What Is The Soul?

[David Henson]

This is pretty amusing.
David Henson seems to be the one who knows the true version of Christianity and the soul.

I still frankly am figuring out why I should care about a fantasy?

I never asked you to care and what is amusing is how you do seem to protest too much. Why do you keep insisting that you don't care about it? Let it go.

 

[David Henson]

I tried to cut to the chase and go True Scottsman immediately, but I think he wants to drag it out before revealing his ace in the hole about how he's so sure about what he's so sure of. Either to earn a self created badge of honor for surviving a specific length of time amongst the less enlightened heathen or because he only wants to cherry pick and dance around the heart of his agenda, testing his knowledge to flex his "biblical muscles" in his own mirror.

David ... please get to the core of your arguments. I'm thinking in your mind it's to sharpen your biblical skills. But for me the basis of your argument rests on not the validity of the bible, but the validity of Jehovah. Do you have any (dare I say it) evidence to prove Jehovah is alive and relevant to the here and now by actually existing? Have you met J or can I talk with him for example? It's so easy to answer. It's almost a yes or no question.

We are talking about the soul here, trent, if you think you can trap me with my own thinking at least stick to the subject.

 

[David Henson]

Are you against teaching evolution in school?

No. I think it is a joke. I think public schools are a joke. At one time the Bible was taught in school and look what the result was. Bored children being spoon fed nonsense (believe me, if I were allowed a more harsh epithet I would gladly give it) by underpaid ignorant tyrants of stupidity.

The more things change the more they stay the same. Please! By all means, teach evolution in school, but not the Bible.

 

[paximperium]

I never asked you to care and what is amusing is how you do seem to protest too much.

You find it amusing that I find it funny how people make fantasy based claims and expect people to take their word for it? How odd.

Why do you keep insisting that you don't care about it?

No no no. I don't care about YOUR made up definition of "soul". I find the whole concept very interesting. I especially like some of the Hindu and Chinese myths about the soul way more intriguing.

Your version is rather boring.

Let it go.

Let what go? It's kind hard to let go of something you don't have a belief in.

 

[paximperium]

We are talking about the soul here, trent, if you think you can trap me with my own thinking at least stick to the subject.

We are? I though we were talking about hemoglobin...oh I mean neutrophils...or was it leukocytes...maybe just plasma? I can't tell.

 

[Hokulele]

I wouldn't.

Then how do you know you have the One and Only Real Truth^TM?

I've published, designed and proofread the Analects of Confucius on a former website of mine which no longer exists. I know of it's history in basic sense, but would see no point in comparing the two. How would you compare them?

I would see how much of each one is relevant to the questions I have personally, and see how much of each one is only relevant to their time and place. I would see how much of each one contradicts the other. I would see how much of each one contradicts other sources of information (such as cosmology, biology, political science, economics, etc.).

What I would not do is assume either is the One and Only Real Truth^TM without crash testing the ideas it puts forth.

Personally, I do not believe any one philosophy has got it all right, properly understood or not.

 

[Hokulele]

No. I think it is a joke. I think public schools are a joke. At one time the Bible was taught in school and look what the result was. Bored children being spoon fed nonsense (believe me, if I were allowed a more harsh epithet I would gladly give it) by underpaid ignorant tyrants of stupidity.

The more things change the more they stay the same. Please! By all means, teach evolution in school, but not the Bible.

Um, OK. I had never considered my mother an "underpaid ignorant tyrant of stupidity", but I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

[David Henson]

Wow! I have to say . . . this is the most unproductive conversation I have been in this week. So, you all agree that the soul according to the Bible isn't important enough to have an informed opinion on. You don't know or care what the Bible says the soul is and given any information on the subject is a waste of time?

Any questions that might arise in the future here regarding what the Bible says about the soul I would be glad to answer. Thanks.

 

[quarky]

Ahem?

Shouldn't this thread be focusing more on Otis Redding?
And less on jive-ass honkey hooplah?

