(September 11, 2015 at 1:51 am)robvalue Wrote: "Soul", as generally used, is an incredibly poorly defined concept. If some sort of essence does exist independent of our physical bodies, then I don't see what this has to do with "God" (another even more vaguely defined concept). Sure, a god could make beings with souls, if we entertain these fantastical ideas. But there could also just be beings with souls, maybe even including an afterlife, with no god involved.
So yes. An atheist can belief whatever nonsense drivel they want that doesn't involve gods.
Considering this is all hypothetical made-up stuff with no current grounding in reality, the rules are arbitrary as far as I'm concerned.
If instead you're defining soul in a specific way which requires a god, then yes, it requires a god.
You just proved my point: More questioning would create further absurdities. The last point you made is the Plato/Socratic beginning of ancient Greece.
It is all "fantastical ideas" because the burden of proof is on the Theists (and even on the OUTLIER called the social conservative atheist who believe in a "soul" and Plato's creator).
