It's May 16, 2024, 09:20:03 AM
So you believe that when you die your soul goes to heaven (or hell). And your soul is supposed to be your identity right? All your memories, personality, and everything. So my question to you is, which version of your soul is the one that goes to heaven. We change every day. We get new memories, experience new things. We see people die and all these terrible things happen, we lose our innocence. We go through relationships, experience love and loss, success and failure and all of this changes us. We are a completely different person from the one we were five years ago, or even five days ago. So which "soul" is it that goes to heaven, according to your beliefs.
So if you only take your good memories, won't that change who you are? How can someone exist with only their good memories? The bad memories are a part of who we are, and they have helped us to become better people. Lets say someone got caught shoplifting at age 13. That experience taught them that crime is wrong. For someone experiencing the death of a loved one for the first time, it shows them how it feels to lose someone and to treasure what they have. Someone who does the wrong thing feels guilt, and this in turn convinces them that they should be doing the right thing. Like the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Simply put, if we don't know what the bad things are, we won't know that they are bad and to avoid them. Taking away bad actions and experiences is a step backwards towards ignorance, not a step towards enlightenment.
Quote from: rapsodie on June 06, 2009, 09:58:47 PMSo if you only take your good memories, won't that change who you are? How can someone exist with only their good memories? The bad memories are a part of who we are, and they have helped us to become better people. Lets say someone got caught shoplifting at age 13. That experience taught them that crime is wrong. For someone experiencing the death of a loved one for the first time, it shows them how it feels to lose someone and to treasure what they have. Someone who does the wrong thing feels guilt, and this in turn convinces them that they should be doing the right thing. Like the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Simply put, if we don't know what the bad things are, we won't know that they are bad and to avoid them. Taking away bad actions and experiences is a step backwards towards ignorance, not a step towards enlightenment.Who said anything about losing your bad memories. I have no idea what a soul consists of or what heaven is like. I was just telling you how I live (or attempt to live). You're trying to break it down logically or figure it out logically.However, logically you do not have to experience every thing you consider immoral to understand why it is wrong. I've never been raped or raped anyone else. Does that mean I can never know that rape is wrong?
Quote from: Shallow on June 06, 2009, 10:34:40 PMQuote from: rapsodie on June 06, 2009, 09:58:47 PMSo if you only take your good memories, won't that change who you are? How can someone exist with only their good memories? The bad memories are a part of who we are, and they have helped us to become better people. Lets say someone got caught shoplifting at age 13. That experience taught them that crime is wrong. For someone experiencing the death of a loved one for the first time, it shows them how it feels to lose someone and to treasure what they have. Someone who does the wrong thing feels guilt, and this in turn convinces them that they should be doing the right thing. Like the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Simply put, if we don't know what the bad things are, we won't know that they are bad and to avoid them. Taking away bad actions and experiences is a step backwards towards ignorance, not a step towards enlightenment.Who said anything about losing your bad memories. I have no idea what a soul consists of or what heaven is like. I was just telling you how I live (or attempt to live). You're trying to break it down logically or figure it out logically.However, logically you do not have to experience every thing you consider immoral to understand why it is wrong. I've never been raped or raped anyone else. Does that mean I can never know that rape is wrong?Obviously I was answering the other posters...and no you wouldn't have to experience it yourself firsthand but you would have to understand the concept of it and that would involve feeling empathy for the victim and putting yourself in their position. I guarantee you that someone who has never had a bad experience and had never seen or been told of a bad experience is someone who doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. Its a part of basic learning. Look at how infants and young kids misbehave without any thought of anyone besides themselves...why do you think they do that? Because they don't know any better. Its through being trained by their parents and having to live with the consequences that they learn morals.
We get new memories, experience new things. We see people die and all these terrible things happen, we lose our innocence. We go through relationships, experience love and loss, success and failure and all of this changes us.
My soul is destroyed and rebuilt everyday to some degree. Me losing my father changed who I am. If he were still alive today I'd be a different person. Maybe an easier example is to think about a person who gets in an accident and loses part of their brain. That person is changed completely. Their personality, their feelings and anything else can change. I think of people as blank slates with equal opportunity for good and evil, who's soul becomes what it is based on experiences. Its not just coincidence that people who grow up in fucked up situations are more likely to become fucked up individuals.
When I say soul I mean your identity. Your personality and memories, who you are basically. This is what most people's concept of a soul is so that's what I'm calling it.
What about someone who gets some brain injury and ends up brain dead? Is their soul brain dead as well?