I Believe You

taykair

Member
Messages
363
First, let's get the definition out of the way, so we can get to the point.

I'm going to be using the word "soul" a lot in this post. To be clear about what I mean by "soul" in the context of this post, it is this:

A soul is an eternal (or damn-near so) entity which is believed to exist both within, and external to, the human mind.

There's a lot more I could say about the soul: what exactly it is, and what it does, and where it came from, and whether or not having one is exclusively a human thing, and other matters. Maybe I will talk about those things in another post. For now, though, the simple sentence above will serve as my definition of a soul. It may not be yours. You're not writing this, though. I am. So there.

There are many of you out there who do not believe that the soul exists. This is to say, you have looked within yourself - have examined and contemplated yourself - and have found no shred of evidence whatsoever that you possess a soul. You are convinced of this. You are without doubt.

[Or you may just be a poser. You just say that you believe it - because that's what the "smart people" around you say they believe. (Of course, for all you know, some of your like-minded friends are taking their cue from you - telling you that they believe certain things because they think it's what you want to hear. Relationships are curious things, aren't they?)

Anyway, if you are a poser, then this post isn't really for you. In fact, none of my posts are. Just move along. There's nothing for you to see here.]

Back to the point. If you are one of the millions of people in the world today who sincerely believes - or, better yet, knows - that you do not have a soul, then I have something to tell you:

I believe you.

No. I'm not trying to be funny. No. I am not trying to be unkind. I am totally serious and, as far as I am concerned, there's nothing to be unkind about.

For myself, I believe that there is a living part of me whose lifespan is eternal (or damn-near so) but, if you don't, then that is fine. It may even be true - for you, that is. After all, humans are sometimes born deaf, or blind, or missing a limb. Why not without a soul? I can see where that could happen.

But know this: Even if you don't have a soul, I'm still going to treat you as if you did. In other words, I will treat you in precisely the same way as I would a person who does possess a soul.

This isn't being condescending on my part, because I don't think there's anything to be condescending about. I do not consider those of us who have souls to be some kind of elite group of "more evolved" humans. I didn't do anything to "earn" my soul. I've just got one, that's all. If you don't, then so what?

Also, your lack of a soul is of no consequence as regards your humanity, in my opinion. You can be just as good (or as evil) with a soul as you can without one. Your ethics and your moral code are not dependent upon having a soul. You are not any less human for not having a soul, and are no less deserving of respect. So, to those of you who maintain that you do not have a soul, I believe you - but don't expect me to treat you any differently than I would any other human because of that.

[Also, a soul may not be all that great a thing to have anyway. What if the soul is nothing more than some kind of alien parasite - an invader of sentient beings like us, which feeds upon our mental energies? (Sorry about using the e-word, Harte.) What if these parasitic souls prevent us humans from developing a soul-like entity of our own? The thought would be rather disturbing to me, if I really believed that. I don't, though.]

I do have one little problem with some of you soul-less people out there, though. I'm talking to those of you who don't believe that there is such a thing as a soul. Not just in your case, but in general. That's just not right, folks.

Don't get me wrong. If you're one of those folks who do not have a soul, then you are totally free to believe that I don't have one either. (In fact, you're free to believe whatever-the-hell you want to believe - it's your life.) If you take that position, though - if you believe that there's no such thing as a soul just because you don't happen to have one, then how is your reasoning all that different from someone who maintains that, just because he has a soul, then everyone else must have one as well?

Then too, it may be that one day you may receive a soul. Or discover that you had one all along. Who knows?
 
Last edited:

STUARTDELTA

New Member
Messages
15
First, let's get the definition out of the way, so we can get to the point.

I'm going to be using the word "soul" a lot in this post. To be clear about what I mean by "soul" in the context of this post, it is this:

A soul is an eternal (or damn-near so) entity which is believed to exist both within, and external to, the human mind.

There's a lot more I could say about the soul: what exactly it is, and what it does, and where it came from, and whether or not having one is exclusively a human thing, and other matters. Maybe I will talk about those things in another post. For now, though, the simple sentence above will serve as my definition of a soul. It may not be yours. You're not writing this, though. I am. So there.

There are many of you out there who do not believe that the soul exists. This is to say, you have looked within yourself - have examined and contemplated yourself - and have found no shred of evidence whatsoever that you possess a soul. You are convinced of this. You are without doubt.

[Or you may just be a poser. You just say that you believe it - because that's what the "smart people" around you say they believe. (Of course, for all you know, some of your like-minded friends are taking their cue from you - telling you that they believe certain things because they think it's what you want to hear. Relationships are curious things, aren't they?)

Anyway, if you are a poser, then this post isn't really for you. In fact, none of my posts are. Just move along. There's nothing for you to see here.]

Back to the point. If you are one of the millions of people in the world today who sincerely believes - or, better yet, knows - that you do not have a soul, then I have something to tell you:

I believe you.

No. I'm not trying to be funny. No. I am not trying to be unkind. I am totally serious and, as far as I am concerned, there's nothing to be unkind about.

For myself, I believe that there is a living part of me whose lifespan is eternal (or damn-near so) but, if you don't, then that is fine. It may even be true - for you, that is. After all, humans are sometimes born deaf, or blind, or missing a limb. Why not without a soul? I can see where that could happen.

But know this: Even if you don't have a soul, I'm still going to treat you as if you did. In other words, I will treat you in precisely the same way as I would a person who does possess a soul.

This isn't being condescending on my part, because I don't think there's anything to be condescending about. I do not consider those of us who have souls to be some kind of elite group of "more evolved" humans. I didn't do anything to "earn" my soul. I've just got one, that's all. If you don't, then so what?

Also, your lack of a soul is of no consequence as regards your humanity, in my opinion. You can be just as good (or as evil) with a soul as you can without one. Your ethics and your moral code are not dependent upon having a soul. You are not any less human for not having a soul, and are no less deserving of respect. So, to those of you who maintain that you do not have a soul, I believe you - but don't expect me to treat you any differently than I would any other human because of that.

[Also, a soul may not be all that great a thing to have anyway. What if the soul is nothing more than some kind of alien parasite - an invader of sentient beings like us, which feeds upon our mental energies? (Sorry about using the e-word, Harte.) What if these parasitic souls prevent us humans from developing a soul-like entity of our own? The thought would be rather disturbing to me, if I really believed that. I don't, though.]

I do have one little problem with some of you soul-less people out there, though. I'm talking to those of you who don't believe that there is such a thing as a soul. Not just in your case, but in general. That's just not right, folks.

Don't get me wrong. If you're one of those folks who do not have a soul, then you are totally free to believe that I don't have one either. (In fact, you're free to believe whatever-the-hell you want to believe - it's your life.) If you take that position, though - if you believe that there's no such thing as a soul just because you don't happen to have one, then how is your reasoning all that different from someone who maintains that, just because he has a soul, then everyone else must have one as well?

Then too, it may be that one day you may receive a soul. Or discover that you had one all along. Who knows?
Just rejoined due to time travelling in hospital with cancer illness, like your post and for all skeptical non believers out there , everything in this post that u stuartdelta is replying to ,is the truth
 


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