When we are
children, generally questions are asked like “Mom where did we come from?”
During certain time periods, some parents might have responded, “Well, you came
from the cabbage patch” or “The stork delivered you to the hospital.” The purpose
of this paper is to discuss three ideals which are: (a) where we came from with
the (b) intent purpose of when was our ensoulment and (c) the development
process that makes up our very persona. There is actually no biblical or
scientific study that can actually answer when ensoulment takes place; but
there is a tremendous amount of theologically based and philosophical
conjecture covering this particular topic. From the research that will be
presented in this paper, the argument will be based on how we are formed, the
ensoulment taking place in the womb from 13-25 weeks, on an average of 19 weeks
after conception, and how our development makes up our very persona.
In Genesis, God created man and then
he turned the earth dominion to him to rule over. Man should proceed and
procreate. The physical earthly process had begun.
This is the beginning of physical development. From this point, procreation is
the formation and the movement of the embryo in the female womb only. At six
weeks after conception, there is a formation of parts of physical body:
sockets, bubs for limbs, lower and upper jaws, placenta, a yolk sac, a tail, a
bulge to where the heart should be, and an umbilical cord. Prior to that period
there is just a “growing blob of cells.” That blob is where the zygote
matures—it grows. By ten weeks the embryo has a brain and fingers. The baby
continues to form: joints, eye lids, face, head structure, fingers, toes, and
blood vessels. The embryo really starts to look more like a
fetus. At 20
weeks there is a baby in the womb. There are three trimesters that stretch over
about 40 weeks which is technically classified as nine months.
Some women feel their “baby”
according to the American Pregnancy Association as early as 13-16 weeks. It is
described as “quicken of the womb” and considered a light flutter. Depending on
the mother and the number of pregnancies already experienced, the first
movement averages around 13 -25 weeks.
The fetus is primarily stationary because it is affix to the uterine wall;
however, it will adjust naturally because of the growth process. Actual
movement on its own volition does not necessarily happen until after the 13
week. The earliest baby born to survive has been just “twenty-one weeks plus
six days into gestation.”
It is clear knowledge that is not to
be mistaken, that all human bodies are formed through a physical sense from
human man and woman. The human, biologically are not a-sexual reproducers.
There are very few species on this earth that are a-sexual reproducers and the
primate, humanoid, mammal or any warm blooded animal are not a-sexual
reproducers. A human zygote, embryo, or fetus is formed from a living human
organism. There is no questioning this
fact. However, envisioning how ensoulment occurs still is a mystery that we
will try to answer.
The term used, “quicken” as
mentioned in the third paragraph or this paper, is the actual
movement of the
fetus in the uterus felt by the mother. Aristotle stated that quicken of male
children happen on the right side of the womb usually on the 40th
day after conception and for the female children on the 90th day on
the left hand side of the womb.
The 40th day is only about four and a half weeks. There have been
studies where fetal movement has been detected at 7 to 8.5 weeks into
gestation.
We should not necessarily agree with Aristotle because there is no scientific
evidence supporting his statement. We should be subjective about scientific
studies because it should be in serious question whether modern science can
detect neurological brain activity at 7 to 8.5 weeks into gestation—the fetal
brain is still in the active developmental process.
Babu G. Ranganathan, a Christian
biologist, states, “Reproductive cells (i.e. sperm and ovum) come from somatic
cells. That means we must have existed in the somatic cells of our parents’
bodies at some point… God has not given humans the right to independent life
until conception for that is the means by which He has sanctioned for bringing
independent human life into the world.”
Since physical conception of the cells must be present to form a physical life,
then ensoulment would not begin until that physical life starts to take the
actual human form. We would not be in existence if our parents did not
reproduce us.
There is a biblical passage that
would be supportive of Ranganathan’s statement, “As you do not know the path of
the wind or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand
the work of God, the makers of all things.” There are other biblical passages that
discusses God
knowing the person in the womb such as in Psalms 127:3-5, 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5,
Job 31:15, Isaiah 44:24 and many others. Philosophically speaking, Jerome would
have supported Ranganathan because he believed that God sent forth the soul to
be born when it pleased God and He is the only one who knows when the soul
comes into the body.
Gregory of Nyssa contended that
evidence of life, that which is animate, distinguishes us from what is dead.
