The question of what happens to us when we die has ever been a most fascinating one. From time immemorial man has always been intrigued by the idea of immortality and the question, what becomes of the ” soul ” after death?
Many books have been written on this subject and there has been much speculations varying in ideas as taught by the many religions of our time. But the real question is “What is the soul and is it immortal ?”
Most religions teach some form of life after death. The ancient Egyptians, practiced elaborate ceremonies to prepare the pharaohs for the next life. They constructed massive pyramids and other elaborate tombs filled with luxuries the deceased were assumed to need in the here after.
In some civilizations, when a ruler died, others who had accompanied and served him in this life were put to death so they could immediately serve him in the afterlife.Wives, relatives, servants and sometimes even household pets joined him in death and a supposed entrance into a new life.
Plato
Belief in the immortality of the soul was an important aspect of ancient thought, espoused by the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. In the books “Phaedo,” and ” Five Great dialogues ” it shows that the Soul separates from the body at death.
This doctrine caused much controversy in the early Catholic Church. Origen (ca. 185 – 254 ) was the first person to attempt to organize Christian doctrine into a systematic theology. He was an admirer of Plato and believed in the immortality of the soul: that it would depart to everlasting reward or everlasting punishment at death.
In Origen De Principiis, he wrote ….” The soul, having a substance and life of its own, shall after its departure from the world, be rewarded according to its deserts, being destined to obtain either an inheritance of eternal life and blessedness, if its actions shall have procured this for it, or to be delivered up to eternal fire and punishments, if the guilt of its crimes shall have brought it down to this….” ( Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4 1995, p 240 )
Later Augustine (354 – 430 ) gives the idea in the book ” The City Of God ” that death meant the destruction of the body, but the conscious soul would continue to live in either a blissful state with God or an agonizing state of separation from God. ( ibis. Vol. 2, 1995, p. 245 )
The influence of pagan Platonic philosophy on Origen and Augustine are profound. So enthusiastic was the Christian integration of the Greek spirit that Socrates and Plato were frequently regarded as divinely inspired pre-Christian saints. ( Richard Tarnas, in his best seller The Passion of the Western Mind, 1991 p. 103 )
Centuries later, Thomas Aquinas ( ca. 1225- 1274 ) crystallized the doctrine of the immortal soul in The Summa Theologica: He taught that the soul is a conscious intellect and will and cannot be destroyed.
A few centuries later the leaders of the Protestant Reformation generally accepted these traditional views; so it became entrenched in traditional Protestant teaching even down to the present.
The immortality of the soul then, is deeply embedded and a fundamental part of western thought, both philosophical and religious. The question now is, does the Bible teach that death is the separation of body and soul, or that the soul is immortal ?
The most common Christian belief regarding the afterlife is that people possess souls and at death their consciousness in the form of that soul departs from the body and heads for heaven or hell.
The Hebrew word translated “soul in the Old Testament, ( the First Witness ), is the word nephesh, which simply means “a breathing creature. ”
In the Old Testament ( First Witness ), ” nephesh ” never means an immortal soul, but it is the life principle, or the living being, or the self as the subject of appetite, and emotion, occasionally of volition.
In Gen. 2 : 7 we read And the LORD God formed man [of ] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. The Scriptures state plainly that, rather than possess immortality, the soul can die, and does die The soul ( nephesh ) who sins shall surely die.” Eze. 18 : 4 & 20.
Notice the Bible states, The soul who sins ; Identifying that the soul is a living active person who has choice to do right or wrong. Again the Bible states For the living know that they shall die : but the dead know not anything,… Ecc. 9 : 5 & 6.
King David laments that death extinguishes a relationship with God. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks ? Ps. 6 : 5.
The immortal-soul concept isn’t part of the Old Testament ( First Witness ), but it began to make inroads into Jewish thought as Jews came in contact with the Greek culture. In the first century the Jewish philosopher Philo taught a Platonic concept which states ” The death of a man is the separation of his soul from his body….” ( The Works Of Philo, translated by C. D. Yonge, 1993, p. 37 ). Philo followed the Hellenistic view that the soul is freed upon death on an everlasting life of virtue or evil.
In the New Testament ( Second Witness ) the Hebrew word for soul, “psuche” is used to as the Hebrew “nephesh” to refer to a living creature and not a separate entity as taught by many. In the book of Acts chapter 2, after the apostles preached the gospel it is stated in verses 41 & 42 Then they that gladly received his word were baptised: and the same day there were added unto them about THREE THOUSAND SOULS. And they ( the three thousand souls that were baptized ) continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
There is no doubt here in the above statement that a soul is a living, active, intelligent person (creature), and as both people and animals die, it is simply another soul that dies as seen in Ecc 3 : 19 — 22, For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they all have one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. ALL, (BOTH HUMANS AND ANIMALS ) go unto one place ; all are of the dust, and all return to dust again.
Then the question is asked in verse 21 “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast ( an animal, dog, cat etc. ) that goeth downward to the earth.? ” That is exactly the issue where did these ideas come from ? To say that man has some kind of soul or spirit that lives after he dies is to say that all animals have some kind of soul, spirit that lives after it dies.These ideas are no where taught in the bible as a matter of fact, Christ says in the book of Matt. 10 : 28, that the soul is able to be destroyed. In other words total eradication of that individual in the second resurrection where they are destroyed in hell’s fire.
What is most amazing about this whole issue of an immortal soul, is that the term itself appears NO WHERE IN THE BIBLE !
However, the bible teaches that we must seek for immortality (Romans 2 : 5 – 7), as God alone possesses it, and this he offers to all mankind through Jesus Christ. John 3 : 16 states For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The concept of the immortal soul was introduced into man’s thinking at the earliest beginnings of human history. God told the first human beings, Adam and Eve, that if they sinned they would die and return to the dust from which he created them ( Genesis 2 : 17 & Gen. 3 : 19 ). Satan however assured them that they would not die.
Satan seductively injected into Eve’s consciousness the notion that God was lying and that she and her husband would not die, thus infusing the unscriptual teaching of the immortality of the soul into human thought. Satan has since deceived the world on this important understanding as well as many other Biblical truths.
Much of the world, including millions of people in religions outside of traditional Christianity are convinced that they have or are immortal souls and hope they will go to a happy place or state of being, immediately after they die; Yet the bible teaches that the dead lie in the grave and know nothing, have no emotions, possess no consciousness.
The Bible thus teaches that death is as a sleep of total unawareness of the passing of time and of the events that occur, until the resurrection; Christ says in Matt. 5 : 28 & 29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
My dear brethren let us look to Jesus and study his word, the Holy Bible that we may know and understand the things that lead to everlasting life and put away the lies that are taught by the devil Satan.
May God richly bless you as you study his word
Brother Farouk Billy Karim
Filed under: Christian Doctrines |
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