When do YOU think the soul enters the body?

After three monthsin the womb, when generally the formation of the body is incomplete. That is why abortion is strongly discouraged, unless there is at least one strong compelling reason, after this stage. The majority of the religious teachers in my religion hold on to this belief.

all the best,
rosdimy

Wow, a loaded question if I ever saw one:):) But a good one all the same. Christians don't all believe the same thing, and none of the religions actually agree on this because there are other factors involved for some.

A. Reincarnation. If you believe in reincarnation than you believe the soul is alive before birth and after death. It can "reinvent" itself into another form or be born again as a human being. This would indicate that the soul transcends the body and therefore is likely a part of conception as much as it is a part of birth, life and death.

B.) The soul enters the body at birth...makes sense in a biblical sense even as according to Christianity God "Breathed the breath of life into Adam". He made Eve "from Adam's rib". It would seem that conception was not something that "God" invented then..and therefore the first breath taken outside the womb would be when the soul entered the body. How "Eve" was conceived is beyond me, as she and Adam were the only two that God intentionally "made" except for Jesus according to the bible.

If you believe in ghosts, then you believe the soul can travel, communicate and even interact. Therefore one has to believe again that the soul transcends conception, birth and death. I certainly believe in the idea of the "veil" that separates us from the realm of the spirits. Do all spirits have souls? I do believe it possible that all living things have some kind of soul. I don't know if all things ascend to another realm or not. My guess is no. Plant souls are reincarnated as new plants is my guess..or simply become food for other plants and creatures. One might call them "sacrificial souls" if they really do have souls.

Animals have souls, and we are higher animals than most, but we are animals. A lot of people don't believe their pets will go to heaven...but many do. Some churches even honor pets and animals by having a special day to pray for the animals. We had one at a church I went to as a kid..it was super cool. The more fundamental religions like to tout human superiority but the fact is if you are Christian you believe that even "the least among us" have souls and can dwell in the realm of heaven. The fact is, we humans are the only beings on earth capable of sinning.
(We are the only beings in the bible capable of it anyway.)

Now, not being Christian opens up a whole lot of possibilities, so the fact is the soul is the soul..I believe in the soul..when it comes to fruition in the body...well I think that is up to the soul. The question I would ask is in the case of humans "Is the embryo self aware?" Self awareness is what the soul creates in my opinion, therefore self awareness brings the soul to fruition. Do children just born have souls? Well, if a child can bond with its mother it has to be aware that its mother is there, and that it is there....therefore..self aware. In the womb the child can react after several months to stimuli by touch outside the womb. It is not just reflex as we've learned through science..children often react to sounds, motion etc within the womb in the later months of pregnancy. So, I have to say the soul enters somewhere around the 6th month for humans..maybe the 7th. (But each soul is individual so I imagine that it differs with each child). I am sure there are some that say it begins at conception because it did for them. There are some that remember there own birth..not many...but some. Some remember lives before their lives now. This would indicate that the soul exists long before anyone thinks about conception.

I bet I confused you even more. I'm Pagan by the way but was raised Christian and incorporate that into my beliefs somewhat as well.

I used to believe that the soul or whatever it is that makes us US, (even genetically identical twins are unique in thought and character from birth) entered at the time of birth but now I think it happens earlier.
Science has 'proved' that babies, and even fetuses in early developement, hear and respond to outside stimuli so there must be some awareness then. I know that when I was pregnant I only had to listen to certain music and my baby would settle and not 'kick' as much.
Sadly I don't think anyone has the ability to remember very early childhood or being in the womb. (I distrust hypnotic regression memories) Perhaps if they did we'd be able to get the answer.
Different religions and belief systems can't seem to agree on it so I think it's whenever you want it to be!

Honestly I personally believe it varies with the soul.

However, you have to define exactly what a soul IS. Mind, body, AND spirit is an old philosophy that has varying degrees of wording in many religions.

If there is a tri-part separation of being then there is a unique soul energy that is immortal, a mind that exists as an interaction between the soul and the body, or as a temporary sheathe through which the soul can work.. and the physical brain and body.

As such, the SOUL might not enter until the child first takes breath in the living world outside the womb. The mind through which the soul might view the world could very well be active in some manner inside the womb.. as it is part of the life processes.

In this vein the soul may transcend or at least leave the body upon death, but the MIND might fission off and become a ghost.. remembering its life sporadically and being in general strange.

I think the soul can enter at any time it wishes once the mind begins to form. The mind would begin upon conception as a zygote. Even single celled organisms have some form of intelligence, right?

So.. maybe the soul joins at conception, or maybe it doesn't join until it knows the child will actually be born into the world.

I can see a soul playing the odds.