The concept of the soul?

Question

Science can produce two DNA identical beings and stuff them into similar environments. Brain wiring etc... can be exactly the same HOWEVER the personalities, intellectual and cleverness varies. Personality can only be described therefore as the soul, what makes us unique! How would you describe what is the soul? Where does it go? Whats the point of it? According to science and nature personality, personal traits etc... Are not necessary with regard to natural need and often is a hinderance and complicates things. This is a good one for you people who dont believe in a religion. Personally I can say im not sure, but i am sure there is a lot more to us and the universe than science can prove or ever will. I believe there is a God but not show how it is, I'm sure we do have souls and there are spirits but i cannot believe that there is any particular view that is correct or incorrect. The universe is not that simple! Perceptions must be collected for a whole view. Agree? LEt me know

Answer 1

The 'soul'is that innate part of you that makes YOU distinctly YOU>

Answer 2

You are correct in saying That we do have a soul, however we are a soul right now. Our flesh is the soul. If you can get a copy of a the Greek,Hebrew,English Translation, you will see that when God created humans AND animals the original word used to describe both was nephesh (translated soul for both human and animal). Man-kinds hope lies in the resurrection not in the passing of the soul from one place to another. If at death all the saved went to heaven, why would there be any need for a resurrection?If you believe the bible then you will believe what is said at Ecclesiastes 9:5...the dead are conscious of nothing. (Ecc 9:5-10). And what about Lazarus, when Jesus raised him from the dead he didn't tell people stories of a beautiful heaven or a burning hell, this is because he was asleep in death, waiting for the resurrection. for further proof from the bible that the soul does not live on after death please read the following scripture. Ezekiel 18:4,20. There is one more point that I would like to make. I'm sure you have heard of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus is said to be in heaven and the rich man is said to be burning in hell. This story is a parable used to show the Pharisees the condition of their heart. Find a list of parables and the story of Lazarus and the rich man will be listed as a parable. Hopefully this information has been of some help to you. Have a nice day.

Answer 3

One definition of personality is the sum total of a person's physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics. All of those can be related or influenced by DNA, but can also be independent of it. So personality can be described as something other than a soul.

Talk to 10 different people, and you'll get 12 different definitions of a soul. Until you can agree on a definition, you can't go any further with the discussion.

Oh, and your argument is intellectually lazy. You rule out one quick set of circumstances, and then claim that since that can't be it, then the soul must be the only other possible answer to the question. This is called a "straw man" argument. You set up a straw man, knocked it down, and claimed that therefore all that's left is your pet answer. Sorry, that doesn't work very well.

Answer 4

I agree with you, there is more to life than science can completely answer. I'm an identical twin and yet my twin and I do have different character traits, likings etc. yet we have the same DNA, have been brought up exactly the same way, at the same point in time and in the same environment.

I certainly believe there is a God and you have a soul and believe that God would not have created us and then just walked away.. I think he wants us to be in relationship with him whilst we are here -what some would say I mean is getting in touch with your spirituality- and he wants us to end up with him when we die. I'd recommend you attending an Alpha course, although it is Christian based it is an opportunity to freely explore such questions, regardless of your religion or background, running in tens of thousands of churches of all denominations across the world. Go to uk.alpha.org

Answer 5

If I were to let a drop of water trickle down the various cracks crevices and wrinkles on the back of my hand, it would be very difficult for me to produce the same outcome twice... one in a million... perhaps one in a billion. This is called the Enthropic principle and science has made a way to account for that, believe it or not.

As an atheist, I agree with you for the most part... we don't know everything and our limited perspective might limit our understanding of reality, but what you attempt to exploit here is the classic "God of the Gaps" argument. Anything that we can't explain must be supernatural and explained by the presence of a god. Religion and science has danced to this tune since the days of Socrates. As science advances foward, religion retreats. As our understanding increases our superstitions subside.

The fundamental truth is that science is a discipline based on truth. You observe phenomenon, record it and then reproduce it. Religion on the other hand is based on superstition and interpretation. One is inherently superior to the other, but I might be biased since I am an atheist.

Scientist have been trying to crack the code of life for 50 years now and has made considerable progress seeing as how it took nature 4 billion years to make a human. What gap, I wonder, will religion retreat to then?

While I don't know if a "soul" exist or not, I do recognize the fact that I am concious.... I feel as if I am more than the sum of my parts. That is as far as I'm willing to take it because anything else would not be based on truth or observed data.

Answer 6

nurture vs environment, as been around since the beginning of time. every one is a product of their background, hereditary factors & environment.

i don't think the soul can live with out a body to animate.
& the body couldn't exist without a soul.
i believe in God, he's a far greater entity, than us mere mortals, there's much on this earth that we may never fully understand & as we use but a small percentage of our brains, praps that higher understanding is in the part we do not use.
maybe?
wow now i know i'm over thinking the subject.
we're here, we exist, we live, we die, god's great plan is lost on scientists who forever spend their time trying to destroy the theory of creation & all it entails.
understanding DNA is the start & understanding it fully is a long way off yet.
cloning is possible, contrary to Gods law & rules.
scientists are still limited with what they can do with that knowledge & no good will come of it!

Answer 7

Noone can completely explain the individuality of humans - the varying personalities, the different choices they make (good and bad), the things that drive them to achievement, the things that drive them to self-destruction.

One attempt is to infer that we have a 'soul' that makes us unique, and that this 'soul' existed before we were born, and will continue to exist after we die.

You forget though, in your example of scientists creating two identical beings, that it is impossible to expose two beings to exactly the same things, and 'brain wiring' is going to vary from the second the beings are born - simply due to random synapse firings, connections made/broken, etc.

Answer 8

No. There is no evidence for anything remotely like a "soul."

Personality is very complex and there is no ethical way to design an experiment that would exactly duplicate both DNA and experience so you can't make the statement that we would automatically different personalities. Even a very minor difference like being born second could make huge differences down the line.

Answer 9

I believe god/father created souls in his image not humans. Souls have free will and can incarnate into humans as much as often as they like. Each life here teaches us different lessons of which we bring forward to our next life. When we have had enough of this place we will choose love and return to father or other places. We as humans think we are "all that" but we are less than an ant in the scheme of things.

ps love your question

Answer 10

If you are interested in the topic go to a bookstore or library and get the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam...read about the Soul to see a different concept of it....how it existed before we were born and stuff. :)

Answer 11

Human body is made of very complex circuitry system of nerves in which current flows. When all the circuits are switched on, one gets fully enlightened. Source of this energy is wireless.

Everyone is enlightened to a certain extent. Only the number of circuits switched on is different.

Life force in every one has the same capacity. But it require proper switched on circuitry to work.

The whole game of life is to switch on all the circuits and realize its source.

All the practices of faith, compassion, love, service, meditation etc. help in it. Reverse practices switch off working circuits.