Anthony H Miller
Member
This debate will be between Anthony H Miller and Harel13.
Before getting started I would like to establish several things we should mutually agree on.
1: We worship the same God; The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel.
2: We agree that man is comprised of a body, a soul, a mind and a spirit. To define the soul is difficult but this is the best I can do.
As I found no clear definition in the Hebrew scriptures I sourced a Rabbinic view from the Palestinian Talmud (J.T., Kil. 8.4,31c).
This definition is very close to mine, it reads; "The Palestinian Talmud attributes the origin of different portions of the physical body to human parents, while the spirit, life, and soul are attributed to God. This admits a greater duality than is acknowledged in the Hebrew Bible, but the soul is regarded as the active element, and so is responsible for sin, while the body is only a vehicle.
My definition is from the Christian New Testament where Paul refers to the mortal or flesh body as a vessel or a container, implying an understanding that the soul of man resides there; (the inner man). To bring more clarity I break things down into simple terms that all might understand.
If man has been created in the image of God then it is reasonable to assume that man and God should be doing things in a similar manner. For example; If a man wants to contain something from nature like water, berries, gasoline, oil etc, then the first thing he does is he finds or constructs a container. If I consider a container of say; a cup of coffee, a glass of water or anything. My initial consideration is not so much the container but rather the substance contained therein. The container is necessary but I want to know; is the coffee good? Is the water good? Is the milk good? etc etc.
Every substance man desires to contain must be contained in a suitable container. A gasoline can is not a suitable container for propane gas, a paper bag is a suitable container for your groceries but not for a gallon of water etc etc. All these containers that man devises come from the elements of the earth; every one!
We can observe God doing the same thing when He forms man. Visualize Adam lying there, an empty container of flesh; (he even has nostrils). Then God places mans soul into this vessel which He has constructed from the elements of the earth, and man becomes a living soul.
3: It is understood that arguments will be taken from the Hebrew Bible to include not only the Pentateuch but all the prophets and those books listed in the Christian King James version of scripture, ie from Genesis to Malachi. And the Christian new testament from Matthew to Revelation.
Anthony (Tony)
Before getting started I would like to establish several things we should mutually agree on.
1: We worship the same God; The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel.
2: We agree that man is comprised of a body, a soul, a mind and a spirit. To define the soul is difficult but this is the best I can do.
As I found no clear definition in the Hebrew scriptures I sourced a Rabbinic view from the Palestinian Talmud (J.T., Kil. 8.4,31c).
This definition is very close to mine, it reads; "The Palestinian Talmud attributes the origin of different portions of the physical body to human parents, while the spirit, life, and soul are attributed to God. This admits a greater duality than is acknowledged in the Hebrew Bible, but the soul is regarded as the active element, and so is responsible for sin, while the body is only a vehicle.
My definition is from the Christian New Testament where Paul refers to the mortal or flesh body as a vessel or a container, implying an understanding that the soul of man resides there; (the inner man). To bring more clarity I break things down into simple terms that all might understand.
If man has been created in the image of God then it is reasonable to assume that man and God should be doing things in a similar manner. For example; If a man wants to contain something from nature like water, berries, gasoline, oil etc, then the first thing he does is he finds or constructs a container. If I consider a container of say; a cup of coffee, a glass of water or anything. My initial consideration is not so much the container but rather the substance contained therein. The container is necessary but I want to know; is the coffee good? Is the water good? Is the milk good? etc etc.
Every substance man desires to contain must be contained in a suitable container. A gasoline can is not a suitable container for propane gas, a paper bag is a suitable container for your groceries but not for a gallon of water etc etc. All these containers that man devises come from the elements of the earth; every one!
We can observe God doing the same thing when He forms man. Visualize Adam lying there, an empty container of flesh; (he even has nostrils). Then God places mans soul into this vessel which He has constructed from the elements of the earth, and man becomes a living soul.
3: It is understood that arguments will be taken from the Hebrew Bible to include not only the Pentateuch but all the prophets and those books listed in the Christian King James version of scripture, ie from Genesis to Malachi. And the Christian new testament from Matthew to Revelation.
Anthony (Tony)