Buddha Dharma
Dharma Practitioner
I don't have a soul because there is fundamentally no division between myself and anything else. To quote the Kuan Yin mantra: with Buddha I have origin and affinity.
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I believe in the Bible, but I also believe that it has been expounded upon, and that the meanings of some words have been clarified.According to what? Not the Bible, it uses "soul" in reference to animals and people.
Hebrew Concordance: ne·p̄eš -- 115 Occurrences
If Bible believers say otherwise, they've been misinformed.
I see it as an unified energy substance, that animates the brain. Something kind of like chi. The energy is undetectable but a very real substance.
I am surprised that you dont believe in spirit. So what resurrects and goes to heaven, the atomic structure?
I'm glad that you have faith in the Bible, and understanding it is a worthy endeavor. That means understand what is written, not change the words of it. (It would be better to use Scriptures to support your view of the Scriptures, not what someone says..... your quote had no Scriptures.)I believe in the Bible, but I also believe that it has been expounded upon, and that the meanings of some words have been clarified.
Question.—What is the difference between the mind, spirit and soul?
Answer.—It has been before explained that spirit is universally divided into five categories: the vegetable spirit, the animal spirit, the human spirit, the spirit of faith, and the Holy Spirit.
The vegetable spirit is the power of growth which is brought about in the seed through the influence of other existences.
The animal spirit is the power of all the senses, which is realized from the composition and mingling of elements; when this composition decomposes, the power also perishes and becomes annihilated. It may be likened to this lamp: when the oil, wick and fire are combined, it is lighted; and when this combination is dissolved—that is to say, when the combined parts are separated from one another—the lamp also is extinguished.
The human spirit which distinguishes man from the animal is the rational soul, and these two names—the human spirit and the rational soul—designate one thing. This spirit, which in the terminology of the philosophers is the rational soul, embraces all beings, and as far as human ability permits discovers the realities of things and becomes cognizant of their peculiarities and effects, and of the qualities and properties of beings. But the human spirit, unless assisted by the spirit of faith, does not become acquainted with the divine secrets and the heavenly realities. It is like a mirror which, although clear, polished and brilliant, is still in need of light. Until a ray of the sun reflects upon it, it cannot discover the heavenly secrets.
But the mind is the power of the human spirit. Spirit is the lamp; mind is the light which shines from the lamp. Spirit is the tree, and the mind is the fruit. Mind is the perfection of the spirit and is its essential quality, as the sun’s rays are the essential necessity of the sun.
This explanation, though short, is complete; therefore, reflect upon it, and if God wills, you may become acquainted with the details.”
Some Answered Questions, pp. 208-209
This article is about addiction and how to deal with it, but it spends considerable effort at discussing how arbitrary the perception of a "real me" is.
People are dying because we misunderstand how those with addiction think
I think it connects quite nicely into the arbitrary nature of soul-beliefs.
Generally, I want to know how believers in the existence of a soul reconcile that belief with the neurological realities of people.
For instance, it is well known that a starving person becomes very irritable and loses self-control, usually losing those traits a short while after being fed. Does that mean that one's soul does not determine the behavior of hungry people? How does one decide what is caused by metaphysical factors and what is caused by environmental, biological and neurological factors?
We have no answers because the soul is a mystery of God... We will know more after we die though.
After the body dies, the soul floats off to the spiritual realm, often referred to as heaven, where it takes on another form that best suits its celestial habitation. The spiritual realm is not visible to us until we get there because it cannot be seen with physical eyes.
This article is about addiction and how to deal with it, but it spends considerable effort at discussing how arbitrary the perception of a "real me" is.
People are dying because we misunderstand how those with addiction think
I think it connects quite nicely into the arbitrary nature of soul-beliefs.
Generally, I want to know how believers in the existence of a soul reconcile that belief with the neurological realities of people.
For instance, it is well known that a starving person becomes very irritable and loses self-control, usually losing those traits a short while after being fed. Does that mean that one's soul does not determine the behavior of hungry people? How does one decide what is caused by metaphysical factors and what is caused by environmental, biological and neurological factors?
