So can you, or DaveH, or anyone define exactly what is the difference between your soul and your spirit?
Is your personality your soul? Does it go to heaven? Your
mental capacity? Your sense of humor? Don’t animals have souls? (I
think so!) Do they have a spirit? Which one do you believe lives in heaven
after your body dies—one or both? Izzy
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Terry Clifton
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 9:24
PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [TruthTalk] Soul
Izzy,
I don't know if the following information will help you much, but The Compact
Dictionary of Doctrinal Words" says:
Soul: From the Greek psyche,
"the breath of life." Although most theologians agree that the
soul is the immaterial part of a human being, throughout Church history they
have debated the relationship of soul to spirit. Dichotomists hold that the
soul and spirit are two names for the same immaterial nature, while
trichotomists think soul and spirit are two separate entities.
Dichotomists believe the body consists only of matter and soul; trichotomists
maintain the body consists of matter, soul, and spirit.
Either Christian view of the soul is different from that of Greek philosophy,
which sees the soul as a preexistent entity imprisoned in the body at
birth. At death the soul esscapes its prison, the body, and for eternity
remains a disembodied soul. Christians believe the spirit comes from
God. It is infused into the body and a person becomes a living soul (Gen.
2.7). At death the spirit returns to God and the body to the dust of the
ground. At the resurrection, spirit and body are again united and the
individual again becomes a living soul, this time for eternity.
Hope this gives you some help.
Terry
