2007-09-07 05:45:09 · 24 answers · asked by Old Guy 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The only person who gets to know that for sure is God.
Everybody else just gets an opinion and a mind they can either use to think about it, or not use and just accept what Brother Jim-Joe says from behind the pulpit.
2007-09-07 05:48:06 · answer #1 · answered by Acorn 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Never. There is no set point. Even a sperm and egg are alive.
We are all cells, constantly growing and reproducing. There is no set point that we have the supernatural concept known as a "soul."
Do twins only have one soul , because the same embryo split into two masses, instead of staying together?
Do genetic chimeras have two souls, because they have genetic codes for two different people in one body?
Do the 1/3 of all pregnancies that spontaneously abort (often without the female noticing) come with souls?
Does the cloned skin cell (which will become a human being with incubation) have a soul?
Do some of the greater apes, who share over 95% of our DNA due to common ancestry and are capable of some language skills and self-reflection, also have a soul?
Clearly, the old definitions do not work with modern biology. Some people may say "at conception" or "implantation," but they are drawing a line in the sand, like anyone else. There is no key point. Cells are cells- and all of them are alive.
The distinguishing point, for my purposes, is when an organism has a central nervous system that can register pain.
2007-09-07 05:52:48 · answer #2 · answered by Dalarus 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For ages, there was no convenient biological event that indicated ensoulment. The ancients (up till the discovery of the ovum) believed it happened at "quickening", when the mother first felt the baby move. Now that we know there is a genetic contribution from BOTH parents, we now have a beginning, so the apologists use conception as the insertion point. But this is before the blastocyst is implanted in the uterine wall, and an incalculable number of fertilized eggs never implant, they just slide on through and die. Seems like God is pretty careless with the whole process.
2007-09-07 06:23:51 · answer #3 · answered by skepsis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes never.
The fetus is a vessel for a soul. Sometimes the soul never enters, and the "person" exists like a zombie or meat machine.
The exact point at which a soul (usually) enters the fetus is unknown, but consensus seems to be 49 days after conception. It's at that date the fetus becomes male or female. This is why souls must wait 49 days before reincarnation.
2007-09-07 05:57:07 · answer #4 · answered by Sabrina H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Differant cultures will tell you differant times. But considering the stakes when contemplating contraception (the abortive kind) or abortion we should consider the safest approach.
Since no one can know for sure except maybe if God tells you Himself we should consider that a human being gets a soul at conception and should therefore be considered alive and sacred.
If you're going to err, try to err on the side of caution. Otherwise you may very well be taking a life and not even no it.
God Bless
Robin
2007-09-07 06:03:42 · answer #5 · answered by Robin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have read this and it is how I believe. It is up to the soul when it wants to inhabit the body. The soul also decides who the parents will be. Some come right at conception, some not until birth.
A good book to look at is Journey of the Soul-very interesting!
2007-09-07 05:53:44 · answer #6 · answered by Cindy P 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Aristotelian answer would be conception, since the soul is the function of the form. But the soul of a zygote is different from the soul of a baby.
2007-09-07 05:53:38 · answer #7 · answered by ideogenetic 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
good question, I've been told that more experienced souls (ones that have incarnated a few times) will wait to incarnate into their new life right before birth, because there's no point in incarnating right at conception and waiting around for nine months...but either way it is before birth
2007-09-07 05:54:33 · answer #8 · answered by riya 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Certainly some time while still in the womb.
Certainly by the heart beat, which is very quick.
The soul could form along with the body or it could
enter the body from the spiritual realm.
No one is certain, but of "in the womb"
I am 100% certain.
2007-09-07 05:55:18 · answer #9 · answered by Nickel-for-your-thoughts 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Conception. You are a person at conception, therefore you have a soul.
2007-09-07 05:54:29 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They get one at conception, but it's not the kind church folks imagine. It's not an immortal soul.
2007-09-07 05:51:31 · answer #11 · answered by 2.71828182845904 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