This article is about addiction and how to deal with it, but it spends considerable effort at discussing how arbitrary the perception of a "real me" is.
People are dying because we misunderstand how those with addiction think
I think it connects quite nicely into the arbitrary nature of soul-beliefs.
Generally, I want to know how believers in the existence of a soul reconcile that belief with the neurological realities of people.
For instance, it is well known that a starving person becomes very irritable and loses self-control, usually losing those traits a short while after being fed. Does that mean that one's soul does not determine the behavior of hungry people? How does one decide what is caused by metaphysical factors and what is caused by environmental, biological and neurological factors?
This article is about addiction and how to deal with it, but it spends considerable effort at discussing how arbitrary the perception of a "real me" is.
People are dying because we misunderstand how those with addiction think
I think it connects quite nicely into the arbitrary nature of soul-beliefs.
Generally, I want to know how believers in the existence of a soul reconcile that belief with the neurological realities of people.
For instance, it is well known that a starving person becomes very irritable and loses self-control, usually losing those traits a short while after being fed. Does that mean that one's soul does not determine the behavior of hungry people? How does one decide what is caused by metaphysical factors and what is caused by environmental, biological and neurological factors?
OK, here's an hypothesis that may be new to some of you. In 1985 I had a Near Death Experience, it frightened the life out of me. However, as with most experiencers it changed my life and my world view. I decided to undertake a quest to discover just exactly what happened to me and how. I did succeed, at least to my own satisfaction. During my research I came to an interesting conclusion. All living things are surrounded by an energy field , this is not unknown. I have a system that reveals this field in fine detail and discovered it contains some amazing data. One important piece is that this field can exist in cohesive form free of and independent of the body. If this field contains our consciousness it would account for not only the NDE but OOBE, ghosts etc. Conclusion, the soul is conscious energy and being energy cannot be destroyed which is why it is eternal.
This article is about addiction and how to deal with it, but it spends considerable effort at discussing how arbitrary the perception of a "real me" is.
People are dying because we misunderstand how those with addiction think
I think it connects quite nicely into the arbitrary nature of soul-beliefs.
Generally, I want to know how believers in the existence of a soul reconcile that belief with the neurological realities of people.
For instance, it is well known that a starving person becomes very irritable and loses self-control, usually losing those traits a short while after being fed. Does that mean that one's soul does not determine the behavior of hungry people? How does one decide what is caused by metaphysical factors and what is caused by environmental, biological and neurological factors?
I refuse to discuss the subject of the NDE with anyone who clearly know nothing about them. this is not surprising as you are a Christian and it does not fit your limited world view so you ignore all the new scientific evidence. If you do not look you most assuredly will not find. Your inaccurate explanation that the NDE is the illusions of an oxygen starved brain has been used by Christians for year and was disproved at least 30 years ago. May I suggest you open your mind and go to either www.IANDS.org or NDERF.org preferable both, learn about it then we can discuss it sensibly. As for your Bible quotes you have contacted the wrong person. The Bible is not a reliable source of information, there are over 400 conflicting passages in it, how do you know which one is true, if any. Here's another problem, Of the many occurances and speeches reported in the Bible there was nobody present at the time to record or report them. That means they are all here-say, not admitted in evidence and not a reliable form of communication. So you do not know what was said or what happened at the time. So why do you believe all these myths? Is it because you have been told to as a result of conditioning or because you surrounds yourself with those who also believe thereby perpetuating the myths. A Priest once said, "give me a child before the age of 5 and I will give you a Catholic for life. That was an admission of brain washing. Most religions do the same. They do not allow for alternative beliefs so you can never expand your horizons, very sad...Hello and welcome to RF.
What if NDE's are simply delusions created by an oxygen deprived brain? Would the ones experiencing them really know? Delusions are "reality" to those experiencing them. And remember, that "near" death experiences are not "after" death experiences. Brain death has not occurred.