After the initial physical formation in the womb from male and female gamete,
ensoulment takes place when the physical body has a formation with actual
animation of the fetus, which is 13-25 weeks, as an average of 19 weeks after
conception. Taking into account we are formed physically by our parents, God
breathes the soul into the womb, the fetus becomes a baby and is born. Aristotle
believed that the soul is in the essence of the living breathing body.
Whereas, Philo contends that the soul only become separate essences since after
birth.
Therefore, when examining all the biblical text and scientific text we should
come to the conclusion that
there is no scientific evidence as to ensoulment. There is only biblical text
in which we should heavily rely on as being faithful fact.
After ensoulment it is generally
understood in most of the Christian society that the body houses the soul that
provides the animation for the body, we can reasonably state that the soul will
develop with the body. To discuss the formation of our actual persona, then we
have to look
at the material
developmental in conjunction with the aspects of the soul.
Human nature just doesn’t occur
unless there is a living human involved in the equation. The brain is the mass
of matter that controls the bodily mechanics and regulates the bodily functions
then it is safe to assume that it is where the soul is located as the driving
force. Neurologic clinical tests have shown movement of the fluid in the brain
with the introduction of various internal and external stimuli. Therefore, this
is should be taken into consideration when formulating any ideas about our
persona—how we developed and what makes us up.
From the beginning point of physical
development to the point of ensoulment there are things that can be done to
enhance the soul or persona of a fetus/baby even before it is born into the
world. This is done through proper prenatal care which includes a good diet,
oral vitamins and plenty of rest and exercise.
Other “in-utero” development can be
noticed that affects the persona of the human. For example, (1) playing music
helps with movement, alertness, or is a calming effect on the fetus: during the
last trimester, the diet of the mother helps the baby formulate tastes after there
are born. For example if a mother craves bananas during
the last trimester then it is a big probably that the infant
will prefer banana instead of any other flavor. Therefore in all of this we
understand that from the time of conception then ensoulment the developmental
process has begun. After the birth another process begins.
An infant does not have the
cognitive developmental capability to make informed decisions other than from
feeling and emotion; whereas, a toddler, with increased active movement, starts
to form ideas based on environmental stimulus. The environmental stimulus
generally is from the parent through verbal communication and simple age
related activities.
Everything that the body does is a
developmental process of thought through what is call the conscious and
sub-conscious where each individual has established a unique system based on
cognitive ability. Everyday action is considered the conscious—the current, the
now where action is taken. The subconscious is the storehouse of experiences,
processed and unprocessed—understood or not. As we develop in the conscious state, we
store those experiences in the subconscious state. Unfortunately, there is not
enough solid substantial evidence about the subconscious of the human
mind—brain or soul to form any qualified conjecture other than the assumption
of categorized theory on the subject.
The age progression our body and
soul develop jointly through a learning process. The Learning Philosophy of
70/20/10 is built to encourage a holistic approach by integrating both formal
and informal elements (see insert).
70% real
life, on-the-job experiences, task and problem solving
20% feedback,
observation, role models
10% education
We can understand that all of this
information in the 70/20/10 is stored in the conscious and subconscious of the
body to be recalled through the temporal and long term memory process. The
learning process includes everything—whether or not a person learns about God,
Jesus, algebra, cooking, reading in any average matter, this learning is will
including in the 70/20/10. Taking this
into consideration, the physical living body and the soul are one in the same.
This type of philosophy affects the body and the soul equally--a cause and effect
which leads to a vital aspect not mentioned in the 70/20/10.
Another way of looking at this is to
break this down into three differently worded developmental processes:
(a)
Biological
process which includes the physical development
(b)
Cognitive
process which includes intellectual, memory, knowledge, problem solving,
communication
(c)
Socio-emotional
process which include the emotional communication, self understanding, morality
and behavior
Of course the
developmental begins in the pre-natal stages.
The 70/20/10 model is basically the
same as the three developmental processes which 90 percent is learned
environmentally in and out of the home with the exclusion of basic formal
education. These stages pass with the age of the individual. The most difficult
times when incorrect decisions are made in the developmental process is the
middle school years which is about 12 – 15 years in age. It is common knowledge
among most parents, teachers, and community members that this is the most
changes in a young person’s life. To put this simply the middle school
ages are too old to be the child being over coddled by their parents like
sitting on Mom and Dad’s lap; and, they are too young for total independence.
Their bodies are also changing drastically.
