Subject: did we exist before being borne on earth |
Bible Note: Hi, Jasper... We can speak with no greater certainty than that which is revealed in Scripture. Logic would dictate, though, that there is a point in time when a person is granted a soul -- what used to be called ensoulment. Although the question predates Christianity, in the Middle Ages they thought that all the souls had been created (waiting in some kind of soul vault) ready to be popped into an available body. However, there were varying views as to when the "popping" might take place. I have even read that some people thought it varied based on gender. The moment of conception might well be a logical point at which ensoulment begins. Nonetheless, I suppose one might even argue that it followed the seed, rendering the possibilty that it occured prior to conception. To all such points of view I cannot but shrug. The trouble is that all of those fabled perspectives tend to have non-Biblical roots. I even suspect that the idea of humans being tripartate is extra-Biblical. That doesn't mean that it is necessarily wrong. Who knows for certain, for the Scripture does not explicitly address the issue. That is why I said I leaned toward the Traducian perspective. It just seems to make a bit more sense in light of what the Bible does tell us. But notice the words "leaned" and "seems"... I carefully use those words, lest I imply any greater certainty than that which I am granted by the Word. In Him, Doc |