Jeanette Cox (1594 words)

Dr. Charles Dolph

PYCH-3690

February 3, 2023

Chapter 5 Eyes of Faith

Christians often discuss and sing about their souls. It seemed logical to use the fact that
we have souls as evidence that we are not merely animals. Talk of the soul has become a method
of thought for many people to examine their ideas, which is perfectly appropriate. Naturally, this
has occurred in the past with different Christian beliefs.
Christians often discuss and sing about their souls. It seemed logical to use the fact that
we have souls as evidence that we are not merely animals. Our sense of self-worth and
understanding of the sanctity of human life is based on the idea that we have souls. Talk of the
soul has become a method of thought for many people to examine their ideas, which is perfectly
appropriate. Naturally, this has occurred in the past with different Christian beliefs.
According to Francis Crick, a renowned Nobel winner, "There is broad agreement on at
just one moment in time: Humans have souls, in the real and not just the metaphorical sense,
despite disagreements among religions." According to the scientist. Contrary to popular belief,
the soul is not a substantial being that exists before and outside the body and is better off without
it, according to Keith Ward, Religious Professor of Divinity at Oxford. Ward contends that the
Christian tradition affirms the body and soul's intrinsic oneness.
As Socrates' discussion of death suggests, Greek thought predates the Bible in its
conception of an immortal soul that is distinct from the body. Plato concludes that Socrates
followed his philosophy by consuming the lethal hemlock while calmly believing that his eternal
soul was safe. The Greek idea of a distinct body and soul has greatly influenced Christian
history.
Disentangling Greek philosophical and biblical depictions of human nature has been a
goal of twentieth-century biblical research. Finding the biblical portrait of a person is not an easy
task because the Bible is essentially a collection of sixty-six books that were written over 1500
years in three different languages and under various historical conditions. It follows that there
may be differences between the definitions of the identical words in the Greek New Testament
and the Hebrew Old Testament. The body-soul connection was discussed in numerous ways by
philosophers and physicians during the Hellenistic period since the Greeks did not have a
singular conception of the soul. It wasn't just one view; it was a group of beliefs.
Biblical scholars now believe that knowing the many perspectives within Hellenistic
Judaism is crucial to comprehending the cultural narrative that frames how anthropology is
described in the New Testament. It is now widely acknowledged that the New Testament authors
were most greatly influenced by the Scriptures of Israel. As a result, readings of New Testament
anthropology must start with Old Testament monism. One error is to regard the shared language
of the Bible as assertions of contemporary science.
Galileo's theory that the moon shone by reflected light was rejected by the church
because the author of Genesis claimed that the moon was a light to rule the night. When Galileo
offered to let them look through his telescope and observe the shadows of the craters for
themselves, they refused and labeled his findings as delusions of the devil.
Similar misunderstandings can occur when using biblical human imagery. It's crucial to keep
in mind that the Bible was written for everyone, everywhere, at all times. As a result, it is not
intended to provide precise psychology, particularly not one in the early twenty-first century's
terminology. It is also a handbook for living rather than a study of science. It is biographical
rather than biological. It discusses the interventions of God throughout human history.
The picture of humanity as the majestic apex of God's creative activity, individually made in
God's image, yet somehow also as a very important part of creation, produced from the dust that
covers the earth, is delicately balanced throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Hebrew thinking made
assumptions about what modern science has come to recognize as the physical foundations of the
mind and emotion. Hebrew psychology is different from modern science in certain specifics, yet
both traditions agree on one fundamental idea: the connection between the body and mind. The
people of the Old Testament long for God with their flesh, with their bowels, and with their
hearts. The heart, or leb in Hebrew, is the most crucial of all the bodily organs. Leb appears 850
times in the Old Testament, where it is used to refer to diverse things like the entire personality,
the feelings, or the mind and will. It is the core of existence in all of these varied ways, where
hearing and responding to God's word are required.
The message is the same whether we are told to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength,
and mind, or to offer our bodies "as a living sacrifice": give your entire being to God.
Greek word psyche, which is commonly translated as "soul," is parallel to the Hebrew word
nephesh. Its meaning is frequently manifestly that of an ethereal soul. Acts 7:14 describes how
Joseph transported his dad, Jacob, and 75 other "souls" into Egypt, but he did not abandon their
physical bodies behind us in Canaan. Rich farmers dream of abundant harvests that will allow
them to tell their souls, "Soul, you have plenty of stuff laid away for so many generations; take
your pleasure, dine, drink, and be happy." Frank Stagg, a scholar of the Bible, wonders out loud:
Similar to how the Greek words for "spirit" and "flesh" does not refer to a hidden element
that is plugged into a physical compartment, spirituality refers to the complete individual who
has a relationship with God as well as other people.
With very few exceptions, most Christians would respond that the immortal of the soul is
what they understand in the New Testament to teach about what happens to us after we die.
However, this commonly held belief is among the worst misconceptions about Christianity.
Scripture does not promise us the soul's eternal life; rather, it promises us resurrection to
everlasting life as an "embodied spirit"—a completely different idea.
Unlike Socrates, Jesus did not view death as a friend. Jesus sobbed over the tomb of his
buddy Lazarus. Death was important. It was "the great adversary," in the words of the apostle
Paul. Because humans do not naturally possess a guarantee of immortality, death is real and it is
an enemy. We do not "pass away" at the end of our lives as Socrates believed, but rather, we die.
To use a crude but contemporary comparison, the heavenly programmer pledges to
recreate our program on a fresh, error-free piece of technology after the power is turned off to
our computing equipment. We don't need to worry about the specifics of this resurrection body
and life. The things to keep in mind instead are these: First, after our lifetimes, there will be a
renewal of life with each of our unique identities preserved, perhaps something like how a lovely
flower retains the character of the modest seed that came before it. (As a result, all Christians—
whether they believe in an immortal soul or not—experience the same level of consolation while
facing death.)
 We must be cautious when connecting biblical principles to specifics of any widely
accepted scientific hypothesis. But it's important to emphasize that this cohesive picture is in line
with the new scientific understanding of individuals as a mind-body oneness. In actuality, we are
bodies with thoughts rather than bodies. Given this, we ought to be concerned about people's
entire selves, bodies and all. And for this reason, faith-based individuals have been in the
vanguard of initiatives to bring medicine to underdeveloped countries, end world hunger, and
fight crippling racism.
Modern humanity is not what God intended. When the fall took place, humankind's first
obedience to God was replaced by disobedience. When viewed in this light, the fall is primarily
seen as a rupture in the bonds between God, people, and nature. It's common to hear that the fall
"marred" or "obscured" God's image, but that Christ can restore it. But even though unredeemed
humanity has since been "dead in trespasses and sins," our bodily existence has gone on as usual.
Biological and spiritual existence can therefore be isolated from one another, but since they are
interconnected, we must not overstate this possibility.
I never thought too hard about the soul and body being separate. I knew that it was but it
was not something that came to mind first. The thought that the Greeks did not believe in one
single concept of the soul is crazy to me. I do not understand how you can believe differently on
the same topic. Honestly, I think that certain people just chose what seemed best for them or
what worked best in their life. While others just went along with what their friends or neighbors
thought to be acceptable to them. When the chapter said that the Bible is a book for living, not a
book of science, it struck me. The book was made for us to read for us to live by it but there is no
science to it. The people of the Old Testament thought with their bowels, and the first thing that
my brain thought was how can you think with your bowels? The next bit of the sentence says
that they Long for God with their flesh, people now do not long for God with their Flesh but with
their hearts.