This article will argue for the reasonableness of the doctrine of the existence and the immortality of the soul. It will begin with a discussion of the nature of souls and immortality. It will briefly explore the ancient Greek and modern Christian concepts of the immortality of the soul. It will examine two types of compelling evidence, clinically documented near death experiences and the biblical record of both the Old and New Testaments. It will consider some of the stronger objections to the evidence presented in this article for the doctrine of the existence and immortality of the soul, and will then offer a conclusion and closing remarks.
What is the Soul?
The soul is that immaterial part of a being in which are its mind, will, and emotions.[1] It is not tangible or physical, yet it is usually, but not always, manifest in the physical world in union with a physical body. This is certainly the case for human beings and animals, and, in the case of God (the Son), it became so in the Incarnation of Christ. The soul is distinct from, and does not necessarily require, a physical body. God (the Father) has a soul (mind, will, and emotions), but does not have a body.[2] “God is Spirit.” (John 4:24)
Human Souls
Some scholars hold that the Greek word “psuche,” which is translated soul and the Greek word “pneumas,” which is translated spirit are interchangeable and essentially the same concept regarding the non-material essence of a human being. This is the dichotomist view. Others, including the writer of this paper, hold a trichotomist view in which human beings are made up of three parts: body, soul, and spirit, the latter being that part of a human being that relates to God. [3] In either case, human beings are made up of more than just a body. They have souls.
Do Animals Have Souls?
Animals (at least the higher ones) have minds, wills, and emotions, and thus, souls. Anyone with a dog or cat can attest to this fact. But, the souls of animals are not the same as the souls of human beings. While both humans and animals do have souls, humans are made “in the image of God,” (Genesis 1:27) and are thus distinct from all other created beings, whether animals in the physical realm or other beings in the spiritual realm.
To be created in the image of God means that the souls of humans differ from the lower animals in that humans have a higher form of existence, which includes the capacity to relate to God. For an animal, this is an abstract idea (that is, God and relating to Him). Animals do not have the capacity for abstraction or complex thought. For instance, animals have thoughts, but they do not have thoughts about their thoughts (as in psychotherapy, where one ponders her own thoughts). Animals have desires, but they do not have desires about their desires (as in self-loathing over one’s gluttony). Animals have emotions, but they do not have emotions about their emotions (as in anger over one’s melancholy). Animals have beliefs, but they do not have beliefs about their beliefs (such as believing that heaven is only for those who believe in Christ). A human may have an annoying song come to mind over and over in the same day and wish it were not happening. This is a desire about a thought. A human may have an infatuation for another person and think it is God’s will to marry the person. This is a belief about an emotion. Humans have the ability to analyze their minds with their minds. This higher form of existence (the human soul) separates us, by design, from the animal world.
What is Immortality?
Immortality vs. Eternality
“Immortality is the term commonly applied to the belief that” human beings “consciously survive death and live on forever.” [4] Immortality is not the same thing as eternality (to exist eternally). Eternality is an attribute of God, but not of created beings.[5] While humans may go on living into the future without end (immortality), this does not mean that they had no beginning (eternality). Human beings were created and did not exist prior to their creation. (Genesis 2:7) God is eternal and has always existed. (Exodus 3:13-14, 1 Timothy 1:17) Humans are immortal, but not eternal.
Greek and Christian Concepts of Immortality
“According to an ancient Greek concept of immortality (e.g. Plato), human beings are a soul and only have a body.” [6] Death is the separation of the soul and the body. This is a form of dualism. The Christian view sees soul and body as unified in personhood. “The Human being is a souled body.”[7] This becomes clear in the New Testament, which uses the term immortality “exclusively in the context of the resurrection body.” [8] Human beings are not viewed as existing, at least permanently, without a body. The period of time between the physical death of a human and the resurrection of the human is the temporal period during which the human is without a body, but this is neither the original design in creation nor the ultimate end of the human.
Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul
Non-Biblical Evidence: Near Death Experiences
Over the past few decades, reports of near death experiences have come to the forefront of American popular culture. Books are regularly published by people who have made claims regarding their out of body near death experiences. But, are there any credible cases of near death experiences that can substantiate the existence of the non-material soul and life after physical death? Is it possible to verify these cases? Do these cases have any evidential value for the doctrine of the immortality of the soul?
