Religion

jody

(26,624 posts)

15. Our senses known and to be known help us understand nature composed of energy and matter. We know

Mon Feb 13, 2012, 11:34 PM

Feb 2012

nothing about the preternatural, all things other than nature, and religions describe a soul as something in the preternatural.

Like most people I also wonder if, indeed hope, I have a soul, a word to describe an entity that survives the death of my body, remembers experiences from this physical existence, and can experience pleasure in an after life.

My beliefs are shaped by my life and those around me but I also accept the observations of scientists who say one can not prove or disprove the existence of a soul in the preternatural.

Still I have hope . . . . . .

In the meantime I believe in the immutable laws of nature and cause and effect.

I do not believe in magic, that is a preternatural entity that can intervene in nature and negate those laws.

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You don't have a soul... [View all] mia Feb 2012 OP

Yes. Very nice. bluerum Feb 2012 #1

Yet another of Lewis' writings in which I do not see the wisdom. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #2

Perhaps your assumptions about what a soul might be are more narrow than Lewis's? patrice Feb 2012 #4

Or perhaps Lewis uses heavy handed and unimaginative metaphors. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #6

I don't think the op is claiming wisdom. Just said he liked the quote. bluerum Feb 2012 #8

Lewis is often touted as one of the great apologetics. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #10

Wow. That's a lot to read into that short simple quote. bluerum Feb 2012 #18

I read nothing INTO the quote. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #25

It's also possible to perceive pretention in rejecting that possibility. patrice Feb 2012 #21

Always the accusation of blindness. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #26

At minimum, it is clear that I referred to a "possibility" so you tell me why you refer to that as patrice Feb 2012 #31

Accuse others of pretention. Witness the self-fulfilling prophecy. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #32

You may have noticed that #8 made that accusation and I asked a question about that accusation. nt patrice Feb 2012 #34

More passive aggression. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #36

Said an inhabitant of the infinitely regressive mirror world. Speaking of tautologies, btw... nt patrice Feb 2012 #39

It WAS a hypothetical analogy. If the shoe doesn't fit ... So, why do you insist on wearing it? patrice Feb 2012 #33

Oh spare me your passive aggressive denials. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #35

Deflection. Avoidance. You need to tell DU -ers they are not permitted to challenge you. patrice Feb 2012 #40

I parried your passive aggressive thrust. I'm really not interested in continuing down that line. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #43

No thank you. I'm bored with this now. Time to sleep. nt patrice Feb 2012 #46

Good night. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #47

Share your wisdom in imaginative metaphors. mia Feb 2012 #9

Perhaps, if you are God, you can assume those things absolutely. If you're not, there's patrice Feb 2012 #20

There is no assumption in the fact that the statement is a tautology. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #23

Whether it is a tautology or not depends upon how one relates to that which is referred patrice Feb 2012 #28

No, it really doesn't. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #30

We don't disagree about the definiton of "tautology". We disagree about what is referred to by patrice Feb 2012 #37

So you're still stuck in "The Cave". darkstar3 Feb 2012 #38

Such assumed superiority! You do think you are a god, don't you. Admit it. nt patrice Feb 2012 #42

So now because you refuse to accept objective reality, darkstar3 Feb 2012 #45

My goodness, you found someone else to accuse of this behaviour too? GliderGuider Feb 2012 #54

Yes, I did. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #55

Objectivism and subjectivism tama Feb 2012 #63

Post-modernist! GliderGuider Feb 2012 #67

Seems a simple observation. So easily overlooked and ignored in our daily lives. bluerum Feb 2012 #7

And how does one "observe" a soul? darkstar3 Feb 2012 #11

The observation is that one is a 'soul'. bluerum Feb 2012 #16

I think you and I disagree on what constitutes an observation. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #17

Rational empiricism has NOTHING to say about that which is not observed, other than patrice Feb 2012 #24

And yet the idea that I adhere to something called "rational empiricism" is an assumption. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #27

My assumption is based upon the value that you apparently place on observation. nt patrice Feb 2012 #29

If "soul" is not an object of observation tama Feb 2012 #64

my spirit lives in my body. when the body dies the soul/spirit leaves and roguevalley Feb 2012 #12

I am so sorry for the loss of your puppy. cbayer Feb 2012 #13

Thank you, cbayer. It is the only thing that makes this bearable. My dachshunds live roguevalley Feb 2012 #59

I've been looking at this post for hours. I have a beautiful pup myself. darkstar3 Feb 2012 #48

Thank you, Darkstar3. I hug you back too. What a strange thing to come into a roguevalley Feb 2012 #58

I am so sorry for your loss Dorian Gray Feb 2012 #65

It does seem that I mostly just look, touch and speak out of it. leveymg Feb 2012 #3

That's fine hyphenate Feb 2012 #5

May your chakras enlighten your kundalini's third eye, kemosabe. dmallind Feb 2012 #14

Our senses known and to be known help us understand nature composed of energy and matter. We know jody Feb 2012 #15

I don't think the preternatural is necessary to soul. patrice Feb 2012 #22

Isn't that the basis of faith, a belief that does not require energy and matter and is not a cause jody Feb 2012 #51

Not sure why I need faith. What we call "reality" seems enough, to me. Did you see that patrice Feb 2012 #52

Missed the model but I'll search for it. Thanks. nt jody Feb 2012 #53

Here it is. En- joy! patrice Feb 2012 #56

I think agent46 Feb 2012 #78

Speaking of dogma: I think you don't KNOW crap about what I think. Q.Proof of YOUR hidden ideology? patrice Feb 2012 #79

Let yr soul light shine for all to see n/t agent46 Feb 2012 #80

VERY nice. My own belief parallels that statement. I love that sentiment.nt Ecumenist Feb 2012 #19

That may be the only thing I've read by Lewis that makes sense. nt rrneck Feb 2012 #41

Agreed. nt patrice Feb 2012 #44

I still haven't read anything by him that makes sense. onager Feb 2012 #49

He's just offering a little encouragement. rrneck Feb 2012 #50

I tried reading that book. ChadwickHenryWard Feb 2012 #61

OK. What is a soul? nt ZombieHorde Feb 2012 #57

If you ever get a coherent answer to that, can you let me know? laconicsax Feb 2012 #62

Apparently, a soul is the sound of crickets chirping. nt ZombieHorde Feb 2012 #69

I thought that was "God." laconicsax Feb 2012 #70

that thing that asked what it is tiny elvis Feb 2012 #72

I have worked in a lot of group homes. ZombieHorde Feb 2012 #74

This statement is one of the many reasons I dislike Lewis as a thinker. ChadwickHenryWard Feb 2012 #60

The closest formulation of this idea that I could agree with... Silent3 Feb 2012 #66

Clive Wearing deadinsider Feb 2012 #68

Makes sense if by "soul" you say mind/consciousness/self. 2ndAmForComputers Feb 2012 #71

Nonsensical platitude AlbertCat Feb 2012 #73

Wouldn't "nonsensical" be sufficient? "Platitude" seems like overkill. nt jody Feb 2012 #75

"Platitude" seems like overkill AlbertCat Feb 2012 #76

Makes sense to me, I concede. nt jody Feb 2012 #77