- This thread is for people who believe in the existence of a soul -
How is the soul valuable? Why would someone want to acquire another’s soul? Maybe it makes them more powerful? If so, in what sense?
Number of souls in posession at end of Universe determines final score. They are game counters for deities.
As a mortal, if I had a way to gert someone else’s soul I presume that would give me access to their memories, experiences and outlook, which is information. Information is valuable in and of itself.
Yes, obtaining different perspectives on issues can be valuable for deeper understanding. Do you want to comment on how you think the deities you mentioned above might put information to use - or would it be to simply acquire more information - would that be the final goal?
I have seen no evidence that the game players actually care about the informational content of souls, just the number collected.
Also, do you think a soul is only valuable to someone else (or one of these dieties you speak of)… meaning the soul is never valuable to the original bearer of the soul aside from it be desired by someone else?
Chopped up with capers, onions and sun dried tomatoes they are great on wholemeal toast.
Valuable? As in a cash value? No, but I have a rather strong sentimental attachment to mine.
To make more horcruxes.
I’ve always assumed it gave one control over the person’s afterlife. Like, if I had your soul I could give it to Satan rather than going to hell myself. I’m not sure God would take such a legalistic view though. Or maybe I could trade your soul in for more life for myself?
would you agree that the soul is life?
If the question is belief-based rather than factual, maybe this should go in IMHO.
My Master like to collect souls for two reasons:
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Minions. A soul, a tiny fragment of the mind of The Creator, is necessary to maintain the animation of living flesh; every living creature has one. The soul is essentially on loan to the individual, and its purpose is to act as a catalyst–transforming the will of the creator into the action of the creature. Imbuing creatures of modest and higher intelligence with a soul often gives rise to sentience, and this is where things get dicey. The sentient being can sometimes recognize the existence of the soul, and it also realizes that while the soul is immortal, the creature is not. The creature realizes he is, at some level, a pawn who was created to do the will of another, and then die in any number of ways ranging from peaceful and sudden to grizzly and protracted. Upon realizing this, the embittered creature is open to suggestions by my master who concedes he can do nothing about the curse of mortality, but he CAN make the creature’s brief life more pleasant. A binding spiritual contract is executed wherein the soul is bound to the flesh itself. When the creature dies and is interred, my master summons the body/soul to him. For a period of time, the flesh is reanimated and serves a number of vital service roles from menial labor to earthside visitation. Eventually my master ends the body/soul union and performs the final act of the rite–the flesh and soul are unbound, and the soul is assumed by my master. He is angelic, angels do not need, nor can they utilize soul in any directly meaningful way. He collects the souls in a single vessel, which leads us to the second purpose:
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Incarceration of The Creator: One claims the desert grain by grain; the ocean drop by drop. It is a monumental task, but he has been given eternity to accomplish it. Eventually my master will possess such a significant portion of the mind of The Creator that all of creation will be up for grabs.
It’s always handy to have an extra soul that you’ve swindled from someone else, for the inevitable moment that your soul is demanded of you. Then you just whip the extra one out of your pocket, and you’re on your way.
This is fascinating. Do you have more writings? A blog, perhaps? I’d also like to hear about your master’s relationship to other angels.
Here’s my attempt at a GQ-type answer:
You could start by looking at the Wikipedia page on the soul, to see what, according to various religious traditions, cultures, or philosophies, the soul is.
As for why one person would want another person’s soul, well, there are people who, for whatever reason, want to have complete control or ownership or domination over other people. Why? I don’t know; ask a psychologist.
As for why the Devil wants people’s souls (as in the stories about people selling their soul to the Devil), I don’t know whether or not there’s a single “official answer” in Christian theology, or even in popular culture. If you go by The Screwtape Letters, devils want souls so they can consume them (yum yum).
Consult your tax attorney for the advantages of soul proprietorship.
I should be clear that I don’t believe in a soul myself, so no, I don’t think it is life. I was just speaking from the ideas that I have heard about souls. I get the impression that the soul is usually considered to be the core, immortal thing that contains our consciousness and memories. The thing that lives on in either heaven or hell, or perhaps some sort of limbo. In that sense it is I guess it could be life.
I did have a newsletter a while back to which other 'dopers have expressed a desire to subscribe. 
Master is on reasonably good, if often tense, terms with about a third of the entire original angelic host.
Not an actual believer here, but if I was I think the following. Satan want souls to torment because he basically likes tormenting things. God wants souls so he can have them around to sing his praises and so he can feel good about the fact that they were not being tormented. So basically plaything for Satan, ego boost for God.
Since there is no factual answer to this question, it is better suited for GD than GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator