Bible beliefs: Does a soul exist separately from the body?

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Over in Reddit, I asked Bible scholars

So far, I have received one response from someone with a



It seems strange that there would be no academic sources, as this is one of Christianity's most fundamental issues.

Jesus ascended bodily into Heaven. The Catholics will tell you that his mom did the same.

I heard some Jehovah's Witnesses claim that everyone who ever lived will come back to life on Earth, and live forever. Which suggests that the soul is not separate from the body.

Mohammedans appear to think that the soul leaves the body and goes directly either to Heaven or Hell.

Hindus and Buddhists would have our souls reincarnate into another body.

So, which is it?

I think like Lisa said in The Simpsons that there's also a belief among some philosophers that nobody is "born with a soul" but that we all have to earn our souls through thoughtfulness.

That's kind of reflected in the stories of the original Little Mermaid (not the Disney crap) where the main character was told that mermaids had no souls and turned to sea foam after death, so she tried to gain a human soul herself by having the sea witch turn her into a human.

Another example is the Greek Myth of Psyche the mortal girl who endured much hardship to be with her husband the God Eros whom she loved greatly. After she completed her many painful trials the Gods granted her permission to drink from a cup of Ambrosia to gain immortality so that Psyche and Eros would be together for all eternity, and as a new Goddess her sacred symbol became the butterfly which symbolized the human soul transforming after death.

I never accepted the idea of a real soul. There are so many aspects of mental activity that science has shown to be functions of the physical brain, that there wouldn't be much left for a soul to take with it if it flew away. So I suppose the "immortal soul" is one of those concepts that used to seem more plausible before we found out a thing or two about how the stuff between our ears works, but it's hard for some people to abandon it because doing that means accepting that when they die, they really will cease to exist, which can be a very scary thought if you're not used to it.

I've seen the occasional bit of fiction about people who lost their souls, and the authors seem to think they'd be incapable of emotion, warmth, or moral judgements. I found them rather laughable because I see those qualities as functions of the brain.

I'm happy enough with the concept of a soul as a metaphor though. I even used the word "soul" in a song I wrote once. But that was art. When I see the word "spiritual" I take it to mean emotional, aesthetic, or artistic.

Here is one answer from the Christianity subreddit

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I guess that explains the phrase "Asleep in Jesus" I've seen on Victorian gravestones. I can see the attraction of seeing it like that - "Being eaten by maggots" wouldn't be such a comfort to the bereaved.

Souls seem to have different qualities depending on who you read. Yesterday a fundamentalist who has just done hundreds of hours of religious training declared to me categorically that each of us is made of 3 parts - the physical body (which I don't deny), the soul, and what he called the "spirit."

Ask a Hindu. You'll get a better answer. Christians aren't really into souls.

Things are picking up in the Christianity subreddit, if anyone wants to take a gander.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Christianity/c ... oul_exist/

I took a look and found this:

I thought it looked familiar, then realised it was what I'd posted here yesterday, verbatim. I had no idea anybody had read what I wrote.

Actually my fundie acquaintance, while trying to preach to me, happened to mention that you get a new body when you get to the Good Place, so bang goes another fine logical argument of mine

After a bit of digging, I found these scriptural quotes:

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Straight from Jesus' mouth, according to Matthew,whoever he was. So that looks clear, until some clever dick figures out an interpretation that muddies the water again.

And here's where my fundie acquaintance seems to have got his idea of a tripartite entity:

Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I know it's only Paul, but it must be correct because the Holy Trinity also has 3 parts. It's to balance the machine so we don't get catapulted into the next universe where it would be impossible to be close to God ever again. Anyway, 3 is one of those magic numbers, so there.

I see the Reddit thread is talking about the nature of hell also. Seems rather tangential of them. They should get their own thread.

Yes. I'm glad that you're taking my plagiarism as a compliment.



I remember someone telling me that, too. I don't know if it comes from the Bible or not.



That does look as if the soul can continue to exist without the body. If your body has been cremated, and your ashes spread to the wind, then it would be tough to resurrect you. Or, if you've been buried long enough to have been converted completely to worm pooh. But, early Christians seem to have believed that our bodies would be resurrected. It is in the Apostles' Creed.



So the spirit and soul are separate entities? That might be a good one for the Reddit Christians.

Maybe a "soul" is nothing more than human energy?

And just like the ancient world believed, nobody is garunteed eternal life after death unless they did something so historic and great that they get remembered even thousands of years later. The rest of us might get remembered for a while by our surviving family and friends but over time we fade away out of memory.

Of course. I don't believe either of us can monetise my ideas, or that I was the first person in the world to have them. I'm just glad to see I was listened to. I'd like to see an upvote button on WP, so that people could easily indicate when they were impressed, without having to make a post when they've nothing to add.

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The nearest scriptural allusions to it that I've found are:

Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body

With evidence as weak as that, it's probably not surprising many people hold that we don't know it to be a fact. But my fundie acquaintance seems to think he does.

Hmm......"the resurrection of the body" - as rather a thickie on theological matters, I'm left wondering whose body they meant. Could have been Jesus' body. If only they'd said "our bodies" then it would have been a lot clearer.


Indeed. Feel free to use it, though maybe my remark about catapulting ought to be left out. I have a strange feeling it could be deemed flippant. Ditto for magic numbers.