The Baha'i Studies Listserv
firestorm wrot
lol... no. prsumably the meaning is we don't get to tell God what to Do. people don't
"have" immortal souls either.
IMO, it is, when it comes down to it, simply a matter of God's Will.
Humans are immortal souls with mortal bodies, whereas non-human animals
are mortal bodies without immortal souls, because that is what God has
decreed. The connection of an immortal soul with a physical entity
depends entirely upon God's wishes.
When, for instance, some people have asked, if, biologically, humans are
the genetic cousins of other apes (hominoids), which has been clearly
substantiated through scientific research, how could being with immortal
souls be related, on the evolutionary scale, to beings without immortal
souls?
The difficulties in satisfactorily responding to this question, are, I
believe, a result of holding to an essentialistic view of life
categories (species, genus, etc.). Once essentialism is abandoned and
replaced with God's sovereign Will (His ability to name, or designate,
as He chooses), the issue fades away.
--
Regards, Mark A. Foster, Ph.D. * http://www.markfoster.net
"... the modern challenge is how to live with uncertainty. The
basic fault lines today are not between people with different
beliefs but between people who hold these beliefs with an
element of uncertainty and people who hold these beliefs with
a pretense of certitude." — Peter L. Berger, sociologist
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