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ATHEISTS AND ARROGANCE – IS THEIR ANY DIFFERENCE 7/27/2006 12:56:37 AM
On the etymology of the words soul and spirit according to the American atheists The American Atheist website < http://www.atheists.org/Atheism/mind.html> gives some very interesting etymologistic in formation on some terms.
For example, they say that, while the origin of the English word soul is obscure, the word almost certainly had its origin in a word which meant ‘breath’, ‘wind’, or ‘air’, or something like that. The word spirit — generally a synonym for soul — comes from the Latin spiritus, and clearly meant ‘breath’ originally. Spiritual and respiratory both derive from the same root! [As we can clearly see everything for atheists is physical, there are no mystical aspects to life! The colour blind see only black and white, and the deaf hear no symphony.]
They then continue; moreover, if we check in the Greek and Hebrew bibles to see which words are translated as ‘soul’, etc., in the King James Version, we will find many whose literal meaning is ‘breath’ or ‘wind’. For example, the Hebrew word neshamah (literally meaning ‘breath’) is twice rendered as ‘spirit’, once as ‘soul’. The Hebrew-Aramaic word ruach (lit., ‘wind’) is rendered 240 times as ‘spirit’, six times as ‘mind.’ The word nephesh (lit., ‘breath’) is rendered ‘soul’ 428 times) ‘mind’ 15 times, ‘ghost’ twice, and ‘life’ 119 times. Turning to the Greek Bible, we find pneuma (lit., ‘breath’) rendered as ‘ghost’ 91 times (including the rendering ‘Holy Ghost’), 292 times as ‘spirit’. We can recognise the same root in the word pneumonia, a word referring to a disease of the organs of breath. Finally, in this somewhat pedantic parade of words, we may note the important word psyche. As expected, its literal meaning is ‘breath.’ As we might have guessed, it is rendered as ‘soul’ 58 times, ‘mind’ three times, and life’ 40 times. [Very interesting, but the problem seems to lie in the translation if anything!]
The fact that nearly all words now meaning ‘soul’, ‘spirit’, ‘life’, etc., trace their origins to words meaning ‘breath’ or ‘wind’ leads me (the American atheists – and certainly not me) to conclude that the derived meanings were an outgrowth of the inability of primitive people to solve a basic biological puzzle, namely, what constitutes the difference between a live body and a dead one? [Well actually, we still do not know! We, in fact, certainly have solved some basic biological puzzles, but we still do not know what life is! These people are ARROGANT!]
To the ancient authors of the Bible — men who still thought they were living on a flat earth beneath a solid sky (firmament) — the solution seemed deceptively simple: living things breathe, dead things do not. [Well, as far as organic life is concerned, living things do breathe, dead things do not!] At first, only animals (from Latin anima, meaning ‘breath’ or ‘breeze’ originally) were considered fully alive. The case of plants was viewed with confusion for a long time. Some authorities considered them alive, and others did not. The ancients did not realise that ‘souls’ were really only a gaseous mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, contaminated with varying amounts of water vapour, carbon dioxide, noble gases, and — depending upon what one ate and whether or not one brushed after every meal — varying amounts of aromatic substances! [Really! Sorry, but this is extremely simplistic!]
In the Genesis Creation Myth, the animating power of breath is clearly depicted. God, after having moulded Adam from the dust, has to breathe into him the breath of life in order for him to become a living soul. Breath is life. [So much for the esteemed American atheists then! Make up your own ‘mind’!]
