What is a "soul?"

[Waggles]

Zec 12:1  The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him:

Num 16:22  And they fell upon their faces, and said: 'O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Ecc 12:6  Before the silver cord is snapped asunder, and the golden bowl is shattered, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel falleth shattered, into the pit; 
12:7  And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it. 

Isa 57:16  For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit that enwrappeth itself is from Me, and the souls which I have made.

Isa 42:5  Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them forth, He that spread forth the earth and that which cometh out of it, He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

Job 12:9  Who knoweth not among all these, that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? 
12:10  In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Jer 38:16  So Zedekiah the king swore secretly unto Jeremiah, saying: 'As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.'

Ezek 18:4  Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 

Heb 12:9  Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh as chasteners, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of the spirits, and live?

1Thess 5:23  Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

1Cor 2:11  For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Edited May 9, 2021 by Waggles

[Charlie744]

5 minutes ago, Retrobyter said:

Shabbat shalom, Charlie.

No, you're not going to find it because it's not there to be found. The "spirit" was never lost because it was never there in the first place. You're using the wrong definition of the word "spirit." In Hebrew, the word is "ruwach" and it means the "WIND," and at best, it may refer to a person's "wind"; that is, the "breath." Let it be impersonal! There's nothing in the Scriptures to suggest otherwise, and it's only through philosophy and theological positioning that makes one think otherwise! That's a HUMAN'S idea, not God's revelation!

No, the two words are NOT identical! They have two very different consonants sounds at the start of each word! It would be like saying there's a connection between "pin" and "bin!" Just because Westerners can't hear the difference between the two letters, alef and `ayin, doesn't mean there isn't one! The alef is the explosive sound you hear at the beginning of words like "apple," "egg," and "umbrella." The `ayin is like a "swallowed G" sound. It's the first letter in the name "Gaza"; it's not really a "g" sound. The true "g" sound is made by the Hebrew letter "gimmel," as in the name "Gad," one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This is all fictitious.

Well, I certainly respect your abilities and your opinion! I believe I have offered just about all my thoughts as to why the "breathing into Adam" had to be more than simple air.... and for me, I was able to connect this thought through the scriptures where it did not "break down"... if fact, I believe they reveal one continuous thread even to the end of times - this gift of breathing His spirit into Adam is what separates us from every other creature, it fits nicely with the possible definition of what "in His image" means, it would be something Adam would lose as a result of his sin, it would cause him to be removed from the presence of God, it would prevent him from returning back into the Garden, it did cause him to lose his immortality, it would require God to immediately establish a Plan for his restoration (what is Adam needing to get back?), it has shown man can not restore this "spirit" on our own - no amount of good deeds or works will allow us back into His presence, Moses shining face on Mt. Sinai can be symbolic of the covering of Adam before he sinned (and lost it), we can see how Jesus had to give up His Spirit before He died and would be separated from God for the first and only time, we can see how the Holy Spirit must be sent so we can once again accept His spirit into back into us - this is the only way back - to accept this gift...., it is the only way God will separate us from the unbelievers at the resurrection - those who have accepted His spirit (Pentecost) will be selected by His angels and brought to Him...

For me, this is just one long thread  - full circle. I am sure you can tell that I am not asking or insisting you or anyone accepts this --- this is my interpretation of those things found in the verses and those things that are not written but can not be missed..... 

But enough about my thoughts and opinions... I would ask if you would not mind sharing your thoughts on this very interesting topic -

What was breathed into Adam,

Why did God use this method of creation in Adam but not any other creature,

What does it mean to be made "in His image",

What was lost after sin that must have changed us from being "in His image",

What are we needing to restore?

What is God trying to restore in us?

How can we tell if His Plan of Salvation / Restoration has been successful?

Just a few questions that will cause even more questions depending on the answers... 

Look forward to hearing from you... Charlie

 

 

[Retrobyter]

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

Well, I certainly respect your abilities and your opinion! I believe I have offered just about all my thoughts as to why the "breathing into Adam" had to be more than simple air.... and for me, I was able to connect this thought through the scriptures where it did not "break down"... if fact, I believe they reveal one continuous thread even to the end of times - this gift of breathing His spirit into Adam is what separates us from every other creature, it fits nicely with the possible definition of what "in His image" means, it would be something Adam would lose as a result of his sin, it would cause him to be removed from the presence of God, it would prevent him from returning back into the Garden, it did cause him to lose his immortality, it would require God to immediately establish a Plan for his restoration (what is Adam needing to get back?), it has shown man can not restore this "spirit" on our own - no amount of good deeds or works will allow us back into His presence, Moses shining face on Mt. Sinai can be symbolic of the covering of Adam before he sinned (and lost it), we can see how Jesus had to give up His Spirit before He died and would be separated from God for the first and only time, we can see how the Holy Spirit must be sent so we can once again accept His spirit into back into us - this is the only way back - to accept this gift...., it is the only way God will separate us from the unbelievers at the resurrection - those who have accepted His spirit (Pentecost) will be selected by His angels and brought to Him...

