Interesting thoughts, thank you.
Yet I don't concur completely . The story of Genesis indicates that God breathed in human body - and that this then became a living soul. Hence - both body and life or consciousness together constitutes a soul.
Yes you will have to understand my answers aren't limited to what the Bible says, that's not the intent I'm aiming for. I've been a Christian since I was a young man so I can certainly relay only Christian theology but again. that's not my main concern.
One of the things we probably will disagree on is that I believe much of Genesis is figurative and symbolic. So I would have to argue that God did not create man from dirt or breath in a human body and it became a living soul.
Being made from the dust of the ground is analogous to us being made from the same elements as every other created thing....it's a lot like atheists saying "we are made of star dust"...
God breathing into human form animating it just means we have Gods living qualities within us that are innate to us. We know how human bodies are made and they aren't made with dust lol.
Eve being created with Adams ribs is a figurative event meaning women and men fit together, they were created as a pair, they were meant for each other. We know that girls aren't made from the ribs of boys, it's a figurative statement.
The soul exists independent of the physical body, the soul came out of God before it was sent into creation. So in other words you existed within God before you existed within the physical body prepared for you by your parents. The soul (your inner being) is a separate reality from a physical body, the body is simply the vessel for the soul.
The physical body has nothing to do with consciousness, consciousness belongs only to the soul. The brain does not create consciousness, it is a component that confines the souls experience to a physical body. So the body has no relevance to a soul other than providing a vehicle to navigate the physical world. The body is how we interface with the material world, but when the body dies the soul leaves that body.
I'm not going to argue over what the Bible says unless I have something useful for you to consider about it, I know what it says because I've been reading on my own accord since I was a young kid. But as I said my answers will not be dependent on that alone so you will have to be patient with that.
I'm going to be as short as possible here with my replies so if I fail to elaborate just ask me about anything.
Still - there is an aspect of what you say that is compatible with the OT. It certainly often uses interchangeably the heart, or the kidneys, or intestines with the word soul. I would take the view that spirit and soul are the same.
A lot of what I will say will be compatible with the Bible because the Bible has some good useful information, but what I write will not be limited to the Bible.
The soul and spirit can be used interchangeably but a "spirit" body is distinct from the soul itself...this is where religion sort of mixes things up. They believe that the spirit body is the soul but that is not so...The spirit body, is also known as the subtle body (look up that term) and this is the form you are present within when you leave the physical body. It is the covering of the soul like that of the physical body which also covers the soul. The physical body confines you to the physical world and the spiritual body confines you to the spiritual worlds. Yet the soul is the part of you that is observing through those forms, the soul itself has no true form. The reason for this covering, is so that you have a point of reference within the created worlds that confine your soul to locations therein. There's a lot to this I won't touch on at this moment but if you're interested just ask about it.
The heart is often used in scripture analogous to the inner most part of yourself but again, this is figurative language....but the kidneys and intestines have no relevance to the inner soul at all lol, these are just functions of the physical body which is just a mechanical vehicle for the soul, without the soul the body is stillborn. The only thing that animates the physical form is the soul itself.
The inner person and the outer person. I suppose I take the view that the difference between the inner and outer persons is a mirage. We might not reveal our inner person to many people - yet that is still us on the outside.
Well that depends on the context I guess, if you're referring to the outer person as in the material make up of your physical image the inner person (soul) is quite distinct from that.
The inner person can also refer to the deepest aspects of a person, their thoughts, their interests, their motives, their desires, their emotions ect ect but all those things are a factor because first there is the soul. The outer physical form is but a shell.
When we are resurrected according to the Bible, we will not just be spirits or a consciousness wandering around we will have real bodies.
If you're resurrected within the physical realm again you will have real material bodies. The whole resurrected bodies/soul arising at some point in the future thing is not an accurate depiction. As soon as your body gives up, the soul is released from that body, and this can be verified by the evidence and through other religious sources. The soul doesn't remain underground while the body decomposes and then resurrects that is a misconception. Again, you have to understand that I'm not trying to follow the doctrines of what Christianity teaches unless they are ultimately true so I hope not to offend you. I certainly know what the Bible says in the passage you refer to but there are countless examples also in the Bible that spirit beings exist apart from what you call a real body.
The only loophole in favor of coinciding what I'm saying with your theology is that in order that you "resurrect" within the physical world, or earth is that your soul must have a physical vessel to interface with the material world. But buried dead bodies coming out of the ground is disturbing. Most likely you'll be given a new body and the resurrection thing is metaphorical or misunderstood. At any rate you should fully expect that your conscious being (soul) will leave the physical body at death, this is almost certain. Which BTW is a good thing, because you will be transported to the Kingdom of heaven.
This would open a whole new subject here about what the afterlife entails. Which you would probably find very interesting. But don't rely on the theory that your soul remains in the dirt until a resurrection because you will be quite surprised as the soul leaves the physical body, at least be prepared for that.
Don't think I'm being I'm contentious here, I'm just trying to explain my understanding of the subject.
Yet I am understand there is a difference for the temporal and the eternal. I note that Psalm 11 talks of God hating the wicked and the violent with his soul. Yet God does not have a body like humanity.
That's true, God doesn't "have" a soul which would depict that God carries it around with Him, rather God is a soul. The soul is the fundamental substance of what God is. The soul exists independent of physical form, and likewise our soul (that first originated with God) exists independent of material form as well.
The reason I pointed out that consciousness is synonymous with the soul is because that is the fundamental substance of what God is as well, they refer to the same thing. That may not be an orthodox way of understanding the terminology but they both express the very foundation of what God is.
If I say, hey! God is soul....you may ask what is a soul? or what is it made of...my answer is consciousness, this is the very first layer that makes up God. God is first a conscious Being, and there is no other factor or substance that precedes that and the soul is not distinct from that, it is that. Religions use words to express what it is they may not have words for, or maybe failed to fully understand what it is they are giving names to. In Hinduism and many other eastern philosophies this concept is fully articulated and understood. The soul and the conscious inner being are one and the same fundamental substance, there is no other substance.
Thanks Tradesecret! maybe we can collaborate on some of these things even though we may have some differences.
