The Immortality of the Soul

It is becoming recognised that the doctrine that the soul of man is inherently immortal has intruded into the realm of beliefs supposed to be Biblical. The doctrine has, at times, crept in by the back door, or, at other times, been brought in with great pomp by philosophers as an aid to revelation. The history of this process has been carefully sifted, and the various forms assumed by the doctrine have been criticized by C. H. Moore, of Harvard University, in “Ancient Beliefs in the Immortality of the Soul with some account of their influence on later views.”¹ On the nature of the “soul” and the duration of its future existence, ordinary men have held, and still hold, the most divergent and the vaguest views. It is important, therefore, that we should know whence the beliefs we hold have emanated and what changes have occurred in them during the period of transmission.

The treatment is historical, ranging from Homer and the Eleusinian Mysteries, through Plato and Aristotle, the early Fathers, Thomas Aquinas, Christian Mystics, and down to the Modern Period. The investigation shows that a belief that some part of man persists after death is well-nigh universal. Early ideas and myths were merely intuitions, and vague longings devoid of any rational support. With Plato we find many arguments advanced in support of the idea of inherent immortality. “We must not think that Plato was convinced of the perfect validity of these arguments. To his master (Socrates), and to him alike, a belief in immortality seems to have been in the end an act of faith, which they supported by persuasive reasoning.” Those who consider that Plato’s arguments support their belief must realize that he tried to prove that “the reasoning soul must foe eternal, immortal, knowing neither creation nor death.” This proves too much for most, as they find themselves unable to believe in transmigration, which seems necessitated by the conclusion that the soul knows not creation. The weakness of many arguments in favour of mans’ immortality is shown by the fact that they would also prove the immortality of all living organisms, or, at least, of the so-called higher animals.

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Author: J. Sutcliffe

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Bible reference(s): Deuteronomy 32:22, 2 Samuel 22:6, Job 11:8, Job 26:6, Psalms 9:17, Psalms 16:10, Psalms 18:5, Psalms 55:15, Psalms 86:13, Psalms 116:3, Psalms 139:8, Proverbs 5:5, Proverbs 7:27, Proverbs 9:18, Proverbs 15:11, Proverbs 15:24, Proverbs 23:14, Proverbs 27:20, Isaiah 5:14, Isaiah 14:9, Isaiah 14:15, Isaiah 28:15, Isaiah 28:18, Isaiah 57:9, Ezekiel 31:16, Ezekiel 31:17, Ezekiel 32:21, Ezekiel 32:27, Amos 9:2, Jonah 2:2, Habakkuk 2:5, Matthew 5:22, Matthew 5:29, Matthew 5:30, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 11:23, Matthew 16:18, Matthew 18:9, Matthew 23:15, Matthew 23:33, Mark 9:43, Mark 9:45, Mark 9:47, Luke 10:15, Luke 12:5, Luke 16:22-23, Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31, James 3:6, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 1:18, Revelation 6:8, Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14

Source: “The Immortality of the Soul,” The Testimony, Vol. 2, No. 36, December 1933, pp. 364-5.

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