Fishman,

Our bodies, being animated by our souls, will return to the dust from which they came. Our souls, or being, will spend time in "cleansing" and, on our day of judgement, will animate our resurrected bodies.

I found the definition of animism at Merriam-Webster on-line to be: a doctrine that the vital principle of organic development is immaterial spirit.

If this is what you refer to as a general definition of the term, then I concur.

In Christ,

Remember, the Sun is always shining!

an animist is someone who believes that all things have a spiritual cause.

In augustinian theology all things are caused by an idea that exists within the mind of God.  The idea god has of the wind is more real then the wind ,  God is a spiritual being and his ideas spirtual.  

So is it fair to say that God's idea of the wind is in some ways 'the spirit of the wind'.

 part of my reason for thinking about this is because of st. francis's use of personification in prayers like 'canticle of the sun' etc.

 I was wondering where he got that from and considering that he lived pre-thomistic theology.

In reference to St Francis, I had heard of the canticle of the Sun but had never read it or don't remember hearing it. So, con permiso,

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong. No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those she finds doing your most holy will. The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks, and serve him with great humility.

It would seem St Francis does consider the sun, moon and stars to be working in unison with God to provide for our understanding that God has created all and deserves praise and glory.

St Francis is believed to have died around the time of St Thomas birth. It is quite possible that St Thomas gleaned from St Francis.

In Christ,

Remember, the Sun is always shining!

Warren

Oh Dear!

You wrote:

But, permit me to wonder if this isn't one more semantical meandering, from gambit to game, as we often get into about these fora.

Are you thinking of anyone I know?

Is it just my guilty conscience.

We have an expression "if the cap fits, wear it".

God bless,


NoelFitz.
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In necessariis, unitas; in dubiis, libertas; in omnibus, caritas.
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and it is more joyous to see how many are "coming home".

With free will, I imagine it will remain that way until he comes again.

In Christ,

Remember, the Sun is always shining!

note even the pesonification and thankfulness for death.

anima - soul - spiritus-phyce - et al.  refer to entities within the spiritual real which are the cause of entities within the physical realm.

'the soul is the cause of the body' 

Thomas Aquinas believed human beings had a spirit he named a soul, which had the property of being unique and immortal. he believed that animals also had 'spirits' but they existed in the general case and were not immortal.   The question that I'm pondering , really is the relationship between what an Augustinian theologian means when he says 'a form' existed in the mind of God for each thing he created and the meaning of the word spirit aka breath aka psche aka anima.  

All this begins (or was magnified) by Aristotle.  Augustine and Aquinas were very well versed in Aristotle, especially Aquinas. 

But it isn't very deep.  Anything that is "animated" or "moves" has a "soul".  But as Catholics, we know that the human soul is special and eternal - as part of the only creature made in the image and likeness of God. 

We also know that ALL of creation gives glory to God, just by their mere existence.  A dog.  A tree.  Even this silly keyboard I'm using at the moment.  They each give glory to God because they are a manifestation of God's creation.

Only we humans must exercise our free will to give DUE glory to God.