Soul
Soul when looked at from various aspects such as spiritual and psychological and philosophical, it’s seen as the incarnate aspect of human beings, meaning, without the nature of a body such as the flesh and blood. Most of the spiritual, psychological and philosophical doctrines attribute the soul to human beings alone while others attribute it even to the other living things and the inanimate things too.
In many religions including Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Bahai-Faith there is a unanimous belief in immortality of soul. The Bahai-Faith affirms that soul is a rational and invisible quality that signifies God and that the soul shall continues to live even after the physical death of the body because it is very distinct from the body and the mind. Baha’i Faith affirms that heaven is the nearness to God while hell the remoteness from God. The faith’s teachings affirm that the soul retains its consciousness and uniqueness after death and can associate with the others. Christians base their doctrine about the soul on the scriptures of both. The old and new testaments Christianity says that the soul is well welded together with the body though very distinct from the body and plays a vital role in the spiritual, philosophical, and moral aspects of people.
While most Christians believe in existence of soul through, some Christians believe in mortality of the soul that is seen during the death of the body but finally arises again after the resurrection. In the end, God conducts the judgment in which he sends to hell the souls of those who lived sinful lives and sends to heaven the souls of those who lived virtuous lives. Some Christians believe that the people who will be having unrighteous souls, their souls will be destroyed rather than living forever in hell. This is sometimes referred to as annihilationism In heaven, it is believed to be full of bliss while in hell it is the exact opposite: full of sadness (Green 90). Some believers say that soul is passed from parents to children thus giving the meaning that soul is as early as man is.
Other believers say that there is already created before conception, unleashed, and placed by God at conception. There are other believers who believe that the soul is created by God that the soul is created by during the making of an individual body (Wenham 74).Other people don’t believe in the existence of soul whether mortal or immortal such as some of the world’s renowned scientists. During death, some people believe, there is always the death flash. The death flash is a flash of radiation-like emissions from the dying body which signifies the escape of the soul.
A person has the mind that reflects the soul that means a person can show a clean soul or God will judge a dirty soul of which after resurrection. The mind is also called the conscience that helps one to differentiate between wrong and right. Some people tend to forget the soul because it is not visible to their eyes. Therefore, a person should be very careful the way they conduct themselves as they live. It is a part of a whole individual without which a human being is not complete and it is not composed of parts like the living and nonliving things and hence it cannot end. Souls have the “free will” which allows them to choose what to do.
Deity being an immortal supernatural being ascertains why human souls have purpose and are perceived to be having firm characters and a personality. The deities rewards or punishes the soul in the final end of human existence as they give the law that is meant to govern human beings on earth and they live out of human reach. Deities make themselves known to human beings through their effects and rarely can they reveal themselves. Many times humans view the deities as beings that serve them but feel an obligation towards them. The presence of deity brings about theisms that include mono theism, polytheism, pantheism and pane theism among others through which people acknowledge the existence of deities.
Since very long ago, humans have always conducted rituals such as pouring of libation, offering sacrifices in shrines, conducting prayers so as to cleans one of their sins, conducting of funerals which all shows their belief in life after death and existence of deities. Believing in existence of deities and soul ultimately means the fear of God’s wrath. Beliefs about deity has several aspects which include, having no conclusion about the existence of God, belief that all objects whether living or non-living have the soul, belief in one Supreme God, many gods and goddesses who have been given jurisdictions over multiple territories by a single supreme God. Other people believe in God as a composition of male and female deities. People worship deities through different ways such as praying, chanting and singing during which a variety of body postures can be assumed.
Prayers can be conducted in private or corporately. A religion might teach the belief in a single God, and a large number of minor deities, saints, or heroes. Such a religion might be considered a monotheistic religion in theory but a polytheistic in practice. Hinduism and Sikhism among others believe in soul re-incarnation which means regaining flesh. It assures the existence of lives thus giving a new chance to attain liberation. It also explains the existence of so many different people such as the poor and the rich, the handicapped and the healthy among others.
Thus, God constantly rewards and punishes the good and evil equally.