I am not sure of your belief system, but there is a difference between "soul" and "spirit" in the scriptures...for most people, they have come to mean the same thing. They are not.
In the Bible, the "soul" is the complete living organism (either animal or human)....it has breath in its lungs and blood in its veins. The difference between soul and spirit is the same difference as that between an appliance and the electricity that powers it.
The "spirit" in the original languages of the Bible, literally means "breath". Adam was formed from the elements of the earth, but he did not "become" a "soul" until God started him breathing. Without the spirit to activate all the cells in the body, (especially the brain,) consciousness cannot exist. If a person is in a coma e.g. where does consciousness go? People have lost years of their conscious life because of brain impairment, so consciousness is inextricably tied to the brain. If consciousness is separate from the brain, then it should then have a life of its own when a brain is damaged. That is clearly not the case.
The idea that humans don't really die is as old as the story of Adam and Eve. It was the devil who told the woman "you surely will not die" if she ate the fruit.....it was God who said they would....so who do we trust to tell the truth?
"Jesus said to them.......You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a murderer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie." (John 8:44)
So why do so many believe him?
What do you think a soul is? Do you not think it exists?
Addiction is self-defeating. It's not like people seek addiction or think they will be the ones to become addicted. It's difficult for me today to rationalize how those with addiction think before they are addicted. When I was younger, I would be more open and not "know" the dangers of addiction. That isn't to say I wasn't aware of the negative things that could happen. Thus, it was avoid those drugs that physically addict you with horrible withdrawal symptoms. Back in the day, the government and those in authority would try to scare us from drugs. That didn't work for me as it made me more open to trying it for myself. However, I did heed their warnings as these substances could have negative consequences such as addiction, hallucinations and withdrawal. With opioids, I understand that it's not even a high or pleasure that one derives from it. It's just something to calm those cells that cry out for more of the drug. I don't think it induces a modicum of pain or pleasure, but it is something that became a need. Maybe it's taken to alleviate pain, but I'm not sure if it's a placebo or it really does work to some degree. Thus, I don't think one uses opioids to experience something new or different. I suppose this is what you mean by neurological realities.
So what does a soul have to do with dealing with these neurological realities? You mention hungry people and hungry people will riot and commit violence if their needs are not met. From what I have been told, the opioid addicts have a need just like these hungry people have a need for food. Thus, you are right in that they are more prone to violence.
A soul is one's personality and that which distinguishes one person from another. This also encompasses their thoughts and spirit, too, but each is different. The mind contains these thoughts that are generated as well as those that come into it and are developed. The physical brain offers the storage and pathways, but is not the source of these thoughts. The thoughts can come from within as well as without. The spirit is the energy and inner force that drives the soul. It is what causes the soul to move and put things into action.
As for treatment, it would be easy enough to put the addict on a treatment program, but one would have to show results of putting them on other drugs. They would have to meet target dates and make progress in order to continue. Other ways would be to treat their inner selves such as the soul, spirit and mind. These could be better customized to fit their personalities or souls. Like treating addicts with substitute drugs, one would have to show progress with psychological treatment or even a combination of treatment.
I'm not sure how one actually changes the addicts thought processes though. There lies the rub. The addict would have to do it for themselves, so that they start thinking about drug avoidance and avoiding those situations that could cause their relapse. This is the type of behavior that one wants their souls to experience and their spirit and mind to drive this behavior.
From my experience, once these addicts are in the street, then it's about them confronting the police or religious social workers. I don't think their regular social workers are out at night.
Opioids are adding a dangerous wrinkle to violent cities
It has a lot to do with our 'programming'. Unlike animals, we are not designed to die.....we have an innate desire to keep living, because death was never supposed to happen. Those of us along in years (who still have all our marbles) will know that we don't age in our mind, but only in our body. Old age is an affront.....a terrible tragedy that everything in us fights to come to terms with. We look in the mirror and the young person we are inside, struggles to identify the person in the mirror. Older folk will understand exactly what I mean.
