The God Fuse

[jack_ryder]

10 Things that both Christians and Atheists agree on

(for nyssa_p  and robinpen  )

(I think, while it's a pretty good list, he badly mischaracterises atheism - which he's taken to task for in the comments.)

Comments

[capnoblivious.livejournal.com]

How does the three souls thing work? I've not come across that idea in a Jewish context before.

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

The quick explanation is that one soul goes immediately to wehrerever, one hangs around old haunts for a week (or a month, depends on which period of mourning you are following) and one stays with the body after death. I first heard it as an explanation of reincarnation, but it's wider than that. It is, however, by no means universal, even if one of my favourite Medieval sages described it (I can't remember if it was Rashi or Maimonides, sorry, and I can't remember which soul was named what). It's why I took longer to understand the Pullman novels than most people because I thought "Exterior part-soul - what a cool derivation from the Jewish diea."

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

The Ancient Egyptains believed the soul had five parts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_soul

[capnoblivious.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Taoism has two - the good bit that goes all trancendental and the bad bit that sticks with the body.

Unless, you know, White Wolf has lied to me.

[capnoblivious.livejournal.com]

But ... all three souls are essentially the same person?

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

Yes. Or of the same person. This si where LJ is not a good place to explain - and I am no theologian so my explanations are not going to be useful.

[capnoblivious.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to put you in the position of religious authority.