What is a soul?

I'm inclined to think that if one doesn't accept that Christ is God incarnate, then they are free to call themselves Christian but I'd be inclined to think that it would only be in the cultural sense. I'm Anglican by the way.As for the original question of what is a soul. I'm 63 years old. On my wall is a picture of a rock n roll band I was in at age 20. I look at that 20 year old kid and realize that I'm still that same 20 year old inside. My body has aged, I've gained maturity and experience, acquired knowledge etc but I'm still the same "I" that I was 43 years ago. I don't seem to be aging the way the rest of the physical world around me is. My consciousness, my essence or my soul, whatever you want to call it, can use time to measure and understand change, but it seems to me that it is more of an observer than a particapant.This certainly isn't scientific but it is my perception of life so far. Take it for what it's worth.

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Everybody is entitled to my opinion.

I vividly remember walking on Oxford St. in London right before Christmas a number of years ago. I looked out at this sea of people and realized that there was not one person that I knew, nor one that knew me. I felt this overwhelming sense of this solitary "I" that transcended everything else and at the same time gave understanding to all that I could see. Also it really hit me that everyone else had their own sense of "I".It is that sense of "I" (for lack of a better term), that we all experience and interpret the world through. As we gain experience our views change but we still are left with, (in my view), an unchanging knowledge of self that uses the physical body and its senses to perceive the world around us.Even though there is zero empirical evidence for this sense of being that is distinct from the physical, I frankly have virtually no doubt that it exists. I realize that you would have the same experiences and have come to an altogether different conclusion. To be honest, I can't understand how you don't come to the same conclusion that I do, but I also realize that you don't understand my conclusion either. It does though point out that all of us are very different. It seems to me that if all that there is to evolution is random chance and natural selection, (and nothing beyond the physical)our views would be much more likely to be congruent. (I don't dispute evolution but I do dispute the idea that there is no intelligence behind it.)Edited by GDR, : No reason given.

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Everybody is entitled to my opinion.

Frankly I have never felt the need to believe in the supernatural or an afterlife either. My only need is that I really want to know as much of the truth that I am able to grasp. I do believe that there is more truth than can be discovered by the scientific method however. The thing is, that whether we have a need to believe in something or not, the truth is still the truth, irrespective of any need. That is one of the reasons I'm here, although the main reason I suppose is that I'm fascinated by science and I'm here to learn. EvC is a great place for both. I contend though that there is a core "I" that exists. As I said before, we are changed through experience, culture, our maturing etc, but those are just renovations to the room that represents our core being. I look at my wife of many years and wonder what she is thinking. We can never know what goes on in another person's head because of the fact that we are all separate and distinct. My "I" will never be able to view the world through my wife's "I".

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Everybody is entitled to my opinion.