Question:  Do you believe that humans have an immortal soul?

            James

Answer:  Dear James,

            Human beings are both material and immaterial.  Humans are flesh as well as spirit and soul.  The Bible speaks of this diversity, while never losing sight of the unity of what it means to be a human.

            In the Old Testament the word soul (Hebrew word naphesh) does not exist apart from the body.  Thus the Hebrew Scriptures speak of a human as being a soul.  Yet the Old Testament does speak of the soul as being that part of humanity that includes spiritual and emotional experience and expression, as opposed to the material body and flesh.

            In the New Testament the word soul (Greek word psyche) is used to describe the unity of what it means to be human, while it can also refer to the immaterial part of humanity (Matthew 10:28).  It is also used (Revelation 6:9) to speak of the intermediate state between death and the resurrection.

            The Bible speaks of the spirit (Hebrew ruach and Greek pneuma) as the immaterial part of humans.  Thus, while the Bible speaks of humans as being souls, the Bible speaks of humans having a spirit, not that they are a spirit.

            The Bible also speaks of other immaterial aspects and facets of what it means to be a human, including conscience, heart, will and mind.

            While we cannot be absolutely certain and dogmatic about all aspects of our immaterial soul and spirit, there are two extreme beliefs about the soul of which Christians should be aware:

1.      Materialism.  Extreme materialism can lead to the view that human beings are no more than the matter that composes their bodies.  Such a belief leads to a non-biblical worldview – that only the here and now is of concern, for our body of flesh is all that we are.  It is true that our body is that part of us that imparts physical life, but the Bible insists that physical life is not all that humans are – or will be.

The nature of being human includes more than simply our physical and material existence.  For example, we know that the human brain is not the same as the mind.  There are subjective experiences that we humans cannot explain simply on the basis of our human bodies.  God spoke of this non-physical component of humans when he said that humans would be made in his image (Genesis 1:26-27).

2.      Pantheism.  Pantheism teaches that God is an impersonal energy, force or spirit and permeates all created material things.  Pantheism is closely related with Monism, the idea that all is one.  According to monism, reality consists of one basic immortal, immaterial spirit substance.

Pantheism and monism are ancient pagan teachings that fail to acknowledge the Bible’s teaching that while humans are composed of diversity, those diverse facets are united in our humanity, as God has created us in his image.  Pantheism and monism are unbiblical, and lead to beliefs such as reincarnation and immortality.

            The Bible does speak of immortality, but it reserves the word in the context of resurrection.  While the Bible speaks of eternal life as the salvation enjoyed by the believer in the flesh and continuously existing after the body dies, the Bible insists that immortality is imparted and given by God’s grace when those who are in Christ receive resurrection bodies (1 Corinthians 15).  Until the resurrection at the Second Coming, only Jesus Christ has a resurrection body.

            The Bible teaches that the human soul returns to God upon the death of the body (see 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Philippians 1:23).  While Christians may disagree about the state of the soul after the death of the body (whether it is conscious or unconscious), the body is “sleeping”, awaiting the resurrection.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht