The immortality of the soul. Immortality of the soul.
Introduction:
The doctrine of the immortality of the soul has occupied the most important theologians of all time. Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and many other prestigious and biblical scholars have lectured about this doctrine before us today. Today we are proposing a revision of the main concepts of the immortality of the soul in the light of Scripture, and only final authority in any philosophical and theological debate.
I-The origin of the soul.
If we are to speak of the immortality of the soul we have to understand what is the soul and what is its origin:
fundamental historical postures. We will not dwell on the study of any of these positions, since it is not the main focus of this issue, but it is important to know, though it be to situate roughly into proper perspective:
Preexistencianismo:
unorthodox stance advocated by some theologians, of whom the best known is Origen. Posits that human souls existed in a previous state and that some events at the state explain the condition in which these souls are now. Origen, for example, believes that man's material existence today, with the inequality and moral and physical weaknesses that characterize them, find their source in sins committed in previous life. Validity of this position: Mormons. You do not need refutation, is unorthodox.
Traducianism:
defended Posture by Tertullian and other scholars, which posits that the soul is propagated along with the bodies through the generation, and therefore the parents transmitted to their descendants. Validity of this position: Taught by the Lutheran church.
Objections:
1 - is contrary to the philosophical doctrine of the simplicity of the soul. The soul is a spiritual substance, pure, that does not support division. If we accept this theory would also accept that the child's soul the soul follows the parent. The theory that after the first 6 days of God's creative work ceased, may be rebutted by citing the active work of God in regeneration.
2 - The main failure of this doctrine is Christological, he can not explain how Christ did not inherit the sin of Mary if your human soul is a spread of Mary.
Creationism: Posture
generally accepted within evangelical circles, which posits that each individual soul has to be considered an immediate creation of God, owes its origin to a direct creative act even when it occurs can not be determined with accuracy.
Arguments:
1 - is consistent with the biblical account of creation which describes the body and soul as from a different source each. Is also consistent with the distinction made in Scripture between body and soul. Ecl.12: 7; Is.42: 15; Zac.12: 1; Heb.12: 9 -> Compare with number 16: 22.
2 - Recognizes smooth the biblical position of the indivisibility of the soul.
3 - does not have the pitfalls of translation in the Christology.
objections and explanations to the objections:
1 - This theory, if one accepts that originally the human soul is possessed of vicious tendencies, then God does the creator of something basically wrong. If accepted then that the soul is essentially pure makes God the author of moral evil to put the soul in a body that corrupt impure.
Explanation: This objection fails on its approach to sin, neither the soul nor the body per is bad. Not a bad gene that affects the body or the soul, nor is a stain that spreads from generation to generation. The descendants of Adam are sinners, not as a result of being placed in a sinful body, or to have been created with a corrupt soul, but because God imputes Adam's disobedience. This is why God will remove the original justice, and corruption of sin is developed. That is the sanctity of man is not something that comes of itself as a result of creation but of his relationship with the Holy God, and separation from God results in injustice and guilt for the human race. According to the Reformed view of Adam and Eve as federal representatives of humanity
II "The man (soul-body unity.)
Before going to define whether or not the immortal soul, we must understand the biblical meaning of the word man. Among the positions that populate the theological stage of the Christian churches there are two that are generally accepted: 1 - The position of the trichotomy. 2 - and the position of the dichotomy.
However, while the Reformed believe that man is essentially composed of soul and body is not healthy we establish a dichotomy between the two elements, it runs the risk of emphasizing one of the two and downplay the other for "anatomy" means division, separation does not occur in man naturally.
A pagan thought into the church in a surreptitious manner is the idea that the spirit (soul) is more important than the body. This thought comes from the philosopher Plato, who conceived the body as the prison of the soul and all that were necessary to help us liberate the soul from its material prison that may experience fullness.
The vision of the body as corrupt case of a pure soul is a very common thought in the writings of some theologians throughout the history of the Church. For example, in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola can read between the lines, the desire to mortify the body to free the soul from sin.
- What is the correct position?
The correct posture is the balance or equilibrium in the importance attached to both body and soul. The human being is not a body with soul, nor is it a soul with body. The right way to approach this would be to affirm that man is a soul and a body, wherein each of the two elements form an integral part of the concept man.
"The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being" Gn.2: 7.
(If there is doubt in the audience to quote Jesus feeding, healing as a sign of the importance he attached also to the human body.)
III-Death.
Men Having understood the concept we proceed to understand the concept of Death before finally passing to lecture on the immortality of the soul. Without death there would make sense ask the question is whether or not the immortal soul?
Remitámonos back to the Book of Origins. Gn.2
:16-17. "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die."
The result of the first transgression was:
1 - The total depravity of man. The whole human being without exception was flawed because of sin, reaching full power and authority of the body and the soul of man.
2 - Loss of communion with God, which automatically sentenced him to a state of spiritual death, separation from the source of life. Eph.2: 1,5,12; 14:18.
3 - Introduction of death not only spiritual but also physical death. He was sentenced to return to the dust of the earth from which it was taken. Gen.3: 19. This death is a legacy for all humanity Ro.6: 23.
