The soul, in many religions, spiritual traditions, and philosophies, is the spiritual and eternal part of a living being, commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; as distinct from the physical part. It is typically thought to consist of ones consciousness and personality, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self. The soul is believed to live on after the person’s physical death, and some religions posit that God creates souls. In some cultures, non-human living things, and sometimes other objects (such as rivers) are said to have souls, a belief known as animism.
-- Wikipedia
It can be tough to differentiate at times between soul and spirit, terms which are often used interchangeably. But check out these verses, which list them side by side, thereby suggesting that they are, in fact, different.
* I Thessalonians 5:22-24
* Hebrews 4:11-13
* I Peter 2:10-12
* Ephesians 6, ESPECIALLY verse 12. It seems that there are realms which we may sense, but cannot ‘see’ that are playing a part in our story. Quantum Physics is backing that up at the moment, discussing dimensions that are there but may not be ‘visible’ to the naked eye. So, what is our soul? Does it change as time goes on? What is the difference between our soul and our spirit?
Finally, it may help to go back and look at the Creation story in Genesis 1, especially the part about man in verses 26-ff. God endows qualities within man that are not given to others, the most important one being that we are designed in God’s own image. What does that mean? How are we LIKE God? We aren’t eternal or all-knowing, so which attributes of the God-head are we like? OK, your turn to chime in now!
1 comment:
I think it is interesting that God "breathed" life into us. I think our bodies are everything that is made up of "earthly" material and our souls and spirit are made up of non-physical things.
I have always thought that when he said, "Let us create man in our (notice he says our-meaning attributes of Father, Son and Spirit) image, after our likeness," he meant that we actually have bodies that are somewhat similar to what a heavenly body will look like. I also think he meant that we would be rational thinkers, we could learn (not just do things by instinct) and that we would also be "creative" like HIm. All other living beings don't have these qualities. I know some people will say animals can learn, etc., but I believe they are trained into behaviors.
Just some rambling thoughts.
Amy G
Post a Comment