The Washington herald., 1921-09-08
More About the Soul.
70 the Editor, The Washing ton Herald

W goah my
speculative and rhilosophic neigh
bors, through your popular Open
Court. in discussing the elusive
question as TO what the immaterial
entity called the soul really is. In
entering the debate, | will say that
in matters religious. ! profess to be
strictly orthodox, accepting wholly
and exclusively the Christians BIZ
BILE as the word and will of the
only true God. So what | say here
concerning the soul is meant to be
based upon what | conceive to be
His teachings, the only true source
Of such knowledge. Philosophers
may conjure and speculate. but
God has revealed according to His
pleasure and purpose.
Normal man is triune in his make
up. consisting q. Thess. 5:23) OF
spirit. soul and body" But while
these three structural clements are
combined in one creature, they are
essentially different in character
and function. The body is merely
the tenement of the immaterial soul
and spirit. The soul is the mys-
terious entity designated as animal
life. No man knows what II sub
stantially is, but We all know of its
existence in the body through its
conscious manifestations. We hear.
feel, desire. think. fear. love. hate.
etc. but know little of the causative
force that inspires the sensations
and instincts OF the body. when
the old philosopher said: "Cogito
ergo sum" (meaning. practically.
that his ability to think was evil
dcncc Of his existencc) he indicated
function of the soul. The soul
connects man through consciousness
with his worldly environment.
But the spirit is a different thing.
1t is Godlike in substance and was
impaired to man in the special ere
ative act when the Jehovah God
"bresthed into his nostrlls the
breath (spir'D of life and man be-
came a living Gmperishable) soul.
The soul is common to all animals,
il being the animating Uife-givinG)
force of the animal structure. with
out which the body Is lifeless. But
in man. the exalted creature. the
soul is intermediate between the
vored in creation above all else
when the Maker conferred upon him
spiritual life. bestowing thereby His
own lima ge" Csubstantisl likeness)
and a superior reasoning and mora,
intelligence. which connects the
living man with the heavenly realm
and renders him morally responsible
to his recognized spiritual Creator
God.
The soul animates the body
through the blood. which is. for this
reason. said to be the life of the
body (Gen. a:p. and thus bestows
animal or physical life. Remove
the vehicle of the soul tthe blood)
from tho body. and animation
ceases. The soul connection being
lost. the tenement returns to dust.
Although we often see the soul
and the spirit spoken of as synony-
nous things. vet there is net only Il
stantial difference in character and
purpose or function of the two en-
titles. Spirit (Heb. ruach. Or.
pneuma) and soul (Heb. nephesh,
Cir. psuche) are shown by the orig
inal Divine records to have been
held as nonidentical by the in.
spired scribes. The term mind in
cludes the various activities of
physical and spiritual life as mani
Tested in consciousness.
The lower animals can think, de-
sire, fear, etc. but having no spirit
ual life, cannot moralize or know
their Creator, and. in death, perish
as a plant. But man, the avored
cannot SO perish, because
he is endowed with an imperishable
spirit. In physical death the soul
and spirit withdraw from the body,
but in the resurrection. the soul and
the spirit will be re-embodied in
an imperishable body like unto
Christ's after His resurrection. and
the restored being will be taken
before the Just Judge for the final
decree. The beast is dual in its
makeup, consisting only of soul
and body, and has nothing to con-
meet it with, or -entitle 1t to. a fu-
ture existence in the spirit-realm;
but man. being. triune, is inescapa-
bly, connected with. the spirit realm
and must exist somewhere through
out eternity.
The soul is realized through the
sensibiIites and will faculties OF
the mind. and is. therefore. chiefly