Do you believe that we have souls?

[Bertha Venation]

Poll question: Do you believe that we have souls?

This question isn't really about religion or an afterlife. I believe in the soul but not in an afterlife.

What constitutes my soul is my need to do good in this world; my urgent need to appreciate other humans, flora & fauna, what I've been given; my intense love that constantly threatens to spill out for anyone or anything that needs it.

Define what the soul is to you, if anything.

(And do pets have souls?)

[begin_within]

1. I believe pets have souls. And some people do too.

I define soul as that part of a being other than the physical body.

[Bertha Venation]

3. That's a lot simpler than my definition

:)

[david13]

2. It is all in the mind. dc

[tigereye]

4. I do believe that there is more than what we can see

and more to us than the overtly physical. Not sure if soul constitutes spirit or an energy beyond the physical or simply an immanent aspect of all.

[orleans]

5. yes, i believe we have souls/we are souls

i believe "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience." -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pierre_Teilhard_de_Chardin

i believe in an afterlife

"Get used to this
You're going to be alright
The world goes on with or without me
If I don't ever leave a thing behind
I'll still leave you without me

"If it takes another life
I'll wait for you
On the other side
Everything that comes to me
As good
Belongs to you
I'll count our blessings as I
Wait for you
On the other side
Good luck and I will see you through"
--the other side by scissor sisters

"there's no such thing as the end.
there are only new beginnings.
i'll be seeing you again."
--graveyard song from tv show parenthood

i believe "spirit" and "soul" are interchangeable and that pets also cross into the dimension we pass into after this life.

i believe in life after life (but not in "god" per se)

[DebJ]

6. And definitely believe in an afterlife too.

[JTG of the PRB]

7. I believe there is certainly some sort of energy within us that goes on after we die.

It's our connection to the Universe, our connection to the world around us, our connection to one another. Whether that energy is an embodiment of our physical and mental self after we shuffle off our mortal coil, I couldn't say... But there is something in all of us that will survive long after we have moved on from this world.

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. As an Atheist, I have mixed feelings, but I read something long ago that I found comforting...

and I can't give the source, as I have no recollection of where I read or heard this point of view, but I think it has merit, and deserves consideration.

I want to add that it came to light for me when my father passed away just over ten years ago. He was a Church going Episcopalian, a long term member of many church choirs (a superb Baritone Bass) and involved in Anglican and Episcopal churches around the world. He was also a 33rd degree Mason and that gave him a different perspective, more a Deistic than a specific Christian one from what I gathered. I asked him once if he thought there was a heaven. He said he honestly didn't know.

So...here's the concept;

Consider all of the knowledge and all of the essence of all of humanity is that which is contained in a still, Mill Pond. A perfectly serene, calm body of water. When someone dies, it is as if a pebble has been thrown into the center of that pond and the result is the ripples, extending outward, just as we all could expect. The pebble represents all of the essence of the deceased - the personality, the love, the kindness, the intellect, etc. and all of that has now become part of the pond. The ripples slowly expand and get larger, ever expanding and never ending. Science tells us that such waves never do end, they just slowly lessen in size but expand continuously.

In other words, all that we are becomes part of a larger whole and our effect, not only of our life but of our death affects all the rest of humanity in a certain way, perhaps small, but significant, nonetheless.

The idea that my Father became a part of that pond...the cosmos, if you will, gave me great comfort. I much preferred that to the idea of him hanging around the clouds in a white robe, having to deal with the likes of the Jerry Falwell's of the world, a man he detested with a passion and thought was simply a parasite, certainly not a true man of God. Whether or not the soul exists to such an extent that there can be experience and consciousness after death is a question that simply can not be answered, but the idea that we become part of a greater whole makes me feel good.

I am happy knowing I am merely a pebble to be added to all the others in the great pond.

[Bertha Venation]

11. something to ponder

no pun intended

Thank you, Heretic

[travelingtypist]

9. Voted other.

Same answer I have for whether there's a god or not, we simply can't know. Same with the soul. We can't know for sure. I guess that's why it's called faith.

[Deep13]

15. So you don't affirmatively believe.

Saying "that's why it's called faith" is another way of saying "I have no idea." We either have them or else we do not. Faith is irrelevant.

[travelingtypist]

17. I have no way of knowing one way or the other.

No, faith is not another way of saying "I have no idea." People with faith believe affirmatively. Faith is very relevant in these matters. It's the cornerstone of most spiritual traditions. I'm surprised I have to say that it's so obvious.

I think people who can make or have made that leap are lucky.

[Deep13]

19. I'm well aware that religion is founded on faith.

What someone subjectively believes, wants to believe or hopes is true is irrelevant to determining whether or not it is true.

I can't say I share your admiration for people who believe without reason.

[ashling]

10. I could use some good custom fit orthotics for mine

[Iggo]

12. Nope.

And that's okay.

[stuntcat]

13. pets have souls :)

my definition of soul anyway. I know it for fact they have them :loveya: lil identities.

It frightens me how cold and hard many humans can become though, even ones I know. I thing many of our souls are kinda pitifully lost.

[Deep13]

14. I beleive there are no souls. nt

[SteppingRazor]

16. I would really, really like to believe otherwise, but I think we're all just bags of meat.

Some people have brains that are more hard-wired to do good, but only because evolutionarily, doing good for others benefited us as a social group. Other people are atavistic, lizard-brained throwbacks, and those are the greedheads that see no benefit in aiding their fellow man.

In the end, though, we're all just worm food. But if you did good for everyone you met -- if you treated everyone the way you would like to be treated, to use a religious phrase -- then when you're gone, what you left behind will matter far more. So, it's not what you take out of life in the brief time you have existence, it's what you put into the lives of others.

That said, while you're at it, do try to have a good time. You only go through this thing once.

[Deep13]

21. Yup. As a fellow complex chemical reaction...

...I'm forced to agree.

[Rochester]

18. No

[hamsterjill]

20. Oh, yes!

I believe we all have a soul. As a Christian, I believe that we continue after our body dies. I don't profess to understand how that happens, what it is, etc., but I do believe that we go on.

One of the best illustrations that I ever heard was a eulogy given at a funeral where a speaker explained that we spend nine months in the womb, perfectly happy and comfortable, completely unaware of what will happen to us after birth. The same may be true of this human life. We know not what to expect. But I believe we have something to expect.

And in my mind, pets most certainly have souls. I cannot imagine an afterlife where I could be happy if it did not include the many four-legged friends that I've lost during this lifetime. That's not always a popular belief in many Christian religions, but I believe pets have souls.

[MilesColtrane]

22. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

I've seen no evidence of it, but I'm open to the possibility.