Margarite Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Is the soul part of God and thus eternal, or is the Soul a separate entity which can later be destroyed? How do we know if our Soul is eternal, or if the Soul is just permited to live a possible eternal life untill God decides otherwise. If the Soul id eternal, does that mean God cannot destry it as supposed to He chooses not to destroy it? or can the Soul live eternally so long as it continues to meet the requirements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dUSt Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 I'll worry about this question after I'm dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Our souls are eternal. God can destroy them because He can do anything, but He doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 All things are possible, but some are not in God's nature. That's a good way to look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucho Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Hello Margarite. Is the soul part of God and thus eternal, or is the Soul a separate entity which can later be destroyed? The soul is not a part of God, in the way as if it were a function of God. But still this doesn't mean that the soul is not immortal. We can be sure that our souls are eternal, or at least do not corrupt with the body, by the fact that we have our intellect. As far as your second to last ?, I think Adam said it well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katholikos Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 The soul is the spiritual immortal part in human beings that animates their body. The soul is simple; it has no parts. It is individually created for each person by God and infused into the body at the time of human insemination (at the moment of conception). As a simple and spiritual substance, the soul cannot die. Source: John A. Hardon, S.J. No, the soul is not part of God. A soul is created by God for each individual human person. JMJ Jay (Likos) Katholikos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 AS far as definitions go I think *eternal* refers to something that has existed for infinity in either direction. In which case God is the only "eternal" being. But as for our souls, they are immortal. That is, they do not die (or go away) once they are created (you could say infinity in only one direction from it's start). At conception, each individual is given an immortal soul by God. The soul did NOT exist before conception. But for evermore after conception the soul will exist. I could be wrong about the definition of eternal, but God is the only being that has existed for ever. A soul has a starting point, God didn't, although after the soul starts it will be with God (or without God) forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 by the way, Bro. I like your response. Very true! It's like the whole sin thingy, or why the devil still exists. God "could" destroy them, and according to the Church he will. But for now it is against Gods nature to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 I believe if we go with strict wording, the soul is immortal. Only God is eternal. Were the soul part of God, God Himself would have parts unaware of their divine dignity, thus God would not be all-knowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margarite Posted July 13, 2003 Author Share Posted July 13, 2003 It feels like it's supposed to be a simple answer, but every comment just got me thinking of more questions. God is eternal, I got that. It is not in God's nature to destroy it? But isn't God the nature of everything? God created everything, He even created man in his likeness and image, so good and bad are both part of God's nature, he simply chooses not to do certain things because it is not in his plans to do so. Anyway, going back to the topic, It makes more sense that the Soul is immortal as supposed to eternal. However, "That whosoever belives in him should not perish but have everlasting life" If you don't belive, does your Soul die or does it go to Hell? Also, After dead, the Soul becomes free of corruption by the body but we still have our self awareness, our intellect, Would it really be in our Soul's nature to act properly for the rest of it's immortal life? Do you think that the Soul could afterwards be corrupted in any other form and thus destroyed? I guess I just don't want any surprises, like after battleing my body in this life, I get to the other side and find out that it was just the begining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katholikos Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Read the article on the soul in the Catholic Encyclopedia. www.newadvent.org/cathen/14153a.htm JMJ Jay (Likos) Katholikos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 "bad" is a flaw in man, a decision to disobey God. By virtue of God's nature, whatever He does is good. He has let us in on what He decides is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 It feels like it's supposed to be a simple answer, but every comment just got me thinking of more questions. God is eternal, I got that. It is not in God's nature to destroy it? But isn't God the nature of everything? God created everything, He even created man in his likeness and image, so good and bad are both part of God's nature, he simply chooses not to do certain things because it is not in his plans to do so. Anyway, going back to the topic, It makes more sense that the Soul is immortal as supposed to eternal. However, "That whosoever belives in him should not perish but have everlasting life" If you don't belive, does your Soul die or does it go to Hell? Also, After dead, the Soul becomes free of corruption by the body but we still have our self awareness, our intellect, Would it really be in our Soul's nature to act properly for the rest of it's immortal life? Do you think that the Soul could afterwards be corrupted in any other form and thus destroyed? I guess I just don't want any surprises, like after battleing my body in this life, I get to the other side and find out that it was just the begining. Hmmm, your statement "corruption by the body" worries me a bit, because though we must learn to moderate the appetites our bodies desire, we must also remember that we will have that body again at the day of Resurrection (God-Willing). God never "created" bad, it is, according to Aquinas and Augustine, a deprivation of a good. In other words, evil is not in God's nature in the strictest sense, rather, it is the absence of where a good used to exist. Case in point, Lucifer used to be the greatest, smartest, and most beautiful angel..God created him and he was "good." When Lucifer chose to disobey he chose to deprive himself of the good that God had set before him, and therefore disfigured or corrupted his own nature through that disobedience. Also, after death if the soul has found its final salvation in Heaven, then the decision you lived on life in your physical body, "I love God and wish to live with Him always" will follow you when you die. The thing is once that decision is made temporally, it has ramifications in eternity. In other words, self-abandonment to the Will of God here, ie: total consecration, will be made eternal after you die, provided you die in the right state. We will not become angels, yes we will have our intellect and will, but we will have already made our "final decision." The essential difficulty lies in trying to understand an eternal reality within temporal existence. How do we speculate eternal realities when all we have known has been within the realm of time? Remember, in all this, there is a level of what is called speculative theology, because we cannot know for certain what takes place in eternal realities because we have never known them. God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucho Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 If you don't belive, does your Soul die or does it go to Hell?Well, yes and yes. In hell, a person is in a state of continuous death. Would it really be in our Soul's nature to act properly for the rest of it's immortal life? Do you think that the Soul could afterwards be corrupted in any other form and thus destroyed? If I take your meaning correctly, you mean corruption by sin rather than materially right? those who have been granted into heaven will see the Beatific Vision, seeing God in ALL His Glory and Majesty, not withholding. One sight of this will certainly dissuade all temptation to sin. Were the soul part of God, God Himself would have parts unaware of their divine dignity, thus God would not be all-knowing. That's what I meant when I said about the soul not being a function of God. Thanks Winchester! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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