Skeptics list a host of reasons for rejecting near death experiences as holding any evidential value. Some skeptics argue that near death experiences are hoaxes. Unfortunately, this may be true in some cases. Other skeptics, however, offer alternative theories, such as brain wave function that generates and records imagined events (hallucinations). Still others suggest mental telepathy (ESP) may be at work. Some question the methods used by the researchers, and others point to satanic or demonic explanations. All of these objections can be satisfactorily addressed by simply examining a few well-documented cases. If the cases don’t stand up to scrutiny, then they should be rejected. The whole subject of near death experiences is far too large to treat exhaustively within the scope of this paper, and there are literally thousands of documented cases. Therefore, our investigation will be limited to just four of them. Each case represents one of four different types of near death experiences: those who have reported events around them, those whose hearts have stopped beating, those whose brain wave function has ceased, and those who have interacted with others who have died unbeknownst to the one who had the near death experience.
Case #1
The most basic type of near death experience that offers evidential value in the question of the immortality of the soul is a corroborated report of a patient who had near death experience wherein she saw actual people and events while unconscious. If one is able to experience things occurring near the body, this alone may not hold much value. But, if the person is able to experience events remote from her body and the events can be corroborated by credible eyewitness testimony, then greater weight should be given to such cases.
Consider the case of a five year old boy named Rick. Rick was extremely ill with life-threatening meningitis. In a particularly severe bout, he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, but decided to “stay behind.” With his body on the way to the hospital and himself still at home, he observed his family’s emotional turmoil and stress, including his father’s weeping as he drove the family to the hospital. Rick went ahead of the ambulance and arrived at the hospital before his body or family. Upon arrival, he observed the hospital employees removing a twelve year old girl from the room that he was to be placed in. During the entire period and for several days afterward Rick was in a deep coma.[9]
Case #2
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.[10] Patients who experience cardiac arrest immediately lose consciousness, and if they do not receive medical attention within a few minutes of the onset of the attack, they often die. Patients in full cardiac arrest can sometimes be revived by cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). One case involved an eight year old girl who drowned in a swimming pool when her hair was caught in the pool’s drain. Paramedics arrived on the scene and performed CPR for about 45 minutes. At last the girl was brought back after arriving at the hospital. Following her resuscitation she reported that during the event she had visited heaven. She was also able to accurately describe the events that occurred beginning with the arrival of the paramedics at her home, their work to revive her, as well as the events at the hospital where she was finally revived.
Case #3
“Death” is clinically indicated when brain wave function has ceased as measured by an electroencephalogram (EEG).[11] The occurrence of human self awareness, the observation of objects and events in the material world, or interaction with other beings (human or otherwise) in the spiritual world during extended periods in which no brain activity is detected by an EEG is “powerful evidence that human consciousness may exist after death.” [12] Noted cardiologist, Fred Schoonmaker, in an 18 year study, documented and analyzed fifty-five separate near death experience cases of “patients whose experiences occurred while flat EEG readings were recorded,” [13] some of which were for periods of up to three hours.[14]
In one such case, a woman who had been declared dead for about three hours, based upon a flat EEG reading and other criteria, revived on a gurney while being wheeled to the morgue. The woman then correctly recounted the medical practitioners’ resuscitation attempts after she died, the number of people in the room, what they said, including a joke, and the details of the neckties worn by the doctors. Her report was verified against the hospital’s medical records at the time as well as by the doctors present. Everything was confirmed as reported by the woman. [15]
Case #4
Corroborated reports of near death experiences have significant evidential value in these cases, and are among the most difficult to refute. Perhaps the most compelling of this type of near death experience is cases in which a person revives after a near death experience, and tells of having met and interacted with someone who was also dead, but whose death was both unknown to the person who experienced the near death event and was also unknown to the other people who were with the person at the time of the near death experience.
