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Humans are no more than an animal. We are a higher form of primate which evolved over the roughly 4,000,000 years from a primitive hominid to around 400,000 years ago when Homo sapiens first arrived on the evolutionary path. If you see man with a soul, than the animals you evolved from would also have some form of a soul.
What a soul would be is another question. Regardless of if we have one or not I sure don’t connect it to a religion or a god.
I agree.
I do believe that there is a 'spiritual' side to life. I think there are things we do not understand yet, but if we and the planet last long enough, we will someday.
I believe that the concept of heaven came from some shift in consciousness that revealed to some, other dimensions or parallel universes.
We are just skimming the surface of this now, but just as we can look at what innovations tore us away from short lives tied to the agrarian society, I think we can also expect a great revolution of awareness, consciousness, soul, in the future.
I will probably not be here when that happens, but such a breakthrough will eventually support some of what our religions have been trying to tell us for centuries, pleasing many. It will also toss aside the myths and dogmas, which will make others very upset.
If memory serves me correctly, the word translated "soul" there is the exact same word as "breath" in Hebrew. But verify that before you believe it. It's been a while since I studied that.
You're right, the word is Nephesh. So, in the original Hebrew, it leads one to believe that animals have a soul too.
I'll be honest that I am a meat eater. However, I can't kill an animal (whether a chicken, dog, cow, you name the animal) that I have established a bond with.
But most Christians believe that animals have no soul and have no conscience killing and consuming them. (Another reason why I hate Christianity....a hypnotized cult who lives by contradictory principles).
I agree that species (plant, animal, human) have to kill a life (plant, animal, human) to preserve a life. That's how we live. Animals are not less of a species than man. Think of it like comparing a motorcycle to a car (one may seem more appealing but they are both vehicles and function similarly). Go against a tiger and tell me if he is less of a being than you.
I believe in the soul of animals. What are we, but a higher form of animal? It's all a part of nature.
Do all souls pre exist and continue after death?
One theory that I have heard of that makes some sense is reincarnation. We were once a spirit waiting to inhabit a body and then that is how we enter the world as humans and when we die we go back out into the spiritual realm to wait again to re-inhabit another body. The motto goes, The spirit never ceases to exist but rather it continues to live and will always live.
I think it explains deja vu a bit more clearly. We have certain memories which lead us to believe that we have been here on this Earth before.
For me, I draw a difference between "soul" and "spirit", spirit is what all things are, the soul is how we manifest that spirit and all thing mainfest a soul in the degree it is able to do so. When something dies the soul dies also but the spirit continues, the spirit has always been and will always continue.
Ok, I've heard this before that animals do not have souls (according to Christianity anyway). But why is this?
Does sentience have anything to do with it?
Sometimes it feels like a dog really is man's best friend when they come lick your face after you've had a rough day. They do seem to react to moods and also it seems like they have the ability to "sense" bad people. Or am I reading too much into it?
The animal has a spirit, which is a true identical aethereal image of that animal.
The plant has a spirit, which is an aethereal image similar to that particular plant.
The "soul" is the aethereal spirit of man.
When the baby reaches 40 days of age, and he starts to see and hear and feel the pain and pleasure --> he then is said to have a "soul".
The "soul" is called by some people as the "ghost".
For me, I draw a difference between "soul" and "spirit", spirit is what all things are, the soul is how we manifest that spirit and all thing mainfest a soul in the degree it is able to do so. When something dies the soul dies also but the spirit continues, the spirit has always been and will always continue.
The spirit is a general term: the plant has a spirit (but it is not called a soul).
The animal also has a spirit (but it is not called a soul).
The soul is only that of human being that is seeing, hearing and feeling the pain and pleasure. It is called the "ghost" by some people.
Gabriel in the Quran is called the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost.
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