Pondering the soul

Two.

Conception

God does at conception.

No. Retarded children and babies have very low IQs, but they have souls.

IMHO, there is no such thing as a fetus. An unborn baby is a soul being.

Yes. If you are a person, you have a soul.


Sue

 

I was so sad to see they had died.

They only shared a vein....... and some bone.... Their personalities, likes, dislikes, desires were completely different. This was two very different young women and since they mentioned God, I pray they meant the one true God.

Diane

 

Nice pat answer but upon conception the "baby" was a single cell (one soul), not two beings. The imperfect division occured after conception.

I guess I'm wondering when the soul is imparted by God, in this case it would NOT be upon conception.

Rob </font>[/QUOTE]God knowing all things in advance,
how do you know it isn't upon conception? God is able where man can see no way.

 

There are some things we'll not know for sure in this life.
My own personal idea of it is that a soul is imparted at conception.
Adam was formed of dust, and became a living soul when God breathed life into him. Since conception is the start of life, I believe that the moment fertilization occurs is equivalent to life, and the soul is imparted then, at the beginning of life.
With twins, who knows? Is God the one who imparts a person's soul? Wouldn't he know who's in there?
Gina

 

Interesting thought, I had never considered that before. It is not a problem at all for those believing that the soul in received at conception, of course, but still an interesting thought. It could be, as Gina said, that since God knew what was happening that He imparted two souls at the initial conception or He could have waited until the zygote split (sort of a delayed conception for the second one) before giving the second one. Either way, or another way, in the end it was obvious that they WERE two different people with two different souls. Interesting.

 

It could also be that the soul is not imparted at conception, just as Deacon is speculating about. I don't know.

One thing I do know is that it does not matter about what the bible or any one else says about abortion. The "pro-life" and "pro-choice" crowds are diametrically opposed on this issue to the point that nothing will convince either side.

As a matter of fact, just because I bring up this possibility and admit that I do not know exactly when a fetus becomes a human being, I will, no doubt, be labeled as "pro-abortion."

 

I think about how often even the zygote fails to latch on properly inside the woman, and an "abortion" occurs, even without the woman ever knowing that she conceived. I wonder if these cells have souls. Part of me wonders if the soul is given later in the womb or at birth. The Scripture is silent on the issue, really.

 

I believe the baby has a soul from the time it begins to grow, hence is embedded.

I didn't realize women had that many 'blighted ovum' as you quoted Dr. Bob! I know several women who had late cycles and were told by Dr's that is what had happened and now count that as a miscarriage.

Diane

 

One soul or two?
Two.

Did they become two souls upon surgical separation or upon conception?
Hmmm.... upon conception they were one egg, so I dunno.

What makes a person a soul?
The soul is given to us by God. Our physical being is a different from our being as a soul.

Is it intellect? If it were would that mean there is some IQ where a person doesn’t meet the soul test?
No, self awareness, I believe is a difinitive test for having a soul, not IQ. Babies are self aware. That's not to say that lack of self awareness implies no soul, just that beings with souls are self aware.

Is it just the fact that they breath? If that were the case, Is a fetus a soul being or merely a potential soul being?
No, respiration is a physical requirement, but not a reguirement to be defined as life. There are many life forms that don't respirate.

Is there a test for posession of a soul?
I think self awareness, as I said earlier, is a good test, but not a perfect test.