Question on the nature of the soul?

you are speaking within the idea of dualism- that the soul is just an inhabitant of a body. (people who believe in reincarnation believe in dualism)

the soul is not a consciousness living in a material form, but rather, the soul and body are one unit, and the definition of human.

i don't think i quite understand what you are trying to say, but i will do my best.

souls are the same, in that they all have the same kind of nature. human nature. but each and every one is different, because they are different beings and separate people. (like how different breeds of dogs are all dogs, even though their colors and sizes vary)

we are each an individual instance of human nature, disassociated by the boundaries of reality (material).

everyone is indeed responsible for their own destiny, and who he/she is as a person affects the courses of action that he/she takes, which in turn gradually affects who he/she becomes and how he/she changes as a person.

no one is "born into a human who will eventually murder." some people might be born into situations that make the opportunities for murder more numerous and probable, but we always have a choice.

YOU are born as YOURSELF and you position in the world might affect what your choices are, but they don't change who YOU are, or force those decisions on you.

you don't know for sure if any other soul would have done it had they been born into your position. (and you probably never will know)

so- people are significantly different, and shape their own futures.

In my belief, we can not be judged. We do enough of that in life that we should not have to worry about our souls being judged after death. when we die we have but two choices, to either go forward into an afterlife of our choosing that we have created while in our living bodies, the choices we have made map it out or we can reincarnate into another soul here and hope for a chance to rectify any mistakes we feel we may have made.

Our souls are made equal at birth, no knowledge that can change or make us any more or less better than the next soul. We are what we are. It is just that simple. My answer may not be what you were aiming for but I hope that you gleaned some answer from it. Thank you.

The best thing we can do is to set a good example by calming our own egos and bringing our own world into balance. Real positive change always starts with the self instead of telling others what to do. I find that a low-impact lifestyle with lots of exercise, simple healthy food, work that I enjoy, meditation, nature and plenty of arts make for a nice mix. There are many spiritual and religious practices that can help with attaining the right state of mind to begin the process. I believe that taming ones ego without destroying it is an important first step. When one can look beyond one's self and have true compassion for others from a standpoint of self-confidence then the rest of the elements seem to just fall into place. However, it seems like the more I calm myself the more I find that I don't fit in with the rest of the fast-paced low self-esteem world. That part I haven't figured out yet.

Whether or not a soul makes "sense" to you is completely subjective, you can't find reason or rationality within irrational beliefs.

If you believe everyone shares identical souls thats fine but it doesn't make more or less sense than the the idea that there could be a social hierarchy of souldom out there. Why? Because there's no evidence for either theory, your placing your own subjective values, ideas and customs on a supernatural identity.

4. Soul. The soul of man is an experiential acquirement. As a mortal creature chooses to "do the will of the Father in heaven," so the indwelling spirit becomes the father of a new reality in human experience. The mortal and material mind is the mother of this same emerging reality.

But we know that there dwells within the human mind a fragment of God, and that there sojourns with the human soul the Spirit of Truth; and we further know that these spirit forces conspire to enable material man to grasp the reality of spiritual values and to comprehend the philosophy of universe meanings. But even more certainly we know that these spirits of the Divine Presence are able to assist man in the spiritual appropriation of all truth contributory to the enhancement of the ever-progressing reality of personal religious experience--God-consciousness.

Interesting. You're talking about free will.

I think I read somewhere that all our actions could be summed up by environment and genetics. We are born with certain temperaments and then they interact with our surroundings, i.e. parents, family, friends, etc. which shape how we act. Nothing more.

So I guess I would have to say that, along your line of thinking, souls aren't born equal. I think a Christian friend of mine once said that we all have our crosses to bear, and I guess that some people's are bigger than others.

Is it fair? No. It's life.

We are not just souls, but we are triune in being. We have a mind, body and soul or spirit. If we look at a light bulb as an example, the glass and metal is our body. The light given off is our mind, but where the spirit is plugged in is to what that value that light is. Anyone can look at our light and see where our spirit is plugged in. If we are doing Good, then into God. If Evil, then into Satan.

All choices and desires are because of the choices we make and hold dear. If we have decided to be a disciple of Christ, in other words to hold to the discipline of Christ, then we have washed away our sins in baptism, and are plugged into the Spirit of God and it will show in our life. It does not matter your circumstance, but who you are. God is not fair as one person is prettier or smarter or richer, but we are only responsible for what we have been given, but we are responsible for taking all we are captive for Christ.

First, for clarity, what you call a "soul" I would normally call a "spirit", but since it is your question I will use your definition and use the term "soul". Option 3, the soul is free of physical laws; and therefore, it is the only part capable of free will choices. Depending on the choice made will differentiate the soul. For example, in Christianity a person accepts or rejects salvation through Jesus Christ with their soul. However, in Christianity we are all born with a dead soul which means we cannot make free will choices, but will act according to the flesh making your option 2 seem correct. However, according to Christianity, if we agree with God that our works are evil and trust only in Christ for salvation then God will exchange our evil works for His good works. Then God judges Christ according to our works and us by Christ's works. However, if a soul chooses to reject salvation through Christ, by default they are trusting in their own works. Because they have chosen to trust in their own works, God honors their free will choice and judges them according to their works. The bottom line is God will only judge us according to our works if we choose to trust in them and whether we choose to trust in them is based on the choice made by our soul. This choice enables one soul to be different from another. In case you're wondering, since the soul begins as dead, God must first quicken it so that it can choose or reject Him; this is what the Bible means when it says no one comes to the Son unless the Father draws him.

everyone makes choices in life. It is a natural inclination of the mind to know the difference between right and wrong.

Everyone born into this world will live forever.When a sinner dies ,his soul goes immediately to hell.But when a child of God dies ,his soul goes immediately to heaven ...Jesus told the thief on the cross;"Today shalt thou be with me in paradise"(luke23;43) At the time of resurrection ,men's souls will join their physical bodies to stand before the jugdgment seat of God.