Do atheists believe they have souls?

71 posts / 0 new

Mon, 04/16/2018 - 11:03

LogicFTW

Still cracks me up that EBay and other websites like it had to ban "selling of souls" because it is essentially a scam :)

I would sell my "soul" for 10 bucks, print out a piece of paper saying it is my soul and mail it out. And then just sell it under different names/sites a couple dozen times. Funny part is: people would buy a piece of paper with some words typed on it for 10 bucks or more that has zero evidence backing it.

Obviously I would go for more then just 10 bucks if people were dumb enough to spend more. For the people that believe in souls, it really does begin to point some of the major flaws in the idea of a "soul."

Mon, 04/16/2018 - 17:44

(Reply to #62) #63

Tin-Man

@Logic Re: "Still cracks me

@Logic Re: "Still cracks me up that EBay and other websites like it had to ban "selling of souls" because it is essentially a scam :)"

Whoa-whoa-whoa!!!.... Hold on a sec.... You mean to tell me that people selling their souls is a SCAM???.... Son of a-......! So what the hell am I suppose to do with that file cabinet full of contracts for all those souls I bought?

Fri, 01/11/2019 - 15:31

#64

Chuck Maverick

Define soul? Does a domestic

Define soul? Does a domestic cat have a soul? Or dog? If so, what about a mouse, an insect?

Fri, 01/11/2019 - 20:26

#65

Cognostic

Some actually may. A soul

Some actually may. A soul says nothing about the existence of a god. Atheism is a position of non-belief towards gods. Atheists like Sam Harris argue for something beyond the natural. Call it spiritual if you like but he wants to use science to explain it.

Atheism is a single position on the existence of God. NOTHING MORE. Not all atheists are critical thinkers. Outside of this one simple rejection of god, atheists can believe anything.

Fri, 01/11/2019 - 23:48

#66

Grinseed

I don't believe in the soul,

I don't believe in the soul, its a man made concept.

The Jews believed in souls, but according to the Torah and the OT everything that breathed air had a soul, including fish. The soul was not immortal or imperishable. When you died your breath, your spirit, your soul went back to god. You, however, your plans, your sense of self, your 'very thoughts perished'.

Then after 300BCE when Alexander the Great Hellenised the middle east, the Jews began mixing ideas with the Greeks. Theories about the immortal human soul started taking off and probably reached its philosophical highpoint with the Philo of Alexandria who laid the groundwork for the Christian afterlife, though he never heard of Jesus despite writing a detailed history of Pontius Pilate and having family and friends living in Palestine at the time.

I think the idea of the immortal human soul is, amongst other things, just mankind's way of distancing himself from all other 'lowly' animals.
Not many theists seem to warm to the idea of viewing heaven as an eternal zoo in which they will need to politely mingle with the likes of Australopithecus Africanus, or donkeys, forever.

added...I haven't made myself clear above. The Greek/Jewish synthesis led to the Christian belief in an immortal 'personal' soul i.e. "You, your plans your sense of self, your very thoughts..." that would not perish when you died but go on to heaven to party with Neanderthals, who would also be "saved" if they accepted Jesus's message he took to hell when he died. OK? Simple beyond belief, really.

Sat, 01/12/2019 - 01:04

#67

Sky Pilot

In Bible speech a "soul" can

In Bible speech a "soul" can mean several different things. It can mean one's mind, heart, emotion, or supernatural spirit. All of those words are used interchangeably in various versions. As far as eternal life the Bible preaches a physical resurrection and not a ghost one like a soul is visualized as being.

Sat, 01/12/2019 - 01:39

#68

Cognostic

Only the Christians change

Only the Christians change the concept of Soul to an eternal spirit within. In the old testament it is simply "Breath" and all living things have it. This is where you get the expression "XX number of souls lost at sea." etc..... Soul = breathing being and was only changed by the Christian faith 2000 years ago.

Sat, 01/12/2019 - 10:06

(Reply to #68) #69

Sky Pilot

Cognostic,

"Only the Christians change the concept of Soul to an eternal spirit within."

IMO people are more prone to believe that they have such thing as a "soul" depending on which version of the fairy tale they read, if any. The word "soul" is barely mentioned in some biblical versions but it is overused in at least one version. The range is from 12 mentions in the Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE) to 768 mentions in the Wycliffe Bible (WYC). The KJV uses "soul" 498 times.

Sat, 01/12/2019 - 10:05