Fun Fact: Some Jewish traditions have developed the notion that God gives you your soul (spark/breath of life) at/near birth. Therefore, your soul already pre-existed your physical body. Additionally, when you sleep, your soul goes back to God for the night, and then when you wake up, your soul is given back to you, and that's why you thank God for "giving me back my soul in mercy" right when you wake up.
There are similar-ish conceptions of this in other religoins like Hinduism where everyone has an Atman - a divine spark - that reincarnates with the goal of getting off the cycle/wheel of life (samsara) and merging with the Brahman - the transcendent divinity within the world.
2 years ago
@krixano, thanks, you made my day. Seems you know little about religion.. 路 2 years ago
The concept of soul or spirit is an interesting one. I feel a lot of modern people attach a lot of connotations to it that may not always have existed. When some older writers talk about it, they refer to it as the principle that makes something not dead, and may attribute soul to any animate matter, including things like running water. Doesn't necessarily connote consciousness in the way we may assume today. More almost like the forces of nature. 路 2 years ago
Another Fun Fact: 1000-2000 years ago when this Jewish tradition started, modern medicine hadn't been invented yet, so it was not a guarantee that you would always wake up in the morning. People died frequently in their sleep. 路 2 years ago
@bavarianbarbarian Ironic considering the Catholic church started the hospital system, and that a great number of the science genius' were religious, let alone Jewish (including Albert Einstein).
Don't feel the need to broadcast all of your superficial thoughts, especially since you know very little about philosophy and the history of religions (or history in general). 路 2 years ago
ow, the edge 路 2 years ago
Well, adults believing this stuff should see a doctor, nowadays there's some medical aid for that kind of brain disfunction. 路 2 years ago