Sixth graders are still younger
children with some innocence left to the mysteries of life. Their attention
span becomes shorter. By the time they reach seventh grade, they have awoken in
a world of sexual discovery. “…have typically entered what may be the most
disorienting time of life. They have discovered sexuality but still deal with
most things like children. Bickering and tattling are rampant, and they are
intolerant of imperfection in anyone or anything.”
This is where the soul, the physical, and the psychological developmental
process can be very susceptible to the evils of the physical life.
An example of this is that 44% of
children harmed in a sexual nature are under the age of 18 years old: of that
44%, 15% are under the age of 12 and 29% are 12-17. This is where the
developmental ages cannot be ignored or overlooked.
A parent or caregiver has to be in tune with their children because a safe,
genuine moralistic environment is one major key factor during the years of any
child. Again, however, this is not a guarantee that an adult will reap any
benefits of a good rearing. Once a child reaches maturity and break their
mythological “apron strings,” their decisions are hopefully based on their
70/20/10 that is sound, logical and acceptable ideals that they can recall.
Then again, keep in mind that nothing is guaranteed in the overall development
process pertaining to a person’s internal spirituality. This is when we hope
for the best and with that hope, we rely on the individual having a faith that God
will lead them in spiritual wisdom. The most important aspect in the
development of the persona is what is called the wisdom of spirituality. “Spirituality is the domain of human
existence that pertains to the essence of every human being, the very core of
our personhood and its relationship to something greater than ourselves.”
The wisdom of spirituality can be classified as “free will.” There are two
decisions (1) “either” (2) “or”; however, we can let God lead us or not in all
decisions. This is where common sense must be applied more so starting with our
youth.
God can “either” lead us in our
decisions “or” we can go forth and just decide on our own what we want to do in
life or what me might consider our purpose. Middle school children can be lost
in a confused society if their spiritual wisdom is not in check especially
during these difficult years. From years of observation, I have met very few
parents who are actually concerned about their children’s morality, soul, or
spirituality. It is a topic that is taken fore-granted in the assumption that
taking a child to church or raising them in an orthodox or indoctrinated
religious setting that their developmental part of their spiritual wisdom will
take hold. Five people from the between 19 and 31 were asked if their parents
discussed with the wellbeing of their soul. All answered unanimously that
parents did communicate or show concern about the spirituality of their
children. All five children were raised in a church setting.
In view of this information, how
does the body develop spiritual wisdom? “But the fact is, almost one in six
Americans today is unaffiliated with any particular religion. Indeed, young
adults under age of 30—today’s and tomorrow’s parents, essentially—are the most
likely to be living religion free lives.”
From personal observation, many people would like to relate religion and spirituality
as being very similar but as personal belief they are not. Religion is a
doctrine of how to worship in a church as a particular church community.
Spirituality pertains to the soul, our essence, our morality; however, the
definition of the two as separate leads to another discussion in which will not
be pursued in this paper. Teaching the spiritual wisdom is left up strictly to
the family and partially to a doctrine in specific church body. Of course both
methods in many cases, of opinion through personal observation, fall short.
However, one could question if this really makes a difference overall? Regardless of the outcome, for a well rounded
developmental purpose of any individual it is best to expose a person during
their youth to some sort of religious or spiritual doctrine—preferably to God
and Jesus Christ.
To conclude, by recapping the points
covered, the purpose of this paper was to prove three aspects. The first was
where we came from. In the beginning of creation were formed by God. When man
began their dominion over all things earthly, it was a physical biological
process between the joining of male and female gametes from each parent.
Secondly, since there is no definitive answer as to ensoulment from God, we can
strongly assume it is within the first actual movement of child. We used an
average of 19 weeks after conception because there is a strong possibility that
a fetus/child can survive outside of the womb considering the earliest survival
has been 21 weeks and 6 days. And last, the development process begins the
minute both parental gametes come together and are implanted in the female womb
because humans are not a-sexual. From the minute the gametes are joined, the
embryo becomes a fetus which becomes a baby according to science. Learning
begins in-utero and continues at all times in a conscious state. The hardest
developmental period is during the middle school years between 12 – 15 years of
age. We learned that spiritual development is not necessarily involved in the
equation of our persona however it assist and can improve the quality of the
persona spiritually by the introduction of spiritual wisdom. The developmental
process that helps make of our persona is physically as well as mental and only
obtained through what we know as time through personal experience only—i.e.,
social experience, employment, education, and environmental exposure.
If you are a new parent, we often do not think about life after death or the soul of our children. Don't you think it is time to start thinking about it?
