There are two currents of thought in Christianity regarding the understanding of the term soul. One current holds that man was created mortal, as far as the body is concerned, but that he possessed an immortal entity called “Soul” or “spirit”. The other current holds that man was not created immortal in any form, because it was believed that man did not possess an etheric soul or spirit that would survive death as a conscious entity, separated from the body. The Bible, using the usages of the original language, defines its own terms as follows: nephesh and psyche A definition for nephesh emerges from the biblical account of the creation of man (Genesis 2:7). When God gave life to the body he formed, man literally “became a soul of life”. Thus, the soul had not existed before, but acquired existence at the creation of Adam. A new soul comes into existence every time a child is born. Each birth represents a new unit of life different uniquely and separately from similar units. (The new unit cannot merge with another unit she will always be herself. There may be countless individuals like him, but none are exactly like that unit.) This uniqueness of individuality is most likely the idea emphasized by the Hebrew term nephesh. Nephesh applies not only to humans, but also to animals. The sentence:" to swarm the waters of living things “is literal,“to swarm crowds of Souls (individual beings)”. Thus, animals as well as human beings are souls. This basic idea that the soul represents the individual rather than a constituent part of it seems to explain the various appearances of nephesh. Therefore, it is more accurate to say that a certain being is a soul than to say that he has a soul. This is certainly the point of Genesis 2: 7:“man thus became a living soul”. In the New Testament the word “soul “is the translation of the Greek term psyche, meaning” life”,” breath “or"soul”. Psyche is translated 40 times in the New Testament with “life” or “lives”, clearly with the meaning usually attributed to life (Matthew 2:20; 6:25; 16:25). The term is also rendered 58 times as “soul” or “souls” (Matthew 10:28; 11:29; 12:18); in some of these apparitions it means concretely “people” (Acts 7:14; 27: 37; 1 Peter 3: 20); on other occasions it is translated as a personal pronoun (Matthew 12:18; 2 Corinthians 12: 15); sometimes it refers to emotions (Mark 14:34; Luke 2:35), natural appetite (Revelation 18:14), mind (acts 14:2; Philippians 1:27), or heart (Ephesians 6:6). There is nothing in the word psyche that suggests in the slightest association with a conscious entity that can survive bodily death. Surely the presence of animals in our lives must be honored and perceived at its true value. Souls who travel with us unconditionally and from whom we have learned many personal lessons. There is that special kind of being who finds himself isolated and alone in this world almost from birth. His solitary existence does not come from a particular preference or antisocial temperament-he is simply an old soul. With an old heart, with an old mind – he’s an old soul who has a very different and much more mature outlook on life than most of those around him. - Aletheia Luna Such are you for your species our blessing. Forgive us!!!