Is the spirit eternal?

[gnostic]

My topic on the pre-existence of man didn't go as well as I would have hoped. We seem to stuck on angels, which I really didn't want.

It is really my fault. Perhaps I should not have used word angel in the OP.

Is the spirit or soul eternal?

I am referring to the soul of man or the spirit of man. I am not talking about the spirit of god or that of his hosts of angels.

Did the soul exist before it was housed in a physical, earthly human body?

 

[bobhikes]

Spirit or Soul is typically used for religious debates

I prefer Conscience or super ego and yes i believe it is eternal and actually created the universe and all life in it.

 

[Katzpur]

My topic on the pre-existence of man didn't go as well as I would have hoped. We seem to stuck on angels, which I really didn't want.

It is really my fault. Perhaps I should not have used word angel in the OP.

Well, let's try again then.

Is the spirit or soul eternal?

Yes.

Did the soul exist before it was housed in a physical, earthly human body?

If we change the word "soul" to "spirit," then yes it did. I believe that a soul is the entity which results when a spirit enters into a physical body, giving it life, so according to my belief, the soul did not exist pre-mortally. The spirit, on the other hand did. In a sense, it's not even eternal, but we Latter-day Saints usually think of it as eternal since it did exist prior to entering into a physical body. We believe that God created our spirits from what we refer to as "intelligence." This is a word which has been interpreted by our prophets as meaning "the light of truth." This "intelligent matter" is truly eternal, in every respect of the word. We believe it to have been co-eternal with God -- a position that traditional Christianity sees as heresy. At any rate, we believe that God took the light of truth and from it created spirits that would live in His presence for perhaps billions of years before coming to earth. Each of these spirits, according to our doctrine, was given the choice as to whether to come or not, and every human being who has ever lived made that choice. (Yikes, now I'm going to end up derailing your thread with that last sentence. I hope not!)

 

[Comicaze247]

In my opinion, yes it is, though I phrase it differently as well.

I believe that the everything is connected to the Divine ("God is within all", "we share one soul" etc.). And every human soul, animal soul, any perceived god or goddess, any physical being, is a manifestation of the Divine.

And when a person dies, their individual soul returns to the Divine and becomes one with it again, yet still somewhat separate (which is my explanation for past lives). Eventually, the Divine will enter into another body (human, rock, plant, animal, etc.) and form another soul.

 

[crystalonyx]

I don't believe there is any essence separate from the body, so no, there is nothing eternal about a oerson.

 

[gnostic]

I don't believe there is any essence separate from the body, so no, there is nothing eternal about a oerson.

As of yet, I don't believe in spirit and soul too. But I am interested in what people's views about it, regardless of my belief.

I am interested in mythology, but it doesn't mean that I believe in as being real. For me, mythology is entertaining, and its like reading a good, riveting novels. I don't read the religious scriptures because I believed in them, but I am fascinated by what people believe in.

 

[S-word]

My topic on the pre-existence of man didn't go as well as I would have hoped. We seem to stuck on angels, which I really didn't want.

It is really my fault. Perhaps I should not have used word angel in the OP.

Is the spirit or soul eternal?

I am referring to the soul of man or the spirit of man. I am not talking about the spirit of god or that of his hosts of angels.

Did the soul exist before it was housed in a physical, earthly human body?

The soul and the spirit are two different things, you are a triad being who is body, soul and spirit, your body is made up from the living universal body, all that your body was created from has always existed in one form or another, but the form that it took as the body in which you the spirit has developed, is only tempory and you will die the first death when that body is returned to the universal body from which elements it was formed. As we all share the universal body, so too, do we all share the universal soul, which is the divine animating principle which pervades and activates the entire universal body, and it is onto your share of the universal soul or life force, that all the experience and knowledge that is taken in through the senses of your body is imprinted, this is the spirit, the you or "I AM," who is the supreme personality or godhead that developes in your body, which, if born devoid of the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch etc, then no information whatsoever could be absorbed into that body and imprinted on the eternal universal soul, and no spirit could form and the body would remain a living vegetable.

