How the idea of Immortal Soul got into the Church

[Hobie]

Here is one of the best explanation I have come across and every believer should carefully go through it and understand how this deception came into the church from what can only be called pagan Greek thought. 'Secular history reveals that the concept of the immortality of the soul is an ancient belief embraced by many pagan religions. But it's not a biblical teaching and is not found in either the Old or New Testaments....

The concept of the soul's supposed immortality was first taught in ancient Egypt and Babylon. "The belief that the soul continues in existence after the dissolution of the body is...speculation...nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture...The belief in the immortality of the soul came to the Jews from contact with Greek thought and chiefly through the philosophy of Plato, its principal exponent, who was led to it through Orphic and Eleusinian mysteries in which Babylonian and Egyptian views were strangely blended" (Jewish Encyclopedia, 1941, Vol. 6, "Immortality of the Soul," pp. 564, 566).

Plato (428-348 B.C.), the Greek philosopher and student of Socrates, taught that the body and the "immortal soul" separate at death. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia comments on ancient Israel's view of the soul: "We are influenced always more or less by the Greek, Platonic idea that the body dies, yet the soul is immortal. Such an idea is utterly contrary to the Israelite consciousness and is nowhere found in the Old Testament" (1960, Vol. 2, "Death," p. 812).

Early Christianity was influenced and corrupted by Greek philosophies as it spread through the Greek and Roman world. By A.D. 200 the doctrine of the immortality of the soul became a controversy among Christian believers.

The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology notes that Origen, an early and influential Catholic theologian, was influenced by Greek thinkers: "Speculation about the soul in the subapostolic church was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy. This is seen in Origen's acceptance of Plato's doctrine of the preexistence of the soul as pure mind (nous) originally, which, by reason of its fall from God, cooled down to soul (psyche) when it lost its participation in the divine fire by looking earthward" (1992, "Soul," p. 1037)....https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/what-happens-after-death/the-history-of-the-immortal-soul-teaching

[Wycliffes_Shillelagh]

But it's not a biblical teaching and is not found in either the Old or New Testaments....

It might very well have come from Greek influence, but I do find it in the New Testament...

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:1-11)

[Rella]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding the title of this thread.

My opinion... I know no one will agree.

To me I trust the words of Christ Jesus who said

Matt 10:28 NASB 1995
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Surly if God does not destroy the soul its made to last, isnt it.

So be it Pagan or otherwise... It made it to the bible by way of quoting Jesus ... and the bible made it to church.

Is that too simple... ?

[Cathlodox]

The ancient Jews believed in the immortality of the soul as did the Jews of Jesus' day. The exception of this belief was the Sadducees who Christ severely corrected, in a most public and embarrassing way.

Acts 23,8
For the Sad′ducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

Paul was either telling lies or he was being honest when he said he sided with the Sadducees on this point.

One can read in the Gospel accounts what Jesus said to the Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection, nor angel NOR SPIRIT). Christ was very clear as He addressed EACH of the Sadducees errors.

In the SDA's case they NEED the dead to be unaware and nonexistent because they teach in 1844 Jesus started operating as a High Priest in heaven. Supposedly how this works is that everyone starting with Adam had not had their "cases" looked at to see if they merited salvation UNTIL October 22, 1844.

[Texas Conservative]

The ancient Jews believed in the immortality of the soul as did the Jews of Jesus' day. The exception of this belief was the Sadducees who Christ severely corrected, in a most public and embarrassing way.

Acts 23,8
For the Sad′ducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

Paul was either telling lies or he was being honest when he said he sided with the Sadducees on this point.

One can read in the Gospel accounts what Jesus said to the Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection, nor angel NOR SPIRIT). Christ was very clear as He addressed EACH of the Sadducees errors.

In the SDA's case they NEED the dead to be unaware and nonexistent because they teach in 1844 Jesus started operating as a High Priest in heaven. Supposedly how this works is that everyone starting with Adam had not had their "cases" looked at to see if they merited salvation UNTIL October 22, 1844.

And that SDA doctrine is blasphemy.  According to this doctrine, Jesus lied when He said "It is finished."

[dpr]

The real question the OP should be asking is just when... did men's false theory of the 'dead in the ground' get started in Christ's Church?

What did Jesus say in John 3 about flesh vs. Spirit? They are 2 separate and distinct orders of operation.

And Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:50 that flesh and blood cannot... inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Paul said there that as we have borne the "image of the earthy" we shall also bear the "image of the heavenly". So is that "image of the heavenly" made of flesh and blood? God forbid, NO!

I am amazed at so many of my Christian brethren that are almost completely illiterate of this matter between the two dimensions of existence that God created, this earthly one, and the heavenly one.

Apostle Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 5 that if our earthly tabernacle (flesh body) were dissolved, we still have a house from God, not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens. WHY... do so many brethren deny that Bible Scripture in favor of believing the Jew's false tradition that God's future kingdom will involve flesh and blood?

The 'dead in the ground' theory, i.e., the idea that our flesh in the casket is raised at the future resurrection, is actually from old Jewish tradition based on Genesis 2:7 with the idea of a 'living soul'. The old Jewish tradition thinks that the 'soul' is part of our flesh body makeup, when it is not. They even scrap what Ecclesiastes 12:5-7 clearly teaches about our flesh going back to the earth when it dies, where it came from, but our spirit going back to God Who gave it.

