Question about the brain and the soul...

Sorry to butt in Sandman, as this wasn't directed at me. If I saw physical proof of god, I would certainly believe. I would have to be convinced that it was not a product of my own mind.

So that time when I saw god when I was eighteen can probably be attributed to the psychadellic mushrooms I ate rather than a product of reality.

Personally I have had two or three "curses" put on me in my lifetime.

One was on a trip to Haiti. Needless to say, it had absolutely no effect on me. The reason? I didn't believe it would have any effect on me. The natives however, do have physical reaction to "curses". They can break out in hives, become "possessed", or other physical outlashes. This is because they do believe.

Now consider this same dynamic with your belief. Is it impossible that the feeling in your chest (you know the one) the "power of god" washing over you. It's blissful isn't it? It makes you feel good. Are you 100% convinced that it could no way, no how be a product of you mind based on your belief? I, for one, am not.

Hi Questionist

It does sound a bit preposterous from a logical point of view; I’ll give you that.
No you can’t throw your arms around him, but He does speak, He does talk, albeit many times I question people who say they ask God things like “should I have macaroni or peanut butter & jelly for lunch today”. God has given us common sense to make decisions, He has given us His Word, which lays out our lifestyle, and all things that pertain to life and Godliness.

I always take a step back when people start spouting out that “God told me this” and “God told me that” and I run the other way when those people tell me “God told me to tell you” God will always tell you first ……..not others.
But yes, I can love a Father I never saw because he first loved me.

It’s not a feeling, it’s a way of life ………..to many people go by feelings …hell I can get a good feeling drinking tequila. God doesn’t promise us that were going to feel good, only joy, which is an inside job. Feeling good is a decision of the mind in any situation, it’s an attitude of the heart. Not to say that that at times people can’t feel all warm and fuzzy all over in their walks with God, but it’s no guarantee.

God does know you inside and out and he knows what it will take to reach you. I am assuming by your answer that I have your permission to set this in motion ….if not let me know. What I will guarantee is that at some time, I don’t know exactly when, it could be tomorrow or a year from now God will make manifest the spiritual realm to you.

I know this may seem quite pretentious of me but “God told me to tell you” …..just kidding ……...my prayers are always answered.
The time frame is not up to me, but you will know when it happens. It may not be cataclysmic, it may be simple and subtle, but in your heart and mind you will know.

I won’t discount that theory in relationship to the entire Christian community but…………. lets think about that based on the entire community. You would almost be saying that everybody {Christian} who gets that feeling, would in theory, have developed that in their mind …..that doesn’t make much sense based on the millions of Christians. I think if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it must be the power of God (I’ll bet that’s a saying not to many people use)

The first time I spoke in tongues I never had heard of it, or ever heard it done. I was reading a book “Power in Praise” that said you could do it, so I did it. It did not tell me what it was, or what it sounded like, so I had no prior information to corrupt or sway me in any direction, or to give me any inkling that it was a “product of my mind”

Fell off a 200’ cliff and landed on my feet as soft as if I were taking a step.

Coming up over a hill in the middle of winter and meeting a V snow plow and driving right through it ….and guess what, the snow plow drive became a believer, as did my brother who was behind me.

Ministering to my daughter who had a compound fracture on her hand and watching the bones go back and the skin heal up {that was after I threw up, man it was gross}

Being shot with a double barrel 12 gage from 10 feet away and having the outline pattern of my body on the garage door …. never getting hit. A week later the guy who shot at me came back, and became a believer.

I always thought that our personal preferences and personality were from the soul. Now I am really struggling. I thought the soul makes us who we are, but if a brain injury can change our personality and preferences what does that mean for the soul? Do we not have one? I am very distressed about this concept. I hate to think we are nothing but our brains and bodies.

Can someone help me with this question?

Thanks!
Angela

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength."

Since the Bible differentiates them, let's examne what each really means:

1. Heart - feelings, emotions, the thing inside of you which causes you to cry, to sing, and to persevere through trials and tribulations.

2. Mind - what you think with, your rational being.

3. Soul - that part of you which is saved or lost depending upon the status of your salvation.

4. Strength - your body (muscles, tissue, bones, etc.)

Obviously, the heart and the mind both stem from the brain - but not the same brain. It's your forebrain which does all the rational thinking, and your mid-brain in which you experience most of your emotions (heart). The lower brain simply controls bodily functions, including higher-level reflexes.

That leaves the soul, the part of you that God knew even before you were formed in the womb. That's the part of you that will never change.

The heart waxes and wanes - even the Bible considers it fleeting, just as it considers it a wellspring of life. Great potential as a resource, but not much in the way of direction.

The mind provides the direction, sort of tempers the heart, so to speak.

The body can become stronger, or weaker, eventually the latter, before, in the end, failing entirely.

So your friend with the TBI probably had her mind damaged, as the heart, being of the mid-brain, isn't nearly as easily damaged. And, as with all damage, there is change.

But we all change, mostly through life's experiences. Her change was simply a bit greater, perhaps, and more abrupt. But it's still her, her heart, on the inside, from which she finds the wellspring of her life.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength."

Since the Bible differentiates them, let's examne what each really means:

1. Heart - feelings, emotions, the thing inside of you which causes you to cry, to sing, and to persevere through trials and tribulations.

2. Mind - what you think with, your rational being.

3. Soul - that part of you which is saved or lost depending upon the status of your salvation.

4. Strength - your body (muscles, tissue, bones, etc.)

Obviously, the heart and the mind both stem from the brain - but not the same brain. It's your forebrain which does all the rational thinking, and your mid-brain in which you experience most of your emotions (heart). The lower brain simply controls bodily functions, including higher-level reflexes.

That leaves the soul, the part of you that God knew even before you were formed in the womb. That's the part of you that will never change.

The heart waxes and wanes - even the Bible considers it fleeting, just as it considers it a wellspring of life. Great potential as a resource, but not much in the way of direction.

The mind provides the direction, sort of tempers the heart, so to speak.

The body can become stronger, or weaker, eventually the latter, before, in the end, failing entirely.

So your friend with the TBI probably had her mind damaged, as the heart, being of the mid-brain, isn't nearly as easily damaged. And, as with all damage, there is change.

But we all change, mostly through life's experiences. Her change was simply a bit greater, perhaps, and more abrupt. But it's still her, her heart, on the inside, from which she finds the wellspring of her life.

Sorry, but the above definitions are in adequate.

Firstly, biblically speaking, we are not made up of 'parts' but we are a unity with 'soul', 'spirit', 'body', 'flesh', 'mind' etc being aspects of a whole person.

Your definition of 'soul' is not in keeping with scripture.

Lets look at these verses:

Genesis 2:7 ... and man became a living soul..

That means the whole person

Deuteronomy 12:23 .. for the life (soul) is in the blood.

(Fundamentally defines soul as life)

Numbers 23:10 let my soul die the death of the righteous, let my end be like theirs!

There is no immortal or eternal quality about the word soul (Hebrew Nephesh) anywhere in the bible.

I could post a lot more!