2006-12-05 07:33:11 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
a) your question seems to imply a line of thinking in which some have souls while others do not. IF there is such a thing that pop culture and supranaturualistic christianity want to define as a 'soul' then all human beings must have one.
b) I think that the notion of "souls" is misleading. Theologian Paul Tillich would say that we do not have souls, because belief in the soul is to believe that something exists as part of us outside of what we are. In talking about immortality (a silly notion that should be rejected by believing christians) people suggest that we as finite creatures have an immortal substance attached to us that is set free at death and iether goes to heaven or hell. what utter nonsense. nothing is infinite except the Ground of Being, or God, as expressed through Jesus the Christ. to say that we each have a little piece of infinity attached to our finite (mortal) bodies is a step back into second century gnosticism.
rather than thinking about immortality -which is essentially seen as a continuation of this life but at a higher level, we should think of eternal life. the notion of eternal life does not need to posit the existence of an infinite soul. it takes seriously all of our experienced life. it gives meaning to history in that history is more than just a springboard from which we move to somewhere else.
the intellect, personality, and sentience are all products of biological and chemical electrical functions. if we want to be christian and still take science seriously, then we need to rethink the idea of soul as being something other. If the soul is some infinite essence tacked on to our selves, then it is OTHER, and cannot contain intellect, personality and sentience. however if we can accept the infinite and eternal life without needing some sort of infinite vehicle (the soul) by which to arrive there, then there need be no superstitious and mythological framework in place for us to experience and work out our faith and beliefs.
so in short: no christians do not have souls. neither for that matter does anyone else.
2006-12-05 07:55:49 · answer #1 · answered by dingwallplayer 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
firstly i could word which you fail to even point out the main uncomplicated ingredient of guy's nature - that he's a spirit. it fairly is with the help of the fact he's a spirit, like God his author that he has sentience - self-understanding. The soul is the uniqueness that's the made of the consummate studies of guy as the two a non secular and a fabrics being. Animals very own a soul, yet i do no longer think they very own sentience interior the way a human does. i could greater observe that a lot of mankind is spiritually ineffective - decrease off from the existence source of the human spirit, which (existence source) is the Holy Spirit of God. it fairly is the reason some make slanderous feedback related to the character of God, because of the fact they are alienated from Him with the aid of sin and estranged from the certainty of Him. As for the assertion that God is an abortionist, i could purely observe that nature has grow to be subject to corruption, decay and dying; yet this became into no longer the case on the commencing up of God's creation. in maximum circumstances of spontaneous abortion the reason being an peculiar progression of the embryo/fetus which might bring about some significant deformity, and is for this reason a mercy of God. He would not capriciously bring about abortion because of the fact a baby could be an inconvenience.
2016-10-04 22:10:55 · answer #2 · answered by greenwell 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
According to the Bible, the original language terms 'nephesh' (Hebrew) and 'psykhe' (Greek) show "soul" to be a person, an animal, or the life that a person or animal enjoys. So in answer to your question, Christians along with all other humans and animals ARE souls.
2006-12-05 07:43:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes they have souls, and a lot of them even have soul!
2006-12-05 07:37:35 · answer #4 · answered by Heron By The Sea 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone's born with a soul, but some people have sold theirs to the devil.
2006-12-05 07:45:25 · answer #5 · answered by mstrywmn 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
All humans have souls.
2006-12-05 07:39:43 · answer #6 · answered by Michael 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the definition of soul is: that which is the mind,will and emotions.
by definition all animal life have souls
2006-12-05 07:38:22 · answer #7 · answered by bonsai bobby 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Do penguins have flippers? Does a bear poop in the woods? Does the pope wear a funny hat?
2006-12-05 07:37:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No they don't. No one has a soul, there are none because there are no gods to give you one. It is doubted that Christians have intellect because they believe in souls.
2006-12-05 07:40:30 · answer #9 · answered by iknowtruthismine 7 · 0⤊ 4⤋
I gots soul, and I gots rhythm.
2006-12-05 07:37:52 · answer #10 · answered by jinenglish68 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