duck0987

After attending a Catholic Funeral today, the sermon synopsis was that the person who passed was no longer with us and her Immortal soul had left. This begs the question is the human soul truly immortal, after a quick search I've found evidence to both in the bible.

Mortal

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. -John 3:16

eternal life is only given to those who believe, the non-believers souls parish?


For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. -Ezekiel 18:4

More literal says the soul dies...

Immortal

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." -Matthew 25:41-46


Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt -Daniel 12:2

Both these verses seem to say the soul is immortal and the soul will not parish but suffer eternal punishment.


For myself I would hope for the sake of sinners the soul is mortal, eternal punishment for the sins of a 70 year life seems a bit much, perhaps the better question is the sinners soul mortal or immortal since the bible seems to have no question to the immortality of the believers soul.

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asaris

It seems to me that the Bible is simply ambiguous on the question. I mean, there's a reason the Apostle's Creed talks about the resurrection of the body, not the immortality of the soul. So I turn to philosophy. It seems that human beings are essentially embodied; if this is the case then, even if there was such a thing as a soul, it would not be human if it didn't have a body. But I hold this position mainly on the basis of intuition.

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"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

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ironman

I wouldn't touch this with a 30 feet pole.

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lostaxe

Funerals are a great cause for contemplation. I believe that your friend's or loved one's life is honored by the question you've asked here. When it comes to matters of death and immortality... we don't have much to go on but faith. Because, there is no scientific evidence (that I'm aware of) that proves with reasonable certainty that we even have a soul. But I like to believe that we do have a soul.
Most Christians that I know (and I know a lot of them) interpret the bible as saying that the soul is immortal for both saints and sinners, believers and non-believers. Not sure if that is a matter of fact... or just a better way of scaring the hell out of people. But the farther outside the bible you look, you'll probably find more and more disagreement on this question.
For instance, you're idea that believers have an immortal soul and non-believers have a mortal soul and a chance for a do-over... reminds me of Hinduism. I think there are several major religions that paint a less "terminal" and punitive outcome than that normally preached by Christians.

Charlatan

I suppose you have to believe in a soul to begin with... as I don't I would ask the question, why believe in a soul at all?

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Halx

I'm in the "no soul" camp.

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Plan9

Do cheeseburgers have souls?

...

We like to believe in an afterlife and thus we like to believe in souls. We want pretty things that last forever as our body ages, rots. The idea that are lives are finite confuses and depresses many who aren't living enough in this life... worrying instead about making sure they get to the pearly gates in the next.

We're all bits of skin. I feel that our lives are dictated by simple chemical reactions and the societal norms we subscribe to (or violate) in order to experience them. Like lab rats pushing on a button to get more food... we do what we do in our daily lives because it feels good or because we have to do it. Our motivation is simple. Our purpose is far from divine. Our life's magic, while great, is always tangible. We are what we do, not what we think or feel.

All this garbage translates to: We're self-aware animals with egos.

Deviations from the norm are rare. Mother Teresa was a people-helping junkie. God was her needle.

I figure the concept of a soul, like the world's religions, is something we use to justify that which we can't explain. Different flavor of the same funk, I figure.

Note: I don't have a college degree... so my soul knowledge may be lacking.

...

Man, I wish Jesus and Allah were colossal anthropomorphic titans and had a huge throw-down in space between the Earth and moon so we could all watch.

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Amaras

Crompsin, NEVER worry about the degree from a college, just the degree of open-mindedness and willingness to learn that you bring to the table.
As to the soul, as stated above you seem to have framed it in a very
Judeo-Christian manner. All of the major religions that I can think of
(notable exceptions would be Zen Buddhism & Taoism) seemed to promote
the idea of the soul being eternal.
After all, how better for a local power (like a priest, who is but a faulty
human being) to influence your actions than to threaten you with
eternal pain if you do not toe the official line.
Also, I believe it is Man's quest to seek meaning in any otherwise
empty existence. Hey, if we have a soul, we will one day join with the
(name your) supreme being and learn why we are here in this vale of
tears.
For me, the only measure of existence I will have beyond my physical
existence is in the minds of those I've effected.
Also, I believe individuals CAN have a lasting effect on society in
subtle ways without being super famous or a genius.
Just some quick thoughts Crompy.
As to the funeral you attended, I hope the deceased person's
family and friends remember the good, and can forgive the bad
of their life.

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tiberry

I'd say it depends on your definition of "soul" - if you believe that the soul is "who you are" or embodies the conciousness then I'd say no.

I believe that we are all just "chips of the block" in that we're only a piece of a larger conciousness meant to experience reality from an infinite number of perspectives, all given a unique identity. So when this consiousness "dies", although a new one may begin, it will never be the same one.

Rather Buddhist view though I don't ascribe reality to any current religion...other than my own..."Logicology".

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Ourcrazymodern?

My soul asks why I must ask why.
My soul wonders why it feels alone.
My soul thinks it knows the answers to both these questions and asks again:
Why put your faith in dead testaments? Do you really believe the dead have some power over your soul?

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Borgs

If part of us goes to heaven or hell after we die, then that part of us is by definition immortal. If you define that part of us as the "soul", then it is immortal. Of course, I suppose that you could make the argument that God resurrects our soul after we die, and so in that case it would be mortal.