For me, this is just one long thread  - full circle. I am sure you can tell that I am not asking or insisting you or anyone accepts this --- this is my interpretation of those things found in the verses and those things that are not written but can not be missed.....  

Please, understand that I DO value and respect your thoughts and opinions, as well! However, I'm just seeing you clinging to a philosophy that I gave up a long while ago.

I hope this doesn't offend you in any way; sometimes, when I mention the Harry Potter movies, some believe them to be demonic. I just see them as good fun, like most fiction and sci-fi/fantasy movies are. It's just a good yarn of fantasy that has little to do with truth. 

Did you ever see the Harry Potter movie "Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone?" If you have, remember when all three, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, were stuck in the "Devil's Snare" plants? Hermione relaxed first and fell through the plant to the floor below. She told the other two to do the same thing, and Harry relaxed and fell through as well. But, Ron couldn't relax, and the plant only got tighter as he struggled.

I see people clinging to old theological philosophies like Ron not relaxing. They just can't let go of the old philosophies for fear of being named "unorthodox," or they fear they can't live without the tripartite view of mankind, or they think that we must somehow be different than the animals, or ... what? I believe that the simple truth about the Genesis account of the Creation is that we were made IN THE SAME WAY as were the animals.

Animals, especially mammals, reptiles, and amphibeans, have certain features that resemble human features, and people, with their rather vivid imaginations, anthropomorphize animals to make them walk and talk like humans in SO many tales. It's really no wonder that "science" (falsely so called because it's really just humanistic philosophy) took the theory of Evolution and ran with it, claiming "common ancestry." Actually, it's just simply "common DESIGN" by a NOT-SO-COMMON God! Why should God change what works?

I don't know if it's just pride or ego or self-absorbance or being reactionary to the philosophy of Evolution, but Christians have a VERY HARD TIME seeing themselves created like the animals, and YET ... THAT'S WHAT GENESIS 2:7 SAYS! It's not the "Breath of Life"; it's the "PUFF of LIVING THINGS!" That's what "nishmat chayiym" means. Remember: the human being, haa'aadaam, both genders, was/were made LAST in the Creation!

If you want the Man, haa'aadaam, to lose something, then he lost RIGHTEOUSNESS! Sin is not something one does; sin is the LACK of doing righteousness! It's "the HOLE in the doughnut" of righteousness! The reason why God cannot tolerate sin in His presence is because God has no sin! He is COMPLETE RIGHTEOUSNESS! God has no fellowship with UNRIGHTEOUSNESS! So, another thing that the Man lost was FELLOWSHIP WITH A RIGHTEOUS GOD! That's enough right there; the man didn't have to lose some "immaterial spirit"; he lost RIGHTEOUSNESS and FELLOWSHIP WITH A RIGHTEOUS GOD!

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

But enough about my thoughts and opinions... I would ask if you would not mind sharing your thoughts on this very interesting topic -

What was breathed into Adam,

Air.

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

Why did God use this method of creation in Adam but not any other creature,

Who says He didn't? God didn't say that! That's what MEN, who claim to be "THEOLOGIANS," (oooh!),  have said! Who died and made THEM boss?! "Let GOD be true and EVERY MAN a liar!"

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

What does it mean to be made "in His image",

It means that the Man was made to "have dominion" over the rest of God's Creation, JUST LIKE GOD HAS!

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

What was lost after sin that must have changed us from being "in His image",

The Man's RIGHTEOUSNESS was lost, and so was His FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD!

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

What are we needing to restore?

FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD!

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

What is God trying to restore in us?

He's trying (and succeeding) to restore His FELLOWSHIP with human beings!

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

How can we tell if His Plan of Salvation / Restoration has been successful?

It's simple. Can God call us His RIGHTEOUSNESS? Have we been called "JUSTIFIED BY GOD?" Have we been RECONCILED with God?

20 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

Just a few questions that will cause even more questions depending on the answers... 

Look forward to hearing from you... Charlie

I really and truly hope this helps you, my brother. None of this should be new to you.