What about Chuck Jackson doing "Any day now"?

The only real definition of soul is the subcategory in the record store.
And now the record store is going extinct.

Jackie Wilson (Your love keeps lifting me, higher and higher) died performing in the town I lived in.

I've seen lots of "Metal" threads around here, but not much soul.

And now you're going to turn soul into the very sort of argument that kills soul.

Sam and Dave, "Soul man"...check it out. It's evidence of soul.
Even Little Eva had it, at 15 years old, and cranked out "The locomotion", a brand new dance.



All jive aside:

The soul is manifest through the accumulation of heart wrenching experiences.
Its something to wink at, occasionally, and feel glad and sound.
It's the up-lifting aspect of being down-trodden...experienced simultaneously with one's brothers and sisters.

The soul is the shiny object that reflects the light into our minds, at the same time.
This light is the light of truth. Its like the light-bulb of sudden understanding that that isn't really a shower room. It's actually a Jew gassing rig.

 

[I Ratant]

Is there a soul, is first base.
Do try to get there.

 

[Cavemonster]

Wow! I have to say . . . this is the most unproductive conversation I have been in this week. So, you all agree that the soul according to the Bible isn't important enough to have an informed opinion on. You don't know or care what the Bible says the soul is and given any information on the subject is a waste of time?

Any questions that might arise in the future here regarding what the Bible says about the soul I would be glad to answer. Thanks.

Do you have an informed opinion on magic wands as described in the Harry Potter series?

More importantly, do you think such an opinion has any bearing on the real world?

 

[Hokulele]

Wow! I have to say . . . this is the most unproductive conversation I have been in this week. So, you all agree that the soul according to the Bible isn't important enough to have an informed opinion on. You don't know or care what the Bible says the soul is and given any information on the subject is a waste of time?

Any questions that might arise in the future here regarding what the Bible says about the soul I would be glad to answer. Thanks.

What the Bible says on any given topic is only important if you believe the Bible is an accurate source of information. So far, there is no evidence to believe it is any more accurate than any other collection of writings from a similar time period, and several reasons to believe it is less accurate than some.

Knowing what the Bible really says is useful when discussing things with those who have faith in the Bible, not so much otherwise.

 

[quarky]

Ben E. King doing "I who have nothing".

 

[Robin]

From Strong's:

nephesh:
Definition
a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion
NASB Word Usage
any (1), anyone (2), anyone* (1), appetite (7), being (1), beings (3), body (1), breath (1), corpse (2), creature (6), creatures (3), dead (1), dead person (2), deadly (1), death (1), defenseless* (1), desire (12), desire* (2), discontented* (1), endure* (1), feelings (1), fierce* (2), greedy* (1), heart (5), heart's (2), herself (12), Himself (4), himself (19), human (1), human being (1), hunger (1), life (146), life* (1), lifeblood* (2), lives (34), living creature (1), longing* (1), man (4), man's (1), men* (2), mind (2), Myself (3), myself (2), number (1), ones (1), others (1), ourselves (3), own (1), passion* (1), people (2), people* (1), perfume* (1), person (68), person* (1), persons (19), slave (1), some (1), soul (238), soul's (1), souls (12), strength (1), themselves (6), thirst (1), throat (2), will (1), wish (1), wishes (1), yourself (11), yourselves (13).​

and

ruach:

Definition
breath, wind, spirit
NASB Word Usage
air (2), anger (1), blast (2), breath (31), breathless* (1), cool (1), courage (1), despondency* (1), exposed (1), grief* (1), heart (1), inspired (1), mind (3), motives (1), points (1), quick-tempered* (1), side (4), sides (2), Spirit (76), spirit (127), spirits (3), strength (1), temper (2), thoughts* (1), trustworthy* (1), wind (98), winds (7), windy (2), wrath (1).
​

For a passage that uses both words:

Eze 18:20 The soul (nephesh) who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
Eze 18:21 "But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.
....
Eze 18:31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit (ruach). Why will you die, O house of Israel?
​

So clearly this is suggesting that a soul might not die and that a spirit is something that will die and will need to be renewed. Which is quite the opposite of what you are suggesting.

