Soul

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

A living soul is that animation force in which the body moves and is directed to act in response to observation, understanding, reasoning, and desire. All living animals have a soul if they have a developed central nervous system. We can observe that in the actions of animals, and prolonged observation which bring about understanding to their particular nature, design and capability.

Animals can be singular in action, loners who have the highest level of selfish interests. Others can and do take on a communal personality, finding survival is served best in cooperative efforts. These animals have a form of communication which is not always understood by speech, but by posture, and actions. Some species develop complex communication skills which we can observe but only have an observers understanding.

Still other pack animals seem to be able to find a roll within the unit to serve the pack and seem to silently move in unison with the whole without any communication, as if they have a knowing which we have a hard time understanding.

Man however has developed the most complex soul functions. The mind of man, a function of the physical body, has developed the highest degree of complexity in observation and reasoning skills. The soul of man makes one distinction above that of animal and that is awareness of things greater than self-awareness. We seek our creator.

Now the soul is physically tied to the body in design. Without the living brain, the soul has no connection to the body. The soul is subject to the workings of the body, is aware of the bodies needs and desires, which are natural and without flaw. How the soul chooses to satisfy those needs and desires is however not determined by design intent but rather by selfish interests of the soul in reason and interests.

The body needs fuel but a steady diet of ice cream is not by design but rather selfish desire.

3 thoughts on “Soul”

  1. How about Rocky Road? Just wanted to add to the variety.
    Larry, you have given the best definition of soul I have ever heard. We have been created in the image of our triune God. We have body, soul and spirit. I was raised on a farm and have often used experience with a cow as an example of creation.
    Grass is eaten by a cow. The grass has body, but no soul or spirit. The cow eats the grass, it has body and soul, but not the spirit (the spirit that answers to God breathed spirit). After the cow eats the grass, she gets down on her knees to lie down. This is just nature at work. But the God answering spirit within ME translates this to me that, as she kneels down, she is giving thanks for her meal. Also as she chews her cud I’m reminded of the importance of meditation on the Word of God, which is my daily food.
    Thanks for your great post. Oh yeah, I love ice cream as well, and you can probably guess it has to have chocolate in it.

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