As to the question, "Is the human spirit immortal?" the answer is no, for the human spirit can be divided from the eternal soul, which then leaves it lifeless, this is the second death. There are many who believe that the eternal universal soul of which we are all partakers is the same thing as the spirit that develops in the human body and is imprinted on the eternal life force or soul of the invisble mind that is God, which living mind will either accept the forming spirit in each person as an extention to the ever evolving mind that is God, or reject it. Hebrew 4: 12, "The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where the soul and the spirit meet.

 

[bobhikes]

As of yet, I don't believe in spirit and soul too. But I am interested in what people's views about it, regardless of my belief.

I am trying to resolve my beliefs and if man does not have a spirit what makes him so different from all the animals that are and have always been.

 

[Runewolf1973]

From an animist perspective, I see everything as being Spirit and eternal. Spirit is just another form of energy. What else could it possibly be? To me the spirit is the "anima" that is the vibrational force which makes all energy move and change form. Everything in existence, all energy moves and vibrates, therefore all of existence is "animate" and has "anima". Even the planets and the solar systems "move". Everything is alive with energy. Energy never ceases moving, it only changes form. It is eternal.

 

[S-word]

From an animist perspective, I see everything as being Spirit and eternal. Spirit is just another form of energy. What else could it possibly be? To me the spirit is the "anima" that is the vibrational force which makes all energy move and change form. Everything in existence, all energy moves and vibrates, therefore all of existence is "animate" and has "anima". Even the planets and the solar systems "move". Everything is alive with energy. Energy never ceases moving, it only changes form. It is eternal.

The body that is the womb in which you the spirit are developing, is made up from the elements of the universal body and to which universal body, that human body in which you are developing must return, this is the first death. And it, the human body, is activated by the eternal soul or life force which is the divine animating principle which pervades the entire living universal body, to which life force or soul, is gathered all the spirits that are formed in all of the developing universal life forms, which are but receivers and in some cases the transmitters of the eternal evolving Spirit or mind that is the dancing, vibrating cloud of swirling wave particles, which, through our physical senses, we perceive as the living Cosmos.


You, the 'I AM' the spirit, the person, the godhead that has developed and is continuing to evolve on the information, experiences and knowledge that is absorbed through the senses of that animated body, was not in that body at birth, and behind the veil to the inner most sanctuary within His tabernacle which is the body of mankind, was your ancestral spirit, which is the evolving compilation of the spiritual enclosure wherein the spirits of all your human ancestors that have been gathered to the eternal Logos or life force, are at rest awaiting the resurrection; But he, your Father spirit is oblivious to the three dimensional world in which you live, as the wonderful Omar Khayyam put it:

Then of the thee in me who works behind
The veil, I lifted up my hands to find
A lamp amid the Darkness; and I heard,
As from without---"The me in thee is blind.

If that human body which is activated by the divine animating principle that pervades and activates all within the entire living universal body, was born without the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, then that human body could not have absorbed any information, experences or knowledge and you, the evolving godhead to that human body could never have developed, and that lump of living meat, would have remained as no more than a living vegetable, in which there is an ancestral spirit, blind to and oblivious of that position in the three dimensional world into which that animal body had been born, and even if the spirit that is you, does continue to evolve until that body in which you are developing, is converted back into the elements from which it was formed, if you the spirit, are rejected by the mind that is God, then you the spirit can and will suffer the second death,and be wiped clean of your share of the eternal soul, and you the spirit, that was imprinted upon the life force of God, will be forever more, lifeless..

 

[YmirGF]

My topic on the pre-existence of man didn't go as well as I would have hoped. We seem to stuck on angels, which I really didn't want.

*Dr. Angelo arrives carrying a platter of brightly coloured little pills for Gnostic Storyteller to peruse.*

It is really my fault. Perhaps I should not have used word angel in the OP.

Don't sweat it, Storyteller, that is precisely why we are here -- to make mistakes.

Is the spirit or soul eternal?

Though I say yes, I do not have the slightest shred of evidence to support my claim -- just like everybody else with their incredibly amusing mythologies. However, if you followed a six month plan outlined by me, you may very well begin to uncover what might constitute proof in the form of direct personal experience. We might need the help of Dr. Angelo however.

I am referring to the soul of man or the spirit of man. I am not talking about the spirit of god or that of his hosts of angels.