A family was involved in an automobile accident in which their car erupted in flames. The mother was killed. The woman’s two boys were rushed to different hospitals. The younger of the two boys fell into a coma. For one brief moment, he awoke and spoke to Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The boy said “Yes, everything is all right now. Mommy and Peter are already waiting for me.” Then the boy lost consciousness and died. Neither the boy nor Dr. Kubler-Ross had been informed that both the little boy’s mother and older brother had died. The doctor was informed when she visited the nurses’ station after the youngest boy expired. [16]
How Far Can Near Death Experiences Go to Prove Immortality?
At best, near death experiences, such as those described above, can only go as far as the evidence. While the evidence is compelling in favor of the existence of the non-material soul (the mind, will and emotions) as a separate and distinct entity which is independent of the physical body (since the soul seems to be able to continue to experience life that the body is unable to recognize or acknowledge while physically incapacitated), this nonetheless fails to provide conclusive proof of permanent life after death (immortality). We will need more evidence to provide a satisfying case for the immortality of the soul. We will now turn our attention to the biblical record.
Biblical Evidence for the Immortality of the Soul
Why Believe the Bible?
Given the limited space available in this article, I will offer four reasons for believing that the Bible is a valid, truthful, and accurate document of antiquity. Objections to the Bible include claims that it contains significant errors, that it is full of legends and invented stories, that it does not accurately record historical events, and that it does not bear evidence of supernatural authorship. Each of these four objections is addressed below.
- Proof of supernatural authorship. The Bible contains hundreds of verifiable fulfilled prophecies. In just one example, the Old Testament prophet, Daniel, records a prophecy concerning the coming of the Jewish Messiah. In Daniel 9:24-27 the prophet records the prediction that the Messiah would appear after sixty-nine “weeks” of years (483 years) counting from the “going forth of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” issued by the Persian emperor, Artaxerxes Longimanus. The dates and events are worked out by Sir Robert Anderson proving that the prophecy was fulfilled to the very day that Jesus presented Himself as the Messiah on Palm Sunday, 32 A.D.[17]
- The Bible is historically grounded. Its accuracy is corroborated by other ancient non-biblical documents. These include writings and works by Flavius Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Justin Martyr, Julius Africanus, Gaius Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, and many others. These contemporary writings of the biblical period, ancient copies of which are extant today, are well know in Christian and non-Christian academic circles and, in various forms, support the biblical record. [18]
- The Bible is scientifically accurate. The Bible makes numerous scientific claims centuries in advance of those truths being discovered or understood by modern science. Examples includes: the entropy laws of physics regarding chaos and decay of heat and energy (Psalm 102:25-27), gravity and the suspension of the earth in space (Job 26:7), the spherical shape of the earth (Isaiah 40:22), atmospheric wind currents and the hydrological cycle of evaporation, condensation, rain, rivers and the seas (Ecclesiastes 1:6-7).
- The Bible’s accounts of events are true. Internal criteria for determining the veracity of an ancient text can be successfully applied to the Bible. The Bible often presents its heroes in an unfavorable light, such as the case of Jesus attacking the moneychangers in the Temple with a whip. This goes to veracity because invented heroes are usually presented in the best light and have few, if any, flaws. The inclusion of small, seemingly insignificant, non-essential details in the biblical accounts of the life of Christ go to veracity as legends and invented stories tend to stick to the central facts. The variations in the facts included in the four gospels, while they can be harmonized, are more likely true than falsified accounts which normally tend to mimic one another. All these criteria are detailed in Dr. Gregory Boyd’s book, Letters from a Skeptic,[19] and argue for the veracity of the Bible.
The Old Testament
The Old Testament contains a number of references to immortality. We will mention three. King David referred specifically to the resurrection of the Messiah noting that His body would not be abandoned to the grave (Psalm 16:10). This passage from Isaiah speaks for itself, “Your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.” (Isaiah 26:19). In the 8th century B.C., the prophet Elijah was taken up into heaven in the Old Testament (2 Kings 2:9-11), and then he was returned briefly to earth in the New Testament (Mark 9:2-13). These passages are quite direct in their references to immortality. Now we will consider the New Testament.
