[MHGinTN]

I too watch the episode. I found Grissom's comment regarding Leviticus somewhat troubling because it presents a 'sound byte' response to a deep and abiding question, namely 'when does the spirit take up residence with the soul' (the implication being that the flesh is the home of the soul, without addressing the spirit of the human soul), but of course the character's comment blurred the biblical distinction between soul and spirit, a distinction not too many Christians can address either!

[Pyro7480]

As I mentioned in my post, the Leviticus verse doesn't even have anything to do with the Israelite's view of when life starts. It was just idiotic.

[RobbyS]

The Biblical view is the identity of body and soul. The scientifically naive view is that the "soul" enters in with the first breath, which is, I suppose the Orthodox Jewish view. Aristotle's view, based In part on hi philosophy, was that the "ensoulment" begins with the "quickening," when the fetus begins to move. But epigenesis shows that "life" begins with fertilization. This is subject to two interpretations, both scientific. One of these would mark the beginning of development at implantation. The other would mark the beginning with the joining of the genetic material of the sperm with that of the ovum. Whatever, life is a unity of body and soul. The real theological question is whether the soul is immortal, and whether it can have any continuing existence apart from the body. The Greek notion was that the soul was a spirit trapped in a body. The Christian notion is that it is incomplete without the body. Hence the notion of the General Resurrection, with Christ being the "first fruit" of a harvest.