I suppose you can, but that seems illogical to me, somehow

I don't see why the existence of God should imply, say, that the river over there has a soul, or that fairies exist, or that I can cast spells, or any of a number of other supernatural concepts. Accepting God doesn't, to me, even have to open the door to things like that.

At what point are you just choosing not to call it a soul?

How do you define a soul? That's a good place to start.

I think I was interpreting it more along the lines of what brenda mentions, with that magazine, though.

A proselytising Christian is one that tries to convert me to their faith. I flip that to define a proselytising atheist as someone who tries to convert a religious person to atheism.

Yeah, well, JZ, cut me a break. I was eighteen. ;) Ah, to know so much about so little with such certainty. I also didn't write it down.

How do you define a soul? That's a good place to start.

Well, let's take Whedon's definition of a soul and go from there.

I'M JUST KIDDING.

Well, let's take Whedon's definition of a soul and go from there.

::laughs hysterically forever::

I don't see why the existence of God should imply, say, that the river over there has a soul, or that fairies exist, or that I can cast spells, or any of a number of other supernatural concepts. Accepting God doesn't, to me, even have to open the door to things like that.

Was your original question meant regarding particular supernatural things, or any supernatural thing? Accepting that a deity exists, means accepting that which is beyond the material world, which I think makes it illogical to rule out everything except that one deity of your choice. It doesn't have to follow that you'd care about the other supernatural entities, worship them, or even know about them, or believe in every single supernatural entity that has occured to humanity at one time or another, but I don't see how you'd rule out the existence of all other supernatural things except for your deity.

At what point are you just choosing not to call it a soul?

How do you define a soul? That's a good place to start.

Well, let's take Whedon's definition of a soul and go from there.

Odd days of the week, or even?

Also, erika, youth always gets a pass. The ones who get up my nose are the people who are purportedly seriously, deeply grown-up and still go on like that. Dudes, when the people who agree with you are telling you to STFU, it's time to carefully ponder how you're saying what you're saying.

Odd days of the week, or even?

The days when Logan is being a jackass.

Accepting that a deity exists, means accepting that which is beyond the material world

How material are gamma waves? Dark matter? Black holes? Complex numbers? I think everyone believes in things they will never be able to validate their own selves, but takes the word of someone else on. The frameworks differ.

As for the supernatural...what is it? I've seen people (including here) deny the existence of the supernatural, positing that it's all natural. What's supernatural today may be science tomorrow, should someone quantify and reproducibly prove it.

Just like a soul, it's very easy for me to say my belief system allows this and obviously disallows that, and we're doing nothing but having a semantic dance.

Look at the Wikipedia entry for soul. Which one do you mean? Maybe juliana meant spirit.

What's supernatural today may be science tomorrow, should someone quantify and reproducibly prove it.

Yes. And accepting the unproven ghosts and not accepting the unproven God is inconsistent if "unproven" is your standard.

And accepting the unproven ghosts and not accepting the unproven God is inconsistent if "unproven" is your standard.

But you're using unproven as the standard. The atheist ghost-believer may have all the reasons they require to believe in ghosts, and all the reasons they require to disbelieve in God.