2007-08-28 06:41:04 · 34 answers · asked by thewordofgodisjesus 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
That depends on how you define "soul".
Seen through the prism of human existence, most tend to believe that only sentient beings (humans) have a soul. Some believe animals do as well. Clearly humans and other animals are "alive".
But so are plants. Do they have a soul?
By some scientific definitions, to be alive means that an entity must consume, excrete, grow and procreate. Fire would meet this definition. Is it also, "alive"?
I would say, being alive doesn't mean something would have a soul. And having a soul doesn't mean something is alive. The 2 are not mutually compatible, so your question really doesn't make sense.
2007-08-28 06:50:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's alive because God allows it to be. It depends on what "life" you're talking about. He is the author of life...as He is the Creator.
Plants and animals live....but they don't have souls.
People however, do. Man was created out of the dust of the earth. But that was just his physical body. He didn't become a living being until God breathed his spirit into Him. A soul can live without the body, but the body can't live without the soul. Even still it's God's will for everything that does live, to live. He has all life in His hands.
2007-08-28 06:50:57 · answer #2 · answered by BLI 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow! You're getting a lot of responses!
You got a lot to read there, kiddo.
Hope you can decide which are the good answers.
If I understand your question, I might say...
A life is alive because it has a soul.
But then again, a life for some... may have no soul.
Interesting questions.
2007-08-29 06:58:21 · answer #3 · answered by C Sunshine 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A life is a life because it is alive, however a human life is a life because it has a soul. A soul makes the difference between us and an amoeba. We think, we reason, we make choices, we love, we hate, we have passions, we have addictions, we have ambition, we have goals, we have intuition, we grow in knowledge, we progress. Yes, we human beings have a soul and are different than an amoeba, a plant or even an insect.
Peace!
2007-09-02 17:23:38 · answer #4 · answered by Janet Reincarnated 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Genesis 2:7 Man is a soul.
Numbers 31:28 & Revalations 16:3 Animals are souls.
Jeremiah 2:34 A soul has blood , eats & dies.
Mark 8;36 & John 10:15 Mans having life is said to have a soul.
Psalms 146:4 &104:29 Life force is called sprit not soul.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 When we die our sprit returns to god.
Ezekiel 37: 12 to14 only god can put life force back into action.
With these scriptures in mind my answer is. We are alive because of our sprit. The soul is just our body.
2007-08-28 10:56:40 · answer #5 · answered by pestie58 the spider hunter 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
man has a spiritual and a physical nature.if man did not fall from grace,the spirit and flesh would in harmony with each other.the soul is a part of god which is eternal,and the body is a temporary host to the soul on earth.angel's don't have a soul because they are spirits.a life is a life providing it serves the creator in body and spirit.the soul is the essence of man in this world and in the next.
2007-08-28 07:02:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
In Genesis we see that God created man out of the dust of the ground( his body) and breathe ( Pheuma meaning breath or Spirit) into man's nostril the breath of life.. Here man's spirit was formed within him and THEN man became a living soul. SO the sequence is... the body is created.. then the spirit is breathed within him by God's breath and then man's soul is made living . Man is a tripartite being made up of spirit, soul and body (1 Thess 5:23)
The body without the spirit is dead... we see this in the epistle of James.
SO man is alive because he has a spirit within him. His soul is his personality... made up of his mind.. will and emotions.
2007-08-28 08:14:48 · answer #7 · answered by Broken Alabaster Flask 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Interesting question. A life can be alive with life, but Alive Life must have a Soul of Life.
2007-08-28 10:24:39 · answer #8 · answered by Gem 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Very little "life" in this world has a soul. Man is human because he has a soul. We are the only ones of all God's creations that have a soul. God created us in his image, and made all the other life on earth for his grandest creation to enjoy.
2007-08-28 06:46:33 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
THERE ARE LIVING SOULS AND DEAD ONES.
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There are scientifically oriented and atheists who deny a "soul" and "god".
The say in unison that death is the end of the story. Nothing is left!
But they again that DNA lives on. If DNA, a visible or tangible thing can live on, then why not something that is invisible or intangible.
The negation of God or Soul comes from the thought that what they know is the final word!
How many hardcore scientists have you seen who have become atheists? On the contrary, many are believers Or turn to faith as they go up in knowledge.
What we know is miniscule while compared to what is yet to be known.
2007-09-05 01:38:31 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