Immortal souls?

Here's my side of a conversation with a reader on this topic...



We don't disagree when you say

"If the resurrection is a Scriptural doctrine, then so is the continuing existence of the soul. God's activity is in creating us--body and soul. Death is the separation of the two. One to live on forever, one to die, decay, and be resurrected/reunited with the soul."

Phil 1:21ff supports this, I would say. We either live in the flesh now here, or go to be with Christ there, without the flesh is implied.

We disagree in what doctrine we want to protect. I think you want to protect eternal heaven and hell, and I'm not an annihilationist or going down that road. I want to protect God's sustaining of everything. He didn't create everlasting souls, and now he's stuck with us. He didn't decree everlasting souls to exist and we're just there, existing independently and on our own. No, He plans on sustaining our consciousness forever, out of love.

Also, continuing existence of the soul is derived from the resurrection of the body, so that latter doctrine should be primary. Existence without the body is less than God's intention for us - note Adam and Eve in garden. While we are blessed to be with Christ, that blessing is tempered with body-lessness for a time. (I'd still say it's better to be with Christ without a body than to be here with one, though, a la Phil 1:23.)

Another thing to avoid is gnosticism - viewing the body and flesh as less than pure in itself. If we want to depart and be with Christ because we want to get out of this yucky body, if we want to emphasize the immortal soul over this corruptible and gross body, then we are unorthodox in our desires. Emphasizing the everlasting soul as you do tends toward this. "The body comes and goes, but the soul - that's the REAL you." Both our bodies and our souls/spirits/minds need redeeming and transforming to be fit for heaven. Both are the real us. Our soul isn't immutable, eternal and unchanging like God, though there are attributes within us that do reflect who God is - His image. The categories aren't so neat as body/spirit, if we look at 1 Cor 15. Flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom (vs 50), but the flesh will be raised as a spiritual body, which CAN (vs 44).

What is the point of the resurrection of the body, if we are already "all there" in heaven after death and before the judgment?