Due to the religious connotations involved with both terms I use them both very sparingly. I don't like to feed the illusions of other unnecessarily.
BTW: What host of angels, exactly?
*Looks around nervously*

Did the soul exist before it was housed in a physical, earthly human body?

Perspective is the key. If you have already decided that there is no possibility that such a thing exists, it is unlikely that you would recognize it if it smacked you up the back of the head with a 2x4 necessitating an emergency visit to Dr. Alvarez.

If you are of a religious nature, you may very well misinterpret the experience of "soul" for being "touched by god". Take my word for it, it can be pretty incredible, and it is easier to believe that this "hidden feature" is outside human personality rather than accepting that it is an inherent "feature" found within all human animals. With the former, you still have someone to blame; whereas with the latter, you have only yourself to blame.

If you are open to the idea that personality as we understand it is possibly larger than we currently suspect, then that opens the door for potentially remarkable adventures. If you are not fixated on any specific predefined god concept you may very well be able to glean a better understanding of yourself, your larger identity and that consciousness is a bubble that you mold your world around. If, afterwards, you are inclined to call it "soul" or "spirit", then so be it... though I doubt you will.

 

[Runewolf1973]

The body that is the womb in which you the spirit are developing, is made up from the elements of the universal body and to which universal body, that human body in which you are developing must return, this is the first death. And it, the human body, is activated by the eternal soul or life force which is the divine animating principle which pervades the entire living universal body, to which life force or soul, is gathered all the spirits that are formed in all of the developing universal life forms, which are but receivers and in some cases the transmitters of the eternal evolving Spirit or mind that is the dancing, vibrating cloud of swirling wave particles, which, through our physical senses, we perceive as the living Cosmos.


You, the 'I AM' the spirit, the person, the godhead that has developed and is continuing to evolve on the information, experiences and knowledge that is absorbed through the senses of that animated body, was not in that body at birth, and behind the veil to the inner most sanctuary within His tabernacle which is the body of mankind, was your ancestral spirit, which is the evolving compilation of the spiritual enclosure wherein the spirits of all your human ancestors that have been gathered to the eternal Logos or life force, are at rest awaiting the resurrection; But he, your Father spirit is oblivious to the three dimensional world in which you live, as the wonderful Omar Khayyam put it:

Then of the thee in me who works behind
The veil, I lifted up my hands to find
A lamp amid the Darkness; and I heard,
As from without---"The me in thee is blind.

If that human body which is activated by the divine animating principle that pervades and activates all within the entire living universal body, was born without the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, then that human body could not have absorbed any information, experences or knowledge and you, the evolving godhead to that human body could never have developed, and that lump of living meat, would have remained as no more than a living vegetable, in which there is an ancestral spirit, blind to and oblivious of that position in the three dimensional world into which that animal body had been born, and even if the spirit that is you, does continue to evolve until that body in which you are developing, is converted back into the elements from which it was formed, if you the spirit, are rejected by the mind that is God, then you the spirit can and will suffer the second death,and be wiped clean of your share of the eternal soul, and you the spirit, that was imprinted upon the life force of God, will be forever more, lifeless..

Okay, so what were you trying to say again? That made no sense to me. Sorry.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I am trying to resolve my beliefs and if man does not have a spirit what makes him so different from all the animals that are and have always been.

Other than the obvious cognitive differences, not much. Do we need to be so different?

 

[Katzpur]

I am trying to resolve my beliefs and if man does not have a spirit what makes him so different from all the animals that are and have always been.

If man does have a spirit, what makes him different from the animals? They have spirits, too. We have a human spirit and animals have a dog, cat, horse, bird, etc. spirit.

 

[cardero]

My topic on the pre-existence of man didn't go as well as I would have hoped. We seem to stuck on angels, which I really didn't want.

It is really my fault. Perhaps I should not have used word angel in the OP.

Is the spirit or soul eternal?

I am referring to the soul of man or the spirit of man. I am not talking about the spirit of god or that of his hosts of angels.

Did the soul exist before it was housed in a physical, earthly human body?

Patrickism believes the soul existed before the physical (just not as Patrick). From my understanding, only an individual soul can choose to cease to exist.