Psyche and spirit both come from words that can mean "breath" and I also note that Strongs says of nephesh "From naphash; properly, a breathing creature". In Genesis 2:7 God breathes into the nostrils of the man he has formed and the man becomes a nephesh.

So I think the words are closer than you think and also each can mean a number of things.

It is probably a mistake to assume that the usage of these words in the Bible was any more precise or less ambiguous than the usage of the equivalent words we have in our language today.

 

[Brian-M]

Personally, I regard soul as a primitive concept for mind.
(Either that or the capital of Korea. )

Mary Baker Eddy!


*Runs*

*Seeks for counter-attack*

Mark Twain!

*Ducks for cover from this explosive combination*

 

[paximperium]

Wow! I have to say . . . this is the most unproductive conversation I have been in this week. So, you all agree that the soul according to the Bible isn't important enough to have an informed opinion on. You don't know or care what the Bible says the soul is and given any information on the subject is a waste of time?

Any questions that might arise in the future here regarding what the Bible says about the soul I would be glad to answer. Thanks.

Bingo. What your Bible has to say on a subject is pretty irrelevant since you have yet to:
1)Provide any evidence for the existence of a soul, well except to call it blood; which makes all the other nonsense spouted about blood, uh I mean soul, irrelevant since medicine knows a lot about blood already.
2)Tell us why anyone why anyone should treat a book of fiction seriously?

 

[quarky]

maybe the soul is an artificial mental construct, created for the purpose of special bonding.

Perhaps it's a device for buffering our natural harshness.
It's an activated brain zone; it focuses on pride, shame, confusion and brotherhood.


Too bad Castanada is a curse word here. His take on this stuff is the cream of the crop.

 

[Paulhoff]

Blood equals soul, oh please. So if one gives blood to someone else, there goes part of their soul. That is funny.

Paul

 

[Nonpareil]

So, you all agree that the soul according to the Bible isn't important enough to have an informed opinion on.

It's only important if you can prove that it exists.

You don't know or care what the Bible says the soul is

Most of us don't care about what the Bible says, period.

and given any information on the subject is a waste of time?

Unless it's proof of its existence, then yes. Otherwise you're making statements about a fictional entity, and you will be ignored just as someone making claims about the mating habits of fairies.

 

[Trent Wray]

We are talking about the soul here, trent, if you think you can trap me with my own thinking at least stick to the subject.

It almost saddens me when a person finds an attempt to explore the truth a "trap". There's not really any place you can go from there when examining a topic brings the fear of a trap to the person. A fear they name but don't recognize.

You keep bringing in the bible in regards to the soul. You claim the soul is blood and that Jehovah owns the soul/blood. The validity of the bible and Jehovah go hand in hand. I want to cut to the chase of the Jehovah part of the trio ... I'm not going to debate the validity of the bible because I don't care about it. I want to know why you find validity to the Jehovah part. It's not a trap ... it's THE POINT.

I don't understand why you have to build this elaborate waltz around the central issue. If you're trying to show off something, or flaunt, or hone your dancing skills. Fine. But out of respect for those who want to participate in your argument and examine the actual song you're trying to dance to ... at least be willing to go there if you're the one turning on the music.

Have you not ever had someone genuinely ask you "show me God?" I'm asking you to do this. Not as a trap. What higher calling do you have? Every believer I ask has an excuse why they dodge this bullet and have to point to a book, or another teacher, or a building, or an explanation of why "god doesn't work that way". If I wanted to know whether or not a book or human or building or denomination was god I would go there. Show me your god. If you show me yourself, and say you're afraid of a trap, or hand me a book .... then I'll know who your god is. But will you?