Our spirit is attached together with our soul and cannot be separated, but they can be separated from our flesh body, per New Testament doctrine. Per 2 Cor.5, our spirit is about that other body we ALREADY have that is not made up of flesh and blood, i.e., the "spiritual body" or "image of the heavenly" that Paul taught about in 1 Cor.15.

So it is high time brethren in Christ began leaving those old Jewish superstitions about the flesh being raised at the resurrection behind, and actually follow New Testament Bible doctrine.

[dpr]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding the title of this thread.

My opinion... I know no one will agree.

To me I trust the words of Christ Jesus who said

Matt 10:28 NASB 1995
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Surly if God does not destroy the soul its made to last, isnt it.

So be it Pagan or otherwise... It made it to the bible by way of quoting Jesus ... and the bible made it to church.

Is that too simple... ?

Your simple explanation is Biblical. Our spirit with soul is of... that other dimension of Spirit. It is not flesh. That is what The Bible teaches, in simplicity.

But the old Jewish tradition about spirit and soul is that spirit is only like an animating force of life that all living things have. And the soul is something attached to the flesh, as they made a doctrine of man out of Gen.2:7 about Adam becoming "a living soul". They wrongly assign the idea of 'living soul' with the breathing of the flesh body. This is one of the problems many Jews have with their Bible understanding, they tend to assign everything to the idea of 'flesh'. Lord Jesus revealed this also in John 3 with Nicodemus, as he had a difficult time understanding the difference between flesh and Spirit. And Jesus then asked him how could He reveal to him heavenly things if he couldn't understand that.

John 3:10-12
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
KJV

[Hobie]

It might very well have come from Greek influence, but I do find it in the New Testament...

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:1-11)

Notice what it says, "To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek". It doesnt infer they have it or its within them of themselves, but they that 'seek' it.

[Hobie]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding the title of this thread.

My opinion... I know no one will agree.

To me I trust the words of Christ Jesus who said

Matt 10:28 NASB 1995
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Surly if God does not destroy the soul its made to last, isnt it.

So be it Pagan or otherwise... It made it to the bible by way of quoting Jesus ... and the bible made it to church.

Is that too simple... ?

If someone comes and shoots you, is the body dead, of course. Now is the  totality of who you 'are' in life done and over, not if you put your trust in God. But God can cause that life or totality of who you 'are' to cease or be done for the endless ages of time. Thus killing the body is nothing, loosing your soul (totality of who you 'are') from One who has that power, is much more important I would say to the utmost.

[Rella]

If someone comes and shoots you, is the body dead, of course. Now is the  totality of who you 'are' in life done and over, not if you put your trust in God. But God can cause that life or totality of who you 'are' to cease or be done for the endless ages of time. Thus killing the body is nothing, loosing your soul (totality of who you 'are') from One who has that power, is much more important I would say to the utmost.

I believe in tripartite man.

The Bible says that man consists of three component parts... body, soul and spirit. Man is a triune being because he is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), (who Himself is a Trinity.)

While true that the soul and spirit are so closely related that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish accurately between them, the Bible makes it clear that they are not the same... that they're divisible.

It is said that... The three parts of man are the body of man which is made of the dust of the ground, the spirit breathed into man's nostrils by the LORD God and the soul which is the union of the other two.

There definitely are two passages from the Bible that clearly establish the fact that man has three parts.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

NASB 1995
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This verse clearly states that man has three separate, distinct parts; the distinction maybe slight but they exist nevertheless.

B. Hebrews 4:12

NASB 1995
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

For those that believe the soul and spirit are two words that mean the same thing, this verse definitely tells us that they are divisible. Yes, it is true that the terms soul and spirit are used interchangeably in Scriptures, there are other passages where this is impossible.

The Hebrew term for soul is "nephesh" and it is found more than 780 times in the Old Testament.

Gen 2:27 tells us that we not only have a living soul... we are a living soul. It is the immaterial part of us midway between the body and the spirit, Not a combination of the other two.... though seemingly at times it seems to take on characteristics of one or the other.

John 4:24 says that God is Spirit... "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." and our spirits are the part of us that resembles God most.

With out our "spirits" ... go to Roman 8:16 NASB95 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God... This is our assurance of salvation when it says "the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God."

It is our spirits that allow us to connect with God....

It is our spirits that give us  the ability to have an intimate relationship with God... the very part of us that is enabled by God to know and worship Him.

It is our spirits that is what gets born again or regenerated.

Just as the soul is the sphere of activity where Satan operates within us, our spirits are the sphere of activity where the Holy Spirit operates in regeneration. And nowhere else.

But when does your soul die?

I submit never.... unless or until... as we wre told in Math 10:28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Or when does your spirit die??

I submit never... as in not at all .... as we are told what happens to our spirits on death in Eccl 12:7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

All scripture references are from the NASB95 

[Hobie]

It might very well have come from Greek influence, but I do find it in the New Testament...

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:1-11)

Notice they seek it, as they do not have it if self.