Souls - Why do they need them?

[genkaus]

Power source.

Heaven, hell, purgatory, limbo - all of them are spiritual realms powered with human souls acting as batteries. Earth is the place where those batteries are fully charged. God, or rather gods are the beings who can create new batteries (souls), but in that form they are incomplete and unusable. As humans go through life, living and experiencing, they store up more and more spiritual power which upon their deaths is used to power the spiritual realm. Depending upon their beliefs and actions, they are deemed to be property of a particular agency (religion) and go on to power that particular spiritual realm.

Currently, the Abrahamic faction would have been considered almost a monopoly, but for that fact that it has internally divided itself into multiple factions - all claiming different parts of the spiritual realm. It seems that attempts to diversify by their god lead to creation of multiple gods (Judaic Yahweh, Christian God and the Islamic Allah), each of whom have claimed a separate agency. One of the underlings, Lucifer, decided strike out on his own and the idea of hell being a place of torment is a discrediting propaganda by Yahweh. Apart from that, he also seemed to have a problem his particular rules when first drawn up as they were too strict to provide souls to the scale he required - which was why the rules were later amended by using the "son died for your sins" loophole.

An interesting observation would be the first ever known use of the concept of recycling shown by the Eastern religion where, instead of discarding used souls, they are pumped back into the system for recharging. However, there is a risk here that the soul may achieve enlightenment on one of the trips and become unusable in perpetuity.

Currently, atheism posits the greatest threat to all the agencies, since, not believing in any of them, they cannot be claimed and therefore cannot be used. It is unknown what happens to atheist souls when they die, but currently they represent an unknown, untapped and potentially destructive power-source.

[DeistPaladin]

This is yet another indication that Christianity is man made.

It's hard for me to comprehend actual beings behaving they way that Yahweh and Satan do, their attributed motivations are so murky.

Yahweh is upset with all the sin on the world, so he solves the problem by sending himself to earth as his own son in order to sacrifice himself on a cross because blood sacrifice makes everything better because... because... well, that part's never explained. Anyway, he loves us so much that he's willing to die on a cross for us but can't seem to muster the power to change a rule he made in the first place. He can't forgive unless there is blood sacrifice and then belief in the blood sacrifice. The most important decision we can make that determines our fate on Judgment Day is what we believe (never mind that we can't really make that choice but let that go).

Yahweh doesn't care if we're good or bad people, just that we joined the right religion and practiced it in the right way. Now why the Creator of this universe would care what religion some tiny specs on a pale blue dot held, never mind need their constant validation and adoration, is beyond me. Just listen to the sycophantic groveling at church services and ask why any god would even want that. If I were God, I would not. I'd be more concerned about how people were treating each other and building constructively on the foundation I'd provided. But Yahweh is apparently not so secure. He's like a big, powerful guy who's plagued with low self-esteem on the inside and, more than anything, just needs a hug.

But for all the horrific torture in the afterlife and genocide on this planet, it might be a touching story. Little Yahweh gets bullied on the school grounds by all the rich kids like Zeus, Odin and Ra, who own much more prosperous civilizations and have way cooler names. They beat him up, enslave his people, steal his ambrosia money, etc. One day, while hanging by his underwear from the flagpole, he shakes his fist at the laughing bullies, screaming, "One day, you'll be sorry! My followers will wipe all yours out! I won't have to worry about my name because people will simply call me 'God' because I'll be the only one left!"

And so little Yahweh grows up to first take control of his own business, rising up from being just one god of many in a pantheon of some obscure tribe. Eventually, he takes out his competition to be the only god of the Hebrew people. The rest of the story, everyone knows. He started many other enterprises to diversify, Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, etc. His empire now dominates the planet. He has power and fame, but does he have love? His traumatic past might explain his rageaholic nature and bloodyminded persecution. The bullied has grown up to be a bully and seeks to even the score by bullying others. Power is such a pathetic substitute for love, fear a hollow stand in for respect. This god needs therapy.

Sorry, I digress.

On to Satan, the former punisher and tempter-of-mortals working for Yahweh who's later refitted into the role of dire enemy. The actual history of this character won't bear close examination but fortunately for Christianity, few people go to the trouble. Why does he need souls? Does he get to "win" if he gets enough? And why torment them? Why not organize them into an army to storm the gates of Heaven? Why continue to serve as the former role of punisher of mortals if he's serving the being that's supposed to now be his arch-enemy? And if he can win by acquiring enough souls, why does Yahweh send them to him? Does Yahweh make the rules or not?

Satan's story might make a bit more sense if he was actually leading a rag-tag revolution against a tyrannical Creator god who'd gone mad with power. Maybe he's vilified by the propaganda but don't all tyrants do this with rebel leaders? Maybe Satan's really the good guy, trying to save us from enslavement but all we hear is Yahweh's side of the story?

Sorry, once again I'm rewriting both stories to try to make them more believable. As originally written, neither character makes any sense. It's hard for me to comprehend why gods would behave this way but it's not hard to understand why a church might be motivated to make gods this way. The whole thing is easier to understand when it's understood to be a contrived story to make people go to church and obey church authority.

[Napoléon]

I gave you the best Egyptian recipe. Are you of the oninion that the Egyptians were idiots?
How do you attain immortality if you have no soul?

Whoa whoa, recipes? Onions? I'm fucking confused.

Are you saying that the Egyptians had a recipe for immortality which involved onions and idiots?

[Drich]

Their isn't a competition. Because Satan is not a god or the lord of Hell. Satan is sent there just like all others who do not want to spend eternity with God. For where else can one escape the presents of the God of creation except in the absents of it?

Doesn't really answer the question.

That is because I have shown that the primise in which the question was asked is invalid.

[Neo-Scholastic]

I have a different opinion than Drich. Satan is just a personification of the collection of evil spirits considered as one. So there really isn't anything for God to compete against: His love still calls out to them. He also sends ministering spirits to do what they can to provide relief to the damned.

[Minimalist]

How many souls can dance on the head of a pin...and .other such jerkoff questions which keep theologians busy and prevent them from doing anything useful.

[NoMoreFaith]

Their isn't a competition. Because Satan is not a god or the lord of Hell. Satan is sent there just like all others who do not want to spend eternity with God. For where else can one escape the presents of the God of creation except in the absents of it?

You realise you are making Hell sound like the better of the two options.

At least no bowing down all day chanting Holy Holy Holy while being overseen by monsters full of eyes and six wings each...

[Chuff]

Lets face it both options sound crap, who wants anything forever?

I choose wormfood any day

[DeistPaladin]

I have a different opinion than Drich. Satan is just a personification of the collection of evil spirits considered as one. So there really isn't anything for God to compete against: His love still calls out to them. He also sends ministering spirits to do what they can to provide relief to the damned.

Chapter and verse?

[Adjusted Sanity]

Lets face it both options sound crap, who wants anything forever?

I choose wormfood any day

I'd be fine with an eternity to explore the universe. That would be sweet.