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Humans: Disembodied Spirit or An Animal?

Which is most plausible?

  • Total voters
    34
gnomon

gnomon

Well-Known Member
SoliDeoGloria said:
While I won't debate over what exactly is "the soul", One of the most telling proofs of it's existence in my opinion is the legal system. From Hank Hanengraaff's book "Resurrection":
"from a legal prospective, if human beings were merely material, they could not be held accountable this year for a crime committed last year, simply because physical identity changes over time. We are not the same people today that we were yesterday. Everyday we lose multiplied millions of microscopic particles-in fact, every seven years, virtually every part of our material anatomy changes, apart from aspects of our neurological system. Therefore, from a purely material perspective, 'the self who did the crime in the past is not literally the same self who is present at the time of punishment'"(Habermas and Moreland, "Buyond Death", 49)

If this is indeed true, does the justice system practice a religious belief?

Sincerely,
SoliDeoGloria
Click to expand...

By that reasoning than I am not the same person I was a second ago, which is absolutely meaningless. I still hold the memories of years past and despite the virtual changing of our anatomy every seven years the exact same spots on my body which exhibit vitiligo still exhibit vitiligo. My fingerprints are the same, my hair, same mental disorders. Apparently, this seven year cycle does absolutlety nothing to change the human being.

Therefore, I must conclude Hank's argument is irrelevant towards defining the self, the legal system is not a religion and human beings always have been and will remain...animals without a soul.
 
croak

croak

Trickster
I said All living things have souls. Then again... how about atoms? Maybe I should have chosen all things. Yeah.

Oh, and the part about atoms: well, nearly everything is made of atoms, and they have electrons that move and stuff.... I don't know. I'm hovering between all living things and all things.
 
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