Can spirits of men be identified?

[Exporter]

After reading the chapter “Life after Death” in a Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Kreeft & Tacelli I think I have a question that they didn’t answer.
1.If life after death is to have a real personal meaning, each disembodied soul must have it’s own identity. There must be a way to distinguish between that one soul and the many others. If these disembodied souls cannot be identified, then they do not have a personal identity. Can there be such a life? The problem of identifying disembodied souls is a serious one. Without a material body, how is a soul identified?

1. We all say individual souls reside in our bodies while we are alive, and we say the individual soul leaves the body upon the death of the body. When the body dies, the brain dies, the soul is left without a brain. How does the soul have a self- consciousness and know who it is? If a soul doesn’t know who it is then how can the purification of purgatory be meaningful to an individual?
2. Most of us , I hope, will be going to Purgatory as individual souls when we die. While there without a body, will we be able to recognize other souls?

 

[system]

Exporter:

After reading the chapter “Life after Death” in a Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Kreeft & Tacelli I think I have a question that they didn’t answer.
1.If life after death is to have a real personal meaning, each disembodied soul must have it’s own identity. There must be a way to distinguish between that one soul and the many others. If these disembodied souls cannot be identified, then they do not have a personal identity. Can there be such a life? The problem of identifying disembodied souls is a serious one. Without a material body, how is a soul identified?

Just like how an immortal would know another immortal in the Movie Highlander.

Each soul is an individual.

Plus, in the final judgemtn those souls will be united with their transfigured bodies.

1. We all say individual souls reside in our bodies while we are alive, and we say the individual soul leaves the body upon the death of the body. When the body dies, the brain dies, the soul is left without a brain. How does the soul have a self- consciousness and know who it is? If a soul doesn’t know who it is then how can the purification of purgatory be meaningful to an individual?

You have a very carnal understanding of soul. Drop the assumption and you should be able to understand it.

1. Most of us , I hope, will be going to Purgatory as individual souls when we die. While there without a body, will we be able to recognize other souls?

Just like an Immortal recognize another immortal in Highlander.

 

[JimG]

1. Your soul is the essence of your identity–your intellect and will, your personhood. (Angels don’t have bodies, and they are also individual persons.) Your body changes over time. Your physical appearance changes over time. Your identity does not. (It’s still “you” in there, isn’t it?)
2. The brain is not the repository of your self-awareness, your soul is. While alive, your brain is a tool of your intellect, which is a function of your soul. Your soul is spirit, not matter. That is why it survives separation from the body (death.)
3. I don’t know if we’ll be able to recognize others in purgatory or not. If we do, it will not be by “seeing” them, but by being aware of them. I’m sure that angels can recognize one another without having bodies.

 

[Todd_Easton]

In the story Jesus told in Luke 16:19-31, the dead rich man did not seem to have any trouble recognizing Abraham and Lazarus.

 

[jimmy]

Exporter:

After reading the chapter “Life after Death” in a Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Kreeft & Tacelli I think I have a question that they didn’t answer.
1.If life after death is to have a real personal meaning, each disembodied soul must have it’s own identity. There must be a way to distinguish between that one soul and the many others. If these disembodied souls cannot be identified, then they do not have a personal identity. Can there be such a life? The problem of identifying disembodied souls is a serious one. Without a material body, how is a soul identified?

1. We all say individual souls reside in our bodies while we are alive, and we say the individual soul leaves the body upon the death of the body. When the body dies, the brain dies, the soul is left without a brain. How does the soul have a self- consciousness and know who it is? If a soul doesn’t know who it is then how can the purification of purgatory be meaningful to an individual?
2. Most of us , I hope, will be going to Purgatory as individual souls when we die. While there without a body, will we be able to recognize other souls?

You must remember that God is not subject to physical laws, so God can give us a consciousness without a brain.

 

[enanneman]

jimmy:

You must remember that God is not subject to physical laws, so God can give us a consciousness without a brain.

I’d also add that the brain actually can hinder the intellect. People with brain injuries, chemical imbalances, and the like can have very a difficult time forming coherent thoughts, but I would imagine that upon release from their imperfect bodies, their thinking would be a lot clearer.

Peace and God bless.

Eric