J. P. Moreland - The Soul: How We Know It’s Real and Why It Matters

One of the most important yet least understood aspects of Christian teaching is the existence and nature of the human soul. J. P. Moreland provides a robust philosophical and theological defense of the soul, but just as importantly, demonstrates why understanding the nature of soul is critical to many of the cultural discussions of today. Moreland offers us a rare combination: philosophical acuity, philosophical fidelity, and technical accessibility. I would highly recommend this to anyone!

MIKE ERRE
Lead Pastor of EvFree Fullerton
Author of Jesus of Suburbia and Astonished

Many think science has displaced the soul. Nothing could be further from the truth! In this quintessentially Moreland book, The Soul provides compelling evidence for the existence of the soul and shows why it matters so deeply for our daily lives. Morelands teaching on the soul has transformed my personal and academic life. I happily recommend that it be read and studied by pastors, educators, as well as apologists and theologians alike.

SEAN MCDOWELL
Assistant Professor, Biola University
Coauthor of Is God Just a Human Invention?

Increasingly, secular thought denies the human soul. In this splendid book, J. P. Moreland restores the soul to the center of our identity as creatures made in the image of God. Moreland is a first-rate philosopher of mind and top-tier Christian apologist, known for his rigorous argumentation, but here the style is straightforward and accessible to non-specialists. All of the key terms are clearly defined, and then the biblical, theological, and philosophical case for the soul is laid out. Anyone who suspects the soul has been dismissed without fair trial will be encouraged by Morelands bold and timely defense.

ANGUS MENUGE
President of the Evangelical Philosophical Society (www.epsociety.org)

2014 by
J. P. MORELAND

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Edited by Christopher Reese
Interior design: Ragont Design
Cover design: Erik M. Peterson
Cover photo of watercolor copyright 2010 by YouWorkForThem/Yanamee.
All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Moreland, James Porter, 1948
The soul : how we know its real and why it matters / J.P. Moreland.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8024-1100-6
1. Soul--Christianity. 2. Spirit. 3. Consciousness--Religious aspects--Christianity. 4. Theological anthropology--Christianity. 5. Religion and science. I. Title.
BT741.3.M67 2014
233.5--dc23

2013045931

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Throughout history, the vast majority of people, educated and uneducated alike, have been dualists (those who believe that the soul is an immaterial thing different from the body and brain), at least in the sense that they have taken a human to be the sort of thing that could enter life after death while his or her corpse was left behind. Some form of

Not only has belief in the soul been included in the commonsense beliefs of people all over the world throughout the ages, but also the idea that there is a soul has been the constant teaching of the Christian church since its beginning. Throughout church history, Christianity has given affirmative answers to questions about the reality of the three great topics of Western philosophynamely, God, the soul, and life everlasting. For centuries, most Christian thinkers have believed in the souls of men and beasts, as it used to be put. Animals and humans are (or have) an immaterial entitya soul, a life principle, a ground of sentienceand they have a body. More specifically, a human person is a functioning unity of two distinct entities, body and soul. The human soul, while not by nature immortal, is nevertheless capable of entering a disembodied intermediate state upon death, however incomplete and unnatural this state may be, and, eventually, being reunited with a resurrected body.

Today, however, it is widely believed that science has rendered this commonsense and biblical view obsolete and implausible. As Christian physicalist Nancey Murphy says, even though science cannot prove dualism is false, still, science has provided a massive amount of evidence suggesting that we need not postulate the existence of an entity such as a soul or mind in order to explain life and consciousness. Sadly, this opinion is not limited to academic circles. To see this, consider the following two cases.