When did you get your soul?

We are genetically programmed to perpetuate our species. Some say your "soul" is but an expression of your program that refuses to accept your ultimate mortality. We Christians think differently, but ...

Few people would fuss over using embryonic stem cells from cattle. We are not instinctively protective of other species, nor do we think about cattle having "souls". Would we be as adamant about the issue if humans had no soul -- just a biology? Probably not.

Using that premise, let's consider the soul in relation to the biology. Let's step through some reproductive stages just for fun and consider when your soul may have appeared.

(1) At gametogenesis (ovum/sperm production), does the male sperm deliver the soul to the egg (or vice versa)? Was your soul within the DNA of one of these haploid cells?

(2) At fertilization? When haploid becomes diploid (zygote), did the joining of the pronuclei spark your soul? (This is where many would claim it happens, but later monozygotic twinning or chimerism throws a kink into this theory.)

(3) While a blastocyst (early cell division of the embryo before implantation)? This is the IVF/stem cell stage. Was there a critical cell mass required for your soul to exist?

(4) At implantation when the blastocyst hatches out, implants itself in the womb, secretes hCG, and "rescues" the corpus luteum? This is what signifies a "successful" pregnancy. Is this when your soul appeared?

(5) During the embryonic (first 8 weeks of gestation) stages of morula, blastula, and gastrula? Most major organs (including the brain) are formed. The heart starts beating and the blood type is established. Did your soul come with your brain, your heart, or maybe your blood?

(6) During the fetal stage (from 8 weeks until birth)? Everything matures. Only major event left to occur at birth is "the breath of life", which triggers rapid changes to the pulmonary and circulatory system. Did your soul arrive at that first "breath of life" (as my mother believes)?

What do you think? When did you become a "living soul"?