I'm not a science oriented kind of guy. I know that I'm not going to be able to fully articulate my thoughts, and when I do, the facts won't be correct. It's just the way I operate. Warning aside, I actually do have a question. Does denying the spirit entail denying free will? We are all composed of atoms. There isn't really a whole lot that differentiates the atoms in out bodies than the atoms in the chair nearest to you. That being said, why is it that we can tell the atoms in our body to move our arm up and down while we cannot tell the atoms in the leg of the chair to wobble back and forth? What gives humans the control over the atoms in their bodies? Do humans have control over the atoms in their bodies? I fully believe that we are endowed by our Creator with free will. But, to repost my question, does denying the spirit entail denying free will?

The atoms that make up our body our in fact composed into more complex compositions, called chemical substances. Cells rely on chemical (atom) reactions in order to survive. Our body also depends on chemical interaction in order to do everything. For example, it is due to potassium channels that our hearts can beat. So to ask how are body's control atoms is sort of a misunderstanding of how life works. You ARE merely chemical reactions. The body will not exist without chemical reactions, it's not as though the body or mind exists and commands atoms how to move and form the body. It is atomic formation that the mind and body exist. So why can't we control the atoms of a chair leg? The fact that we don't control the atoms in our body to begin with. We are controlled by the atoms in our body. Chemical reactions are highly regulated in the human body, down to the cellular level. There is no specialized method to control atoms outside our bodies. We have no conscious control over either the atoms in our bodies nor the atoms outside our bodies. Control implies outside influence. We cannot exist outside the atoms that make up ourselves. And the atoms that make up our bodies are not the same bodies that make up chairs. Why can we tell the atoms in our body to move our arm up? Chemical reactions. Electrical signals in the brain signal certain chemical channels to react in a specific way that lead to certain movements via the nervous system. Does denying the spirit entail denying free will? No. Not in and of itself. But this is rather rudimentary. Although, by definition, if denying the spirit was the same as denying free will, it wouldn't be free will.

[b]Jack_Ripper wrote:[/b] [quote]Why can we tell the atoms in our body to move our arm up? Chemical reactions.[/quote] But why [i]do[/i] we?

[b]MisterNathan wrote:[/b] [quote][b]Jack_Ripper wrote:[/b] [quote]Why can we tell the atoms in our body to move our arm up? Chemical reactions.[/quote] But why [i]do[/i] we?[/quote] I think that's kind of what I'm getting at.

[b]AlexHunter wrote:[/b] [quote][b]MisterNathan wrote:[/b] [quote][b]Jack_Ripper wrote:[/b] [quote]Why can we tell the atoms in our body to move our arm up? Chemical reactions.[/quote] But why [i]do[/i] we?[/quote] I think that's kind of what I'm getting at.[/quote] I figured as much. Trying to find a gap in science where a soul can fit?

[b]MisterNathan wrote:[/b] I figured as much. Trying to find a gap in science where a soul can fit?[/quote] I don't really know. It's really just more of a thought I had that I was wanting to hear some people expound upon.

[b]MisterNathan wrote:[/b] [quote][b]Jack_Ripper wrote:[/b] [quote]Why can we tell the atoms in our body to move our arm up? Chemical reactions.[/quote] But why [i]do[/i] we?[/quote] Why do we have the ability to move our arms?