Notes On The Soul

• Introduction:

          -The soul is known as the "life-principle" of our being, that is, the immaterial entity that keeps the physical body alive. In other words, it is the non-physical source of all consciousness. The soul is the immaterial part of the body which forms the basis of human features encompassing our actions, thoughts, ideas, hopes, and dreams. The soul is what makes us who we are. It is the essence of our personalities. The soul exists independently of the physical body because it is immaterial. The soul is therefore a separate entity from the body.

• A Further Description Of The Soul:

          -Human souls are breathed directly into our bodies by God (Genesis 2:8). This means that they constitute our spiritual identity. Only we are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). This fact alone distinguishes us from the animal kingdom. 

          -The soul is an immaterial entity. It is non-physical. Thus the soul cannot be tested by the scientific method because science can only examine physical quantity. The soul transcends the physical realm. Scripture says that man has a pneuma or soul.

          -Because our souls are immaterial, it logically follows that our souls are immortal. Our souls will continue to live on for eternity, even after the moment of physical death. The very essence of our being will continue to thrive in the afterlife.

• On The Immateriality Of The Soul:

         -We can use our reasoning capacities to mentally categorize things into general categories, rather than only being able to reason with particular objects that we can physically see. The human mind is not limited only to the scope of concrete thinking.

         -Human beings are free in the sense that they have free will. Evidence that man has free will is the ability to be influenced or persuaded. The act of intending points to the immateriality of human consciousness. The soul cannot be verified empirically, but it clearly does exist.

         -"...if life were nothing more than materials, then we'd be able to take all the materials of life-which are the same materials found in dirt-and make a living being. We cannot. There's clearly something beyond materials in life. What materialist can explain why one body is dead and another body is dead? Both contain the same chemicals. Why is a body alive one minute and dead the next?" (Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, p. 129)