The title is rather philosophical, but it seems to be a necessary discussion for today. Of what is the human being made? In Christian circles, it seems to be largely accepted that the essence of a person, the fundamental aspect of what a person is, is the soul and the soul alone. The body is called a shell in which our souls are contained, and at death, we continue existence as a soul. This is an absolute logical blunder and has led to many, many greater heresies in Christian history. Human beings are not essentially souls, but instead we are essentially body AND soul. God intentionally created mankind with bodies as a gift that adds yet another dimension to how God can love us.
First, the problem: people are not souls. While many would disagree and even cite biblical passages supporting "people are souls", its just not true, and it is actually pretty easy to understand. If I walk up to little Timmy and break his nose, I have hurt little Timmy. I have not simply "damaged little Timmy's property", I have hurt a person. Although this isn't the most definitive of proofs, it still communicates that our bodies are not simply property or physical representation, but they body is 100% us.
Church history has multiple different heretics that operate off of the premise "a person is a soul"; the large category of "gnostics" (Naw-sticks, silent 'g') are the most notable. Gnostics believe that knowledge is the best thing, and certain levels of knowledge are required to enter into better and better afterlives. Pagan gnostics were able to pass the celestial spheres. If you knew this much, you could go past the moon. If you knew more, maybe venus? Christian gnostics took multiple different approaches. The "three levels of heaven" turned into blessings your soul would receive based on merits, the body became referred to as a prison, and in Manicheaism (Augustine's religion before Christianity), the body was from Satan, used to trap your soul in darkness. Later in time, there were the Albigensians, who preached that no one should procreate because that would make one more soul enter into original sin via the body. While gnosticism temporarily died, it seems now as if people from every denomination hold to some sort of gnosticism.
Modern Christian denominations are not gnostic (except LDS and a few charismatic/evangelical congregations), but still seem to be confused by the purpose of the body and it's necessity as a human being. Scripturally, our body is definitely the same as the self. New Testament verses are more sparse, but Romans 6:4 says "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." So lets look at Jesus post-resurrection and see how we are supposed to be. Luke 24:39 says "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Jesus' glorified body was a physical body. And we are going to be resurrected in the same manner. God created mankind not as beings with property, but as one being, inherently body and soul. Jesus became man for salvation, but if "becoming man" only includes the body, why did Jesus have a body at all? The body is part of being a person.
Each person is a body and a soul. A body without a soul is nothing more than an animal, and a soul without a body is dead.
First, the problem: people are not souls. While many would disagree and even cite biblical passages supporting "people are souls", its just not true, and it is actually pretty easy to understand. If I walk up to little Timmy and break his nose, I have hurt little Timmy. I have not simply "damaged little Timmy's property", I have hurt a person. Although this isn't the most definitive of proofs, it still communicates that our bodies are not simply property or physical representation, but they body is 100% us.
Church history has multiple different heretics that operate off of the premise "a person is a soul"; the large category of "gnostics" (Naw-sticks, silent 'g') are the most notable. Gnostics believe that knowledge is the best thing, and certain levels of knowledge are required to enter into better and better afterlives. Pagan gnostics were able to pass the celestial spheres. If you knew this much, you could go past the moon. If you knew more, maybe venus? Christian gnostics took multiple different approaches. The "three levels of heaven" turned into blessings your soul would receive based on merits, the body became referred to as a prison, and in Manicheaism (Augustine's religion before Christianity), the body was from Satan, used to trap your soul in darkness. Later in time, there were the Albigensians, who preached that no one should procreate because that would make one more soul enter into original sin via the body. While gnosticism temporarily died, it seems now as if people from every denomination hold to some sort of gnosticism.
Modern Christian denominations are not gnostic (except LDS and a few charismatic/evangelical congregations), but still seem to be confused by the purpose of the body and it's necessity as a human being. Scripturally, our body is definitely the same as the self. New Testament verses are more sparse, but Romans 6:4 says "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." So lets look at Jesus post-resurrection and see how we are supposed to be. Luke 24:39 says "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Jesus' glorified body was a physical body. And we are going to be resurrected in the same manner. God created mankind not as beings with property, but as one being, inherently body and soul. Jesus became man for salvation, but if "becoming man" only includes the body, why did Jesus have a body at all? The body is part of being a person.
Each person is a body and a soul. A body without a soul is nothing more than an animal, and a soul without a body is dead.