When humans died, it was a foreign feeling and not accommodated in the human psyche at all. The only way to process the idea was to imagine some conscious part of ourselves living apart from the body.....somewhere.....handing ourselves over to the devils lie.
Most Bible believers have lost the idea of the resurrection by exchanging it for something that makes death more acceptable.....we don't really die, but go on living. The good ones go to heaven but the bad guys go to a place of eternal torment.
When you accept the idea of an immortal soul, you then have to invent places for these souls to go. Some belief systems have gone overboard in this concept. Everything from heavenly bliss to reincarnation, to roasting in a fire forever. Appeasing the dead is an important part of many cultures.
If what the Bible teaches is true, then all who have died are just sleeping peacefully in their graves. Both the "righteous and the unrighteousness" will be called from their graves to resume life with all their family members. Jesus promised to do that, as easily as he "woke" Lazarus from his "sleep" (John 5:28-29; John 11:11-14)
That being the case, how do we explain the fact that the "dead" can apparently contact the living through mediums and other means? Who or what are being contacted? Or OOBE's? The Bible answers that too.
How does one decide what is caused by metaphysical factors and what is caused by environmental, biological and neurological factors?
I refuse to discuss the subject of the NDE with anyone who clearly know nothing about them. this is not surprising as you are a Christian and it does not fit your limited world view so you ignore all the new scientific evidence.
If you do not look you most assuredly will not find. Your inaccurate explanation that the NDE is the illusions of an oxygen starved brain has been used by Christians for year and was disproved at least 30 years ago. May I suggest you open your mind and go to either www.IANDS.org or NDERF.org preferable both, learn about it then we can discuss it sensibly.
As for your Bible quotes you have contacted the wrong person. The Bible is not a reliable source of information, there are over 400 conflicting passages in it, how do you know which one is true, if any.
Here's another problem, Of the many occurances and speeches reported in the Bible there was nobody present at the time to record or report them. That means they are all here-say, not admitted in evidence and not a reliable form of communication. So you do not know what was said or what happened at the time. So why do you believe all these myths? Is it because you have been told to as a result of conditioning or because you surrounds yourself with those who also believe thereby perpetuating the myths.
A Priest once said, "give me a child before the age of 5 and I will give you a Catholic for life. That was an admission of brain washing. Most religions do the same. They do not allow for alternative beliefs so you can never expand your horizons, very sad...
I do not see where I changed any words in the Bible. I simply have a different understanding of what those words mean; or should I say an additional understanding, as the word soul can have more than one meaning, and it will mean different things in different contexts.I'm glad that you have faith in the Bible, and understanding it is a worthy endeavor. That means understand what is written, not change the words of it. (It would be better to use Scriptures to support your view of the Scriptures, not what someone says..... your quote had no Scriptures.)
I can agree that the soul can be equated with the animal creation, since humans are part of that creation. However, when I use the word soul, I am referring to the rational soul, which is the soul that only humans have. Other animals have a spirit but they do not have a rational soul. Just because that is not in the Bible does not mean it is not true. I believe that the Bible has been expounded upon since it was written.That being said, in the link were posted 115 passages, beginning with Genesis 1:20. Genesis 1:24, Genesis 1:30, etc. In these verses, the Bible uses the Hebrew "nephesh", meaning "soul", for the animal creation God had made.
In Greek, it's "psyche". Same meaning: a living breathing creature, nothing more.
http://www.2001translation.com/NOTES.htm#_229
There is nothing wrong with that. God is also a mystery, but God still exists. So it is the same with the soul and the spiritual world.Ah, the great answer to everything that has no answer...."its a mystery".
Do you think you know more than a Manifestation of God who received a direct revelation from God through the Holy Spirit?Who said the soul floats off anywhere? The soul dies. Your prophet is wrong.
The Bible does not lie but it requires accurate interpretation to be fully understood. The Bible was never fully understood, which is why Daniel 12:4 says “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”"Behold, all souls are Mine. Like the soul of the father, like the soul of the son they are Mine; the soul that sins, it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4The Complete Jewish Bible) There is no immortal soul in the Hebrew scriptures.