The New Testament
The New Testament is replete with references to immortality. We will reference just one significant passage. The apostle Paul, who wrote approximately two-thirds of the New Testament after the gospels, wrote a lengthy discourse in the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians about the bodily resurrection of both Jesus Christ and his followers. I will quote just two brief portions of it here. “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at his coming,” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) and “behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. but when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”” (1 Corinthians 15:51-55)
There is no question that the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, clearly communicates the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. This is a central truth of Christian teaching. And, according to the prophesy mentioned above from Isaiah, the doctrine applies to both Christians and non-Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, believers and unbelievers. The Bible teaches that all humans will experience life after death; some will spend eternity in heaven and the rest will spend it in hell.
CONCLUSION
This article has covered a lot of ground in exploring the reasonableness of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. In examining near death experiences, there seems to be clear evidence of life after clinical and physical death, although not necessarily permanent life (immortality). The evidence may just not go far enough on its own. However, the Bible makes both theological claims concerning, and provides an ancient historical record of, the resurrection of the dead. Moreover, the Bible is strongly substantiated as the most reliable document of antiquity. When it makes a claim that requires at least an assent to the possibility of a supernatural realm, it cannot be rejected solely on the basis of a prior antisupernaturalistic world view. Thus, when the certainty of the ancient biblical record on immortality is combined with the power of modern documented cases of near death experiences, it becomes very difficult to reject the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Near death experiences lend credence to the biblical record by providing a contemporary evidential support.
In conclusion, it is reasonable to hold that human beings live on, at least for some period of time, in a disembodied state after death, and that they have a conscious awareness of their surroundings, that they have a sense of spatial depth, that they have a sense of the time domain, that they interact with others, that they have a self awareness, especially of having died and yet living on, and that some experience fear, dread, and pain, while others experience, peace, anticipation and joy. It is also reasonable to hold that a disembodied state of existence after death is temporary, and that ultimately humans will be re-embodied (bodily resurrected) and will live on throughout eternity. The ancient record and the modern experience are a potent combination. Man is immortal.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1998.
Boyd, Gregory A. Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity. Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook, 2008.
Anderson, Sir Robert. The Coming Prince: The Marvelous Prophecy of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Concerning the Antichrist. New York, New York: Cosimo Classics, 2007.
Morse, Melvin, with Paul Perry. Closer to the Light: Learning from Near Death Experiences of Children. New York, New York: Random House/Villard, 1990.
Hoyert, Donna L., Ph.D, and Jiaquan Xu, M.D. “Deaths: Preliminary data for 2011.” National Vital Statistics Reports 61 (October 10 2012): 3.
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth, M.D. On Children and Death: How Children and Their Parents Can and Do Cope with Death. New York, New York: Scribner, 1997.
Audette, John. “Denver Cardiologist Discloses Findings After 18 Years of Near Death Research.” Anabiosis 1 (1979): 1-2.
Habermas, Gary R. and J. P. Moreland. Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1998.
Craig, William Lane. Time and Eternity: Exploring God’s Relationship to Time. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2001.
Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1999.
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1994.
[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1994), 472.
[2] Norman L. Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1999), 352.
[3] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1994), 472-480.
[4] Norman L. Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1999), 350.
[5] William Lane Craig, Time and Eternity: Exploring God’s Relationship to Time (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2001).
[6] Norman L. Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1999), 350.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Melvin Morse, with Paul Perry, Closer to the Light: Learning from Near Death Experiences of Children (New York, New York: Random House/Villard, 1990), 3-9.
[10] Donna L. Hoyert, Ph.D, and Jiaquan Xu, M.D, “Deaths: Preliminary data for 2011,” National Vital Statistics Reports 61 (October 10 2012).
[11] Gary R. Habermas and J. P. Moreland, Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1998), 161.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] John Audette, “Denver Cardiologist Discloses Findings After 18 Years of Near Death Research,” Anabiosis, vol. 1 (1979).
[15] Ibid.
[16] Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D, On Children and Death: How Children and Their Parents Can and Do Cope with Death (New York, New York: Scribner, 1997), 208.
[17] Sir Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince: The Marvelous Prophecy of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Concerning the Antichrist (New York, New York: Cosimo Classics, 2007).
[18] Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1998).
[19] Gregory A. Boyd, Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity (Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C. Cook, 2008).
