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Author Topic:   What is the soul?
Archer Opteryx
Member (Idle past 3597 days)
Posts: 1811
From: East Asia
Joined: 08-16-2006


Message 110 of 165 (447699)
01-10-2008 1:29 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by DeclinetoState
03-16-2006 2:15 AM


Soul = animating force
The soul, practically speaking, is a hypothesis. It refers to 'that which animates a living creature.'
The spirit, practically speaking, is likewise a hypothesis. It refers to 'that which vanishes from a living creature once it ceases to live.' The remains--note the word--are what we can still see.
The two terms are often used as synonyms because after death the soul, minus its body, logically consists entirely of spirit. The two are essentially the same.
Early Christian writers, though, said the spirit would be united with another body after death. They were more or less obliged to take this position after making much of Christ's resurrection being a bodily one. Hence the fussiness many Christians still display over making a distinction between 'soul' and 'spirit'--even when they can't tell you what the distinction is.

Archer
All species are transitional.

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Archer Opteryx
Member (Idle past 3597 days)
Posts: 1811
From: East Asia
Joined: 08-16-2006


Message 116 of 165 (448115)
01-12-2008 5:25 AM
Reply to: Message 113 by nwr
01-11-2008 8:33 PM


Re: Soul = animating force
The soul is a hypothesis. It refers to 'that which animates a living creature.' This hypothesis stemmed from the observation that living beings are animated.
The spirit is likewise a hypothesis. It refers to 'that which vanishes from a living creature once it ceases to live.' This hypothesis stemmed from the observation that many distinguishing features of a creature, including animation, vanish at death.
The idea that both are manifestations of biochemical processes alone is another hypothesis. This hypothesis stems from the observation that biochemical processes already account for many things that were explained in the past by other means.
______
Edited by Archer Opterix, : brev.

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