First humans

[oldnitro]

Did Neanderthal man possess a soul, if he did what do Christians believe happened to him when he died? This has always puzzled me because I was taught that no one can go to heaven unless they had been baptised,so anyone unlucky enough to be born thousands of years ago had no hope.

[jno]

I believe they've found Neanderthal DNA in humans, so our ancestors weren't just chucking rocks at each other.

[jomifl]

I see the 'correct speak' editor has translated my 'pis*ed off' into 'ruffled around the boa' what kind of mind came up with that?

[jomifl]

jno you are not suggesting that they partook of interspecies congress are you?

[jomifl]

this sounds like a 'sins of the fathers' situation, obviously pre-dating the Irish catholic church.

[jake-the-peg]

I don't think there's any "aguably" about it Neanderthal DNA has been available for study for nearly 15 years.

http://www.archaeolog.../online/news/dna.html

This discussion about Revelations kind of brings you back to the question of how what is in the Bible got there.

Revelations has a rather contrversial history and has not always been well accepted as earning its place in the bible - check out "canonical history" in the wikipedia entry and you'll get a flavour of what I mean

http://en.wikipedia.o...ion#Canonical_history

Neither Luther nor Calvin were overly keen on it

[jake-the-peg]

Evidence of "interspecies congress"

http://news.nationalg...d-interbred-dna-gene/

[RATTER15]

No such thing as a soul!! it just exists in the minds of the weak and foolish.

However, a Sole is a very tasty fish :-)

[jno]

any such thing as beauty, Ratter, or does it too exist only in the mind?

[beso]

Jake. Have you forgotten. The Neanderthal DNA is just an elaborate hoax by God to test the faithful. ;-)

BTW Another DNA sample has be found in a finger bone in Siberia. It is from yet another hominim species whose common ancestor with Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal predates their separation. Yet it lived contemporary with them.

[Zeuhl]

<<any such thing as beauty, Ratter, or does it too exist only in the mind? >>

Beauty, like all concepts, only exists in the mind :-)

[jomifl]

^ and not all.

[chakka35]

I think you're too kind to 'Revelation', jake. Whereas the gospel writers were merely deluded or dishonest, the writer of 'Revelation' was plainly demented.

[Old_Geezer]

"Did Neanderthal man possess a soul"
Well first you have to make the assumption that the 'essence' of yourself is a soul, and than ask if other species are the same in this regard. Since I have to take on trust other human beings are like myself, and not simply automatons that appear to be like me, then presumably I can make the same assumption of other species or sub-species.

"if he did what do Christians believe happened to him when he died"
Well having a soul doesn't automatically mean a Christian viewpoint is correct, but assuming they are in the right ballpark, I guess it would depend on which particular Christian you asked. I'm unsure if there is an official church viewpoint. But I'd suggest probably the same experience would occur to them as occurs with humans when they die. I suggest that because the Neanderthal would have a reasonable amount of intellect allowing them to make moral decisions and question their own existence so can't be too far removed from humans.

"I was taught that no one can go to heaven unless they had been baptised"
I'm surprised you were not also informed about what happens to humans that have never heard of the Christian religion. They are "in a similar boat" to your hypothetical Neanderthal. I believe the explanation is that they are not held responsible for things they have no knowledge of so get a "Get Into Heaven" card as default.

Of course, alternatively, you could always consider that maybe there is a flaw in the assumption that only baptised folk go to heaven. Do you really think a deity is going to care whether their creations have gone through some made up ritual or not when making a decision as to what happens to them next ? Is it not more likely that this claim is a control tactic by the church to get you to do as you are told, preferably unquestionably ?