Religion Americans Skeptical Of God But Think Heaven Is Real, Somehow

Come on crow, you made the statement of finality. So let see how firm you are.
Do you know if you have or ever had a soul? Do you know the answer to the same question for everyone else?

 

What do you think a soul is?

I've never heard anyone say anything meaningfully descriptive about the concept of a soul without referring to aspects that neuroscience has shown require a properly functioning body/brain.

Whatever a soul is, it does not appear to be the source of self awareness, personality, experience, or memory. Those things can all be manipulated (or turned off individually) by manipulating the brain in different ways. What else is there?

 

Your questions holds the answer.

Do you believe science now has a 100% understanding of everything, and science can explain everything?

If you believe science already has reached its limit of understanding, then you have a closed mind.

I am very skeptical of everything, but I keep an open mind to learn more. Not only do I believe people have souls, I also believe souls are part of nature. I am not sure how far souls extend into nature? Some people believe trees and rocks have souls. I am skeptical on going that far, especially the rock part, but I believe dogs have souls.


Have you ever been with a person or dog when they died? The feeling you get at the moment it happens is not what you would expect, or what you see in movies. At least for me it has been much different than what I expected. There is a complete feeling of peacefulness. Like the person or dog was released from carrying a large heavy load, and now their soul can fly.

 

Well yeah it does. It's impossible for anyone to have any kind of mental grasp of what a soul actually is without referencing something physical. Same goes for anything at all metaphysical (or objectively moral). Proponents never actually conceptualize these things. It's all overtly non-cognitive, and in the case of soul that continues after physical death, essentially reduces to wishful thinking.

Of course not. But if you want to be rational that isn't license to believe in whatever you want, particularly if your belief is in something with contrary evidence (previously described neuroscience).

I doubt I'm less skeptical of science and less open minded than you are. The scientific evidence that humans are the soulless product of evolution is pretty overwhelming, though. Like a spherical Earth at some point you have to take it seriously.

How far down the animal ladder do you have to go to find something living without a soul? Do mice also have souls? Reptiles? Fish? Nematodes?

I'm not impressed by citing feelings as evidence. Humans are demonstrably prone to being misled by their emotions.

 

You evaded the question. Another question is not an answer.
I suspect some people may not have a soul. I ask you if you knew whether you had one or not. Perhaps you don't know. I am certain you do not know the answer for any other person.

 

Not evading, making a point - the concept of a soul itself is too vague to be meaningful.

It should be obvious from my comments I don't think anything about humans survives after death.

If you think humans function the same with or without a soul, what exactly is it?

 

No I think maybe some are without the soul, perhaps that would account for sensing a difference. So not the same at all.

 

What's this? The devil done with you already?

 

Interesting that you say this. I have often pondered that there are a finite number of souls. That makes it far easier to explain the evil in this world. My intellect tells me that what we are seeing in modern events has been foretold, but it is hard to believe that those that do such evil are truly human.

 

MarAzul

Just for you. Understand, I hate religion. But there is only one way for an after life that is positive. You are a numbers guy. Easy math. You dont have to be perfect. God works with the very broken. You know this, from Moses to David and so on and so on. It is an easy decision. Do you believe that Jesus died for all of our sins? It really is the most important thing you ever ponder. If the odds are 51% to 49%, what say you?.

 

I can't force the issue, so I am just in the uncommitted column. I am comfortable proceeding on until someone slaps me up along side the head, with a I told you!
But then hell, it won't be the first time.

 

If you think about the existence of a God you may first think of religion's depiction of God as an active God. I believe that this is why many people deny the existence of a God, because this is how they perceive God to be, and in such a perception you have to ask yourself "Why would god stand by and let this happen?".

With that question at the front of so many peoples minds it seems inevitable that with enough time the belief of an active God will disappear. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing either. On the contrary maybe if more people believed they were solely responsible for the future, our world could be a better place.

 

I am curious to hear your answer to his question on what you believe a soul to be.

I believe our soul is our filter through which we are created. For instance if you go buy a bottle of bubbles and a few different wands. If we are the bubbles then the wands are our soul.

I don't think you can be brought into this existence without a soul. It would be like trying to fly without a ticket. However we're not bound by our soul, and are easily influenced by the world around us. In fact I believe most people are probably shaped more based off of their environment and what they have encountered in life than they are of their soul... Or maybe that is all wrong and we are completely made up of our soul and all outside factors shape it as we go through life.

 

I think you are quite close to answering it yourself. Like I said, I am not sure we all have a soul, some sure live their lives as if it was never completely outfitted.
And then perhaps the soul need nurturing to become complete, so that leaves room for incompleteness.
But it does seem there is a sense of being, that is beyond the body and biology. My being that I first remember as a toddler, is the same guy it was twenty years later, and then the same guy is still here today. He asks different question, he seeks different things, and yet he is the same. His body is sure as hell different, but he is not. He could move right into another and be right at home.

I am with you on God, while I am sure we were created by god, I have no sense that he interferes with us daily or actually at all. Probably does not need to since most of us have the soul created by god to guide the biological creature at the higher level, conscience, morality, spiritually.

 

Well done!

 

Could you give an example of somebody you would claim does not have a soul. Are you saying for instance Adolf Hitler did not have a soul because he was able to do all the inhumane things he did?