Destroying soul bits

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 141950

 zgirnius:
 So 
> when people like Slughorn and Dumbledore start discussing 
something 
> called the soul, and offer no explanation as to what, exactly, 
that 
> is, I feel it is reasonable to suppose we and their listeners are 
> supposed to have some idea what the soul is without such 
> explanations. (The soul is the immortal whatever that lives on 
after 
> a person dies, and goes to wherever it is souls go).

a_svirn:
I am not at all sure that its "reasonable" to suppose that. 
Dumbledore positively delights in speaking cryptically. Slughorn and 
Riddle certainly did not share their opinion on the subject in the 
Pensive scene. As for Harry he has shown quite an amazing lack of 
interest in the matters important throughout his Hogwarts career. 
Why, he didn't even think to ask what his parents' professions were! 
He was actually surprised to learn that werewolves sometimes kill. 
He found an unknown jinks in a fishy book and tried it on his best 
friend. And so on. Much too often he simply accepts the information 
for granted and doesn't give it much of a thought. The best example 
is the Dark Arts. *We* are certainly in the dark where they are 
concerned. And I strongly suspect that Harry doesn't know what is it 
that that makes them dark either. 

As for your definition of a soul there is nothing particularly 
Christian about it. In fact I would be hard-put to find *one* 
religion or tradition where there wouldn't be an idea of "the 
immortal whatever that lives on after a person dies, and goes to 
wherever it is souls go". 

zgirnius:
 I've definitely
> encountered somewhere the idea that 'evil' souls don't actually go 
to 
> a literal Hell of devils with pitchforks, and 'good' sould don't 
> actually get issued golden harps and halos in order to join a 
literal 
> Heavenly Choir, etc. That the miserable eternal fate of 'evil' 
souls 
> is more along the lines of oblivion, or an eternal Sundering from 
> Oneness with the Deity, or something along those lines. The whole 
> soul-splitting thing would in this case be more of a mechanism 
that 
> explains how this might work. One's evil acts can damage the soul 
and 
> prevent it from meeting its intended Eternal Reward. 

a_svirn:
I hope you won't think me a pedant if I say that this is NOT a 
Christian view on the subject? At least not the view of the 
established Churches, I won't presume to speak for all heresies and 
sects. Mere mortals can not destroy a soul neither their own, nor 
that of another. What they can and much too often do is to damn it 
to the perdition, but as for maiming and destroying it – that's left 
for the Devil to do. Jesus says, "And do not fear those who kill the 
body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both 
soul and body in hell."