 

[S-word]

Okay, so what were you trying to say again? That made no sense to me. Sorry.

Whay I am saying is that you are a spirit that has developed in that human body which is created from the elements of the universe and is activated by the eternal divine animating principle that pervades the entire universe. What I have said is that your unstable body must return to the elements from which it was created, and created it was, whether or not you can understand or name that which created that body in which you the evolving spirit was formed from the experiences, and information that is taken into that body through it's senses, and that the spirit which is you, who is the developing godhead to that body, has full controll over it's movements and actions.

What I have said, is that if that body which is activated by the eternal soul onto which is imprinted all the spirits that are formed in all the physical bodies that are created within the living universal body, was malformed and was born with all senses missing, no eyes, no hearing no sence of taste, smell, or touch, then no spiritual godhead could have developed and it would have remained a living vegetable untill the aborted soul returned to the Logos who gave it and the body returned to the elements from which it was created, and if the spirit that is you, who have developed in that body which apparently was created with all it's senses, is of no use to, and is rejected by the eternal evolving mind or living spirit that is God, then the spirit that is you, can and will be seperated from the eternal soul=life force to which all forming spirits in the universe are gathered, then it , the spirit that is you, will become and remain for all eternity, LIFELESS. Is that so hard to undrestand?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Whay I am saying is that you are a spirit that has developed in that human body which is created from the elements of the universe and is activated by the eternal divine animating principle that pervades the entire universe. What I have said is that your unstable body must return to the elements from which it was created, and created it was, whether or not you can understand or name that which created that body in which you the evolving spirit was formed from the experiences, and information that is taken into that body through it's senses, and that the spirit which is you, who is the developing godhead to that body, has full controll over it's movements and actions.

What I have said, is that if that body which is activated by the eternal soul onto which is imprinted all the spirits that are formed in all the physical bodies that are created within the living universal body, was malformed and was born with all senses missing, no eyes, no hearing no sence of taste, smell, or touch, then no spiritual godhead could have developed and it would have remained a living vegetable untill the aborted soul returned to the Logos who gave it and the body returned to the elements from which it was created, and if the spirit that is you, who have developed in that body which apparently was created with all it's senses, is of no use to, and is rejected by the eternal evolving mind, then the spirit that is you can and will be seperated from the eternal soul=life force, then it will become and remain for all eternity, LIFELESS. Is that so hard to undrestand?

Maybe it will make more sense to him if you try the midichlorian angle.

 

[Mister Emu]

No, I do not believe the soul is eternal, it was created...

 

[S-word]

Maybe it will make more sense to him if you try the midichlorian angle.

I believe that more people would accept the ficticious revelations in the Star wars series before they would believe that which is made obvious by the study of the creation itself, which reveals the eternal being who is in a constant state of evolution, and gives the answers to how we spirits who have developed in the physical human body which is the Most High in the creation to this point in time, may pass over into the new creation that has been evolving in the dimension that co-exists within this one.

The Kingdom of God, is within you, who are of the most high of the species that the eternal evolving invisible being has evolved into at this point in time, the species wherein, the spiritual Godhead that is developing in the greater living universal body is currently situated behind the veil to the inner most sanctuary of the body of the Most High in the creation, which chosen spirits that have developed in the bodies of mankind are gathered to the chosen cornerstone, in the creation of the new species, which is to be the new Temple of the evolving universal Godhead, a body that is not made up of corruptible matter, but of incorruptible light enegy, which new kingdom of God, that will dwell on earth among mankind, flesh and blood cannot inherit, and once the doorway into the reality of the promised Kingdom of God on earth is closed, no man who is locked outside the glorious and brilliant multi-celled light being, which will establish himself in his chosen city of Jerusalem, will ever open it.

 

[McBell]

My topic on the pre-existence of man didn't go as well as I would have hoped. We seem to stuck on angels, which I really didn't want.

It is really my fault. Perhaps I should not have used word angel in the OP.

Is the spirit or soul eternal?

I am referring to the soul of man or the spirit of man. I am not talking about the spirit of god or that of his hosts of angels.

Did the soul exist before it was housed in a physical, earthly human body?

You are going to have to define "soul" and "spirit"