I'm a soul man!

[Vlad!]

Where is the soul? What is it? Does the soul reside somewhere in the body, or is it off in a soul bank somewhere, connected to our body through some mechanism? Can the soul be removed while the body still lives?

I had the slightly disturbing thought today that, if asked, I couldn't prove that I had a soul or if anyone does. The Bible uses the word (or the Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek equivalent), but does that really say anything? Maybe it's just a synonym for 'being.'

Any thoughts?

[enemy anemone]

(why are questions like these more interesting to think about than questions for my history final about the causes and consequences of the Great Depression?)

I read one time something that stuck with me about the way we think about "the soul". it was about how we are taught to think of ourselves as a body with a soul, but it would be more accurate to think of ourselves as a soul with a body.  I like that.

I remember reading/hearing theological stuff about "the soul" as being "the seat of the will". sometimes theologian-people talk about us having a body, soul, and spirit, but others talk about the soul and the spirit like they're synonomous and the part of us that can/will go to heaven or hell. maybe I don't think of "the soul" as a vague floating thing in my heart or above my head, but apparently my ideas on the soul are vague and floaty...

do humans have a soul and can we prove it? I dunno. we generally think of ourselves as being separate from the animals, so maybe "the soul" is the term for whatever it is that we have that animals don't.

anyway, those are some of my thoughts but now I have to get ready for class.

[GusX:]

Are you familier with the term "psyche" ..  most people today ( irreligious intelectuals that is..)   use this term in place of  the christian concept of " soul"   Unfortunately for them - it means literaly (in greek to english) "soul" .   Anyway that was my intro.  


It is impossible , so far as I have tried,  to empirically prove the existance of soul, I think the soul is our element that is spiritual / part of the world unseen...     For a True believer  the soul is part of our body that is one with it,   It is the part that will not be destroyed in us but rather continued on after death. The soul is eternal but still subject to God.  We end up in heaven or hell.. not in the body we have now.. but our soul ends there... and . for christians I would say takes on a new body that perfectly portray's God's glory.  


Perhaps these passages contrast the soul for an unbeliever with the soul of a believer who has been saved ...  \...

James 1: 20" Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. "

Matthew10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."  ( Our souls are in God's hands )


I also think that an unbelievers soul allthough Uncomplimented by the Holy Spirit, still knows what God's "will" and good order for man should be..  i.e. killing = wrong   ..  stealing = wrong...  Things like that....

Vlad!  -  Perhaps this is something you cannot prove. I know I cannot prove it Its one of those things that has to exist for our concept of what the Bible tells us.. the specifics are only speculates if you will..  - its more of a faith thing I think -.  

Another example of this "problem".... the Holy Spirit - other than the Bible telling you that as a Christian you have been given The Holy spirit.. you cannot "prove" it, you can feel His working.. and how He directs you.. but  Yeah.. only   you can .. noone  else can prove it for you
Maybe for a believer the soul is complimented by the Holy Spirit...

Hebrews 10:15- 18  "But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,  "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."  Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. "

Hebrews 4:11-16
"11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. "

1 Thessalonians 5:23-23
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Anyway...  thats all I can afford to spend on this subject...   I have an exam that I should be preparing myself for..

My thoughts.. disjointed - but presenting some form of a point..

[oneafroboy]

Good song, btw.

(Note my lousy attempt to stay on topic. It was the three hour long spanish final that killed my brain. When I'm healed, I may attempt to respond in a more relevant manner.)

[Vlad!]

Those are some decent and fairly thorough responses (especially yours, GusX:, thanks for those references).

What got me started thinking about this was actually me wishing that I had a transporter device which could disassemble my molecules and move them somewhere else instantaneously. I was wondering, then, if such a process would have an adverse effect on my soul. And it snowballed from there. Obvously that hypothetical situation is far too theoretical to be of much use, and I don't expect responses to it, I was just using it as a method of exposition.

Because you see, I can't really point to my soul and say "there it is." It's mine, certainly, but I don't 'have' it, if you take my meaning. If I went up to someone and said "I have something special. You can't see it or empirically determine that it's there at all. It has no effect on its surroundings, and cannot be felt. Its presence cannot be irrefutably deduced through reason, and though many writers and thinkers are sure it exists, nobody has offered up any proof," that wouldn't cut it.

we generally think of ourselves as being separate from the animals, so maybe "the soul" is the term for whatever it is that we have that animals don't.

How do you know that we have a soul or, for that matter, that animals do not?

[GusX:]

How do you know that we have a soul or, for that matter, that animals do not?

Because I hate them...    lol.. just joking..  Aside from that being the historical Christian view Im not sure where that concept was "originated" - It makes sense to me ..  how we are made in God's image, perhaps the soul being our spiritual side   differentiates us from animals..  I will have to do some more research, More to come....  ( its 4:30 in the morning.. exam tommorrow. yeah - sleep is setting in)

[Vlad!]

We haven't gotten a whole lot figured out up to this point, but I want to throw something else into the mix: when did our soul come into being? The traditional thought is that the soul is immortal, and will live on in heaven. Presumably, we will be aware of this in the same sense that we are aware now of our current existence. And probably (I'm just throwing stuff out here) more acutely aware, since our experiential ability is not tied to our physical senses. Yet I don't 'remember' anything before my birth. So presumably my soul came into being along with my physical body. But we're all aware that the physical body is created through a combination of our parents' DNA and the cellular division that creates the body is controlled by said DNA. So the question is, where in this process do we get our soul? For each of the whatever ludicrously large number of people born each day, does God create a soul on the spot? Does the soul somehow get 'constructed' along with the body? From whence comes this intangible self?

[leinad]

We haven't gotten a whole lot figured out up to this point, but I want to throw something else into the mix: when did our soul come into being? The traditional thought is that the soul is immortal, and will live on in heaven. Presumably, we will be aware of this in the same sense that we are aware now of our current existence. And probably (I'm just throwing stuff out here) more acutely aware, since our experiential ability is not tied to our physical senses. Yet I don't 'remember' anything before my birth. So presumably my soul came into being along with my physical body.

Chances are that you don't 'remember' anything from before you were one or two years old (I don't), but that hardly proves that you didn't exist then, although you may not have been 'aware' of your existence.  So I don't think your lack of memory proves that your soul didn't exist prior to conception.  I don't know how you 'prove' from whence the soul came into being.  Very interesting questions though.