Physical death then refers to the unnatural separation between body and soul.
Spiritual death is the separation between man and God.
IV "Immortality the soul.
The concept of immortality of the soul comes not from Christian tradition but from the 18th century Enlightenment and Deism equivalent.
If immortality means the impossibility of dying we see clearly that is not true immortality of the soul because the soul of the unregenerate human being is itself a dead soul. Remember III-2 (The result of the first transgression).
1 Tim. 6:15-16 says: "(...) the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of the governors, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. "This immortality, in the words of Berkhof, is" like an original possession, eternal and necessary "(1) in his capacity of God.
But if immortality as we continued existence is a biblical concept clearly. To avoid naming conflicts, we will refer to the Immortality of the Soul and continued existence.
A concept that is opposed to the biblical position on the continued existence of the soul is the doctrine of annihilation or conditioned existence, confessed by the members of the sect Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists.
When talking about immortality or continued existence should be viewed in light of the divine, No creature possesses in itself virtue to exist but which is given by God, this is the correct stance and accepted the view itself (Col.1: 17 "And He is before all things and all things He still ". Hch.17: 28." For in Him we live and move and ... ").
However, Immortality of the Soul in St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, the philosopher presents a set of reasons for the immortality of the soul of a more philosophical thought based on the encampment, who sees the reasons for the immortality of the soul apart from God. Although we disagree with this position I mention to be aware of:
The soul is immortal because:
1 - that is the subject of science that is eternal
2 - because it is the subject of reason that is unchangeable.
3 - The living substance and soul, which is not susceptible to change, yet still somehow able to change, is immortal.
4 - The art and principles of mathematics are immutable and can not exist except in a soul that lives.
For Augustine the soul is superior to the body and after it has been created by God has existence in itself. Augustine was divided between the two positions of the origin of the soul known as Traducianism and Creationism.
V-consciousness of the soul of the deceased.
1 - In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus can deduce a postmortem consciousness. Lc.16.
2 - 2Co.5 and Fil.1 :6-9: 23 Paul expressed the expectation to experience joy in the Lord's presence, which would not be possible without consciousness.
3 - Heb.12: 23 It is said of believers who have come to the assembly of which are part of "the spirits of just men made perfect." This implies a conscious existence of the dead in Christ.
4 - Ap.6: 9 The spirits seek revenge.
5 - Ap.20: 4 speaks of those who died and reigned with Christ.
VI-The intermediate state.
The intermediate stage is the name attributed to the state of the souls of the departed before the second coming of Christ.
There are scholars who argue that the soul sleeps from the time of his death until the second coming of Christ, and that in this period of time has no conscience. Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists defend this position, which was refuted by John Calvin in his book "Dream of the soul."
case for soul sleep and refutation:
1 - Followers of this unorthodox approach posed as an argument that the Word of God the word sleep is used as a synonym for death. Eg Hch.7: 60, 1 Ts.4: 14.15. This simply is a contextualization of passages not even worth refuting.
2 - Another argument, also poor, who wield the that those raised as in the case of the son of the widow of Nain and Lazarus did not talk about their experiences while they were dead, which means, according to them, they did not. It is also quite simple to refute this argument, because if not collected testimony of those things they talked about the experience, does not imply that they had none, plus we do not know with certainty whether it was permissible to talk about. 2 Co.14 :2-4.
Luis Berkof seems to point in his book Systematic Theology to disagree with the idea of \u200b\u200bthe intermediate state, seems to argue that the souls of the righteous, immediately after death enter into glory, to God's presence y los impíos directo al infierno. Sus argumentos:
El Catecismo de Heidelberg a la pregunta: ¿Qué consuelo te proporciona la resurrección del cuerpo? Responde: “Que después de esta vida, no solo mi alma será inmediatamente llevada a la presencia de Cristo, su cabeza; sino también, este mi cuerpo, será levantado por el poder de Cristo, se unirá de nuevo con mi alma y será hecho semejante al glorioso cuerpo de Cristo.” A pesar de ello, él reconoce que muchos teólogos reformados hablan de un estado intermedio.
Cita como argumentos de la Biblia:
- Pablo dice que estar ausente del cuerpo es estar presente al Señor en 2Cor.5:8.
- Describe su deseo de partir y be with Christ. Fil.2 3.
- Jesus gave the thief on the cross the joyful promise that that day would be with Him in paradise. Lk. 23: 43. In the 2 Cor.12 :3-4 paradise can only mean the same sky.
Still does not address the subject with clarity and fails to explain a number of questions, among which is:
- The sense of reckoning if and souls are in their final place. It will be only for living?
- What is the point of expression for new heavens and new earth in the light of the conception of Berkof.
Hoekema and Gerald Nyenhuis, however are skewed in favor of an intermediate state. A time when the believer is already experiencing Communion with God is in the presence of Christ but not to the fullness you expect. While the wicked are in a state of anticipation of trial.
Conclusion:
believe in the continued existence of the soul and that the existence finds its source in God.
Bibliography.
- Systematic Theology. Luis Berkof.
- What Christians believe. Vol.2. Gerald Nyenhuis.
- The Bible and the future. Anthony Hoekema.
