still alive. Which can lead to the unfounded belief that their loved one is still capable of hearing what they are saying. Which in turn leads to the concept that the departed are now leading some type of continued existence. And as you pointed out, these notions are pretty universal. They are simply baseless assumptions however, and are not sustained by any actual evidence. So does that mean that these assumptions are not true? Well, things which are not true but are the result of make believe are invariably not sustained by any actual physical evidence. Does that mean ghosts and other forms of supernatural manifestations are not real? Almost certainly.

[ttruscott]

What is a soul?

It has been described to me as a spirit (the person in its fulness of personality and personal characteristics) when it is locked into a body is a soul. It does not change but its new habitation gives it a new name referring to being in and animating the body, ie, nephesh, pneuma, breath, soul. Once the body dies, the soul is released as a free spirit once again.