Courtesy | Center for Christian Thought
Biola’s Center for Christian Thought has been actively advertising a talk on the human soul by John W. Cooper, a professor at Calvin Theological Seminary, for students and the general public. This seminar is one of many that coincides with the Center’s theme of neuroscience and the soul this year. It will take place Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in Calvary Chapel.
“Have Christians Lost Their Souls: The Bible and Human Nature” will explore the monism-dualism debate that considers whether humans are both body and soul, or only one, according to Evan Rosa, communications coordinator for the Center for Christian Thought.
“It’s not only that we believe in the soul, it’s that we believe that the soul is really important. It’s one of those central components of life now, and life after death,” Rosa said.
Rosa noted that while many of the center’s events are targeted toward those well-versed in a specific area of study, such as graduate students, this week’s event covers a topic to which everyone can relate.
“We want to open this to just anyone who is interested in this question,” he said. “We want to start conversations. We want people talking about these important issues and we want to provide the scholars and the insight to help the conversation along.”
The majority of modern science and secular philosophy holds a monistic belief that humans are only physical beings. Recently, some biblical scholars have moved toward deeming the existence of an immaterial soul as unfounded in Scripture, a belief which would alter how Christians view death, according to Cooper.
“If we don’t have souls that can separate from our bodies, then we don’t go to be with Christ when we die — we’ve got to wait until the final resurrection. And that won’t be a problem if God is faithful, but that doesn’t seem to be what Scripture promises,” Cooper explained.
Cooper said that he studied this debate for the past two decades and believes the Bible affirms the existence of the soul. His book,“Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate,” argues for dualistic holism.
Cooper’s view, which is based in his study of Scripture, is that human nature contains a united body and soul that need one another. He stated the soul only disengages from the body at death and will be reunited with the body at the resurrection.
Thursday’s talk is an opportunity to look closely at the Bible and determine its conclusion on the existence of the soul, Rosa said.
“We think it’s of utmost importance and we think a clear understanding of what Scripture teaches about human nature is important for just every Christian to come to terms with, and especially in a university setting, and we think that this is a good opportunity for Biola students to get clear on the debate between physicalists and dualists,” Rosa said.
Since this talk is an opportunity to begin a conversation among students about the monism-dualism question, Rosa said the Center saw Cooper as the best person speak on the soul. While he is a proponent of dualism, he treats his opponents with fairness and integrity, Rosa said.
“Even if you end up disagreeing with Cooper after the talk, you would have been presented with one of the best presentations of biblical dualism that you can find,” Rosa said.
