Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate
Overview
John Cooper writes in the preface to this volume, “Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting was written to remind thoughtful Christians that some sort of “dualistic” anthropology is entailed by the biblical teaching of the intermediate state, a doctrine that is affirmed by the vast majority in historic Christianity. The book makes the case that as Holy Scripture progressively discloses what happens to humans when they die, it teaches not only that each of us will undergo bodily resurrection, but that believers continue to exist “with the Lord” until the resurrection.… The argument of the book is mainly exegesis and theological reflection on Scripture, only touching on some of the philosophical aspects of the body-soul or mind-body problem.”
Top Highlights
“The central issue is whether the soul can survive and function apart from the human body. In other words, is human nature constructed in such a way that at death it can ‘come apart,’ the conscious personal part continuing to exist while the organism disintegrates?” (Page 1)
“Calvin’s doctrine of personal eschatology is that immediately after death the souls of believers enjoy rest and fellowship with Christ until their resurrection at his second coming. Then they enter God’s new creation.” (Page 14)
“what millions of Christians believe will happen to them when they die is also a delusion.” (Page 1)
“ First, a doctrine affirmed by most of the Christian church since its beginning is false” (Page 1)
“Augustine’s anthropology is a two-substance dualism. Human beings are composed of spirit and matter intimately conjoined so that the soul permeates and animates the entire body. Whereas the body depends for its existence and activity upon the soul, the reverse is not true. Augustine’s view of the human constitution dominated Christian thought in the West unchallenged until the thirteenth century, as did his views on many theological topics.” (Page 11)
