My idea about choosing is standard religion and standard philosophy since forever.
And how would you determine which religion or philosophy is standard and which is not.
Religion change over time. And different people will change their religion to suit their culture or other social background.
New philosophy always keep popping up, taking new direction of how one think.
Because of these changes, saying that a person should follow a "standard", is no easy task, and because the way people think and feel, there is no reliable yardstick to measure or compare it to standard.
Take Islam today, for example, has changed. Some Muslims are peaceful, while others aren't. They both cite the Qur'an, and yet they have different interpretations. Attempting to use the Qur'an as a "standard" for how one live one's life, have proven that the Qur'an is a failure as a "standard".
This is because many of the verses aren't as clear-cut, as most Muslims think, and this cause different interpretations, as well as tensions or hostilities among themselves. Some would interpret some specific verses as literal, while others wouldn't take them so literally.
What I am trying to say, is this what some people might call standard is nothing more than illusions or mirages. The apparent "standard" is not standard at all, can be seen how Muslims have split into numbers of different sects, factions and schools of thoughts.
It is the same among Christians, and they have split in far greater varieties of different sects and offshoot, because their interpretations of their gospels or the whole NT, have changed.
The very idea that you think or believe that there is standard in religion or in philosophy, is nothing more than your ignorance and delusions.
If it is not standard then you must point to a religion which 1 does not accept the soul chooses 2. Does not regard the existence of the soul as a matter of opinion.
For example if you find religion in which the existence of the soul is regarded as a matter of fact, then that would disprove the assertion that the idea about choosing same as mine is pretty much universally accepted in religion.
For example there is religion in which the weight of the soul is measured to be 21 grams. That denies the existence of the soul is a matter of opinion, because it can be measured. But such beliefs are exception and generally not accepted in official doctrines.
Even in ancient Egypt they broadly followed the concept of the soul, which soul is judged. It is very universal.
You got to be kidding.
Many religions and spiritualities believe in the "soul", and they all have different take "soul" and what a "soul" is or isn't, so they don't agree with one other.
The Abrahamic religions weren't the first to believe in souls, and they don't agree with one another about the soul, because none of the scriptures (whether it be Tanakh, Bible or Qur'an) or clearly define what the soul is. So how can any of the 3 religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) be consider "standard"?
And you have mentioned ancient Egyptian religion. Good. But even there, the Egyptians don't always agree among themselves, because they don't all teach the same things, because different cities have different pantheon of deities. The Egyptians called these soul - "
ba". There were other spirit components, like "
ka" and "
ankh", relating to man. Ka is similar to the soul, Ba; where ba only exist in the man, while he is alive, the Ka remain in the dead body, while the ankh is the released spirit, that will go to the afterlife - the Field of Reeds.
The Egyptian religion is one among a few very early organised religion that do teach or believe about soul/spirit and about the afterlife. Egyptian religions certainly predate all abrahamic religions, but they weren't first.
And further east, like India and China, they have developed independently religions about gods, spirits/soul and afterlife. Are Hinduism and Taoism have their own sets of belief about the soul, but would you call either one to be "standard". I don't think you would, considering you're a Muslim. And there is Buddhism, which believe in soul and spirits, and yet they don't all believe in the existence of deity or deities.
But older than all these religions, in at least Neolithic period, and perhaps even in the upper Palaeolithic period, were animism and shamanism. They believe in spirits existing in all matters, not just in humans, in animals, in plants, waters (springs, rivers, lake, and even in rain), the sun and moon, etc.
There are no scriptures there in animism, and no dogma and creed, but their belief in soul and spirits, are without a doubt, exist during those time, but would you consider them "standard"?
And btw, the whole 21 grams of soul, is nothing more than speculation is laughable. Where on earth did you get this absurd idea that the soul can be measure in grams?
