Soul, life, is animated breathing (gas-exchanging) matter that replicates, be it a plant, a flatworm or a human. More importantly, life begets life, even though we don;t know when or how life began. The fact that we don't know doesn't prove it was created by God. People used to believe that lightening was something God used to throw at people, and diseases were caused by 'evil spirits'. Not knowing something doesn't prove anyone's belief is correct.
Eastern Christianity believes that God created life only once, by breathing his breath into Adam's nostrils. From there on, living creatures passed on that life to their offspring until now. Western Christianity believes that God creates a new soul (life) at every conception. Neither is dogma, just belief.
But Christianity also implies through simple belief and nothing more that man is endowed with more than just life, actually a spirit. In the NT this is used interchangeably. But the concept of a spirit (or nous, or intellect as some insist) is a matter of degree and not of kind. Therein lies the rub of an all-or-nothing spirit, nous, intellect.
Obviously no one is damned and just as obviously no one is saved by the Blood of Christ, because no one is damned in the first place. What kind of barbaric religion believes in sacrificial practices anyway?
Pagan religions do, and so does Judaism, and obviously Christianity inherited that. It's pagan, and yes, Judaism has a lot of pagan in it in that sense. But it's not really popular to say that.
"Innocent ignorance" Now there is a misnomer if I ever heard one. Innocent ignorance is just another term for ignoramus, not unlike many of the so called "Christian" posters on this thread who will go nameless, as is fitting.
You hit the nail on the head, LG. Political correctness. It's a liberal thing many self-styled conservatives seem to like and even insist on. Real conservatives (a la John Wayne) used to call it like it is, such as "life's tough; it's tougher if you're stupid."
Living a sacrificial life equates to the highest degrees of happiness and contentment possible.
Also Jesus said [paraphrased] there is no greater love than this that one should lay down his life to spare the life of a friend or a loved one.
I liked your quote.
It is my tagline for a while.