Do spirit creatures have souls?

skin

Do spirit creatures have souls? Do JWs believe that spirit creatures (angels, cherubs, Jehovah etc) have - are souls?

Taking the Biblical definition of "God is a Spirit", then there's reason to initially say "no". The Westminster Confession of Faith states that Christ "took to himself a true body and a reasonable soul", implying that he had no soul or body when pre-incarnate.

That would support a doctrine which some believe they find in scripture, regarding the Tri-part man.

But I guess it depends how much you tie up in the aspect of "soul", esoterically. It it the home of our personality, or is that lodged in our physical brain? In either case, would it then be requred for "God" to have a personality? Does God require to have a personality? Certainly not in every belief system.

What about if you take the question from the angle of the Trinity? Since Jesus is said to have taken a soul, then surely at least one person of the godhead now has a soul.

Further, are you limiting "spirit creatures" to God and angels? If so, what about the ascended human host, that is spoken of? It's acknowledged that they retain souls, while out-of-the-body.

From the JW perspective a soul is a "breather" in the sense of having lungs, but I personally find that a rather animal-centred definition. We now know that every living thing breathes somehow. We also know that God is alleged to have breathed into Adam - so does that make God a soul?

It's one of those questions that have been argued theologically and philosophically for millenia. However my simple opinion would be "yes". God is spirit and soul, but they are two distinct functions.

unclebruce

What about if you take the question from the angle of the Trinity? Since Jesus is said to have taken a soul, then surely at least one person of the godhead now has a soul.

Interesting post Littletoe, I wonder what other human traits the godhead aquired that way? We humans are a virus of far reaching potential.

G'day skin, I've had several moslems explain their beliefs to me and one is that the Angels have no soul but are more akin to robots with no independant reasoning power. I only have vauge memories of the JW view but remmember my ex discussing similarities in Arab and Watchtower belief on this.

unclebruce

Shazard

Does the lenght of the square has widht?

gaiagirl

I would say that "soul" and "spirit" are essentially the same thing, in this case think of them as being like a radio wave which has no physical expression unless there is a body (radio receiver) for it to act upon. The same wave is reproduced or expressed differently in different receivers, according to how they are built.

slugga

I've had several moslems explain their beliefs to me and one is that the Angels have no soul but are more akin to robots with no independent reasoning power.

But Satan and the fallen Angels, possessed independent seasoning because they were able to reason that they could do without Jehovah in charge.

LittleToe

UB:

Interesting post Littletoe, I wonder what other human traits the godhead aquired that way? We humans are a virus of far reaching potential.

A comparison of the OT God with the NT God might be revealing on that score

VM44

But do Angels breath?

The Bible (or JW) concept of "spirit" is that the "breath of life" (spirit) in living creatures is maintained through "breathing",

So do angels have "the breath of life"?

The answer that some might give is that the angels have to maintain their spirit bodies in some way not known to us. But this really is not an answer (or rather an answer of ignorance), and hence does not satisfy our inquiry.

--VM44

Star Moore

It seems like in this scripture Jehovah is speaking and commenting his "soul"...Not positive though

Ez. 23:18 "And she went on uncovering her acts of prostitution and uncovering her nakedness, so that my SOUL turned away disgusted from company with her, just as my SOUL had turned away disgusted from company with her sister."

skyman

Never thought about this before. Good questions, just my thought I would think the soul is a human characteristic but I don't know have to think about it.

Do spirit creatures have souls?

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