Expert: Marco - 10/12/2006

Question
Hello,

I find the following scriptures contradict the Catholic belief of the Sprit or Soul,
Pls endeavour to give me a better understand of your faith and beliefs.
In the book of Psalm 146:4 says: "His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish."

When a person dies, his impersonal spirit does not go on existing in another realm as a spirit creature. It "returns to the true God who gave it."  - This is show in (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

The late Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato believed that a soul inside a person survives death and never dies, the bibles view of this is quite opposed, with regards, to Adam, it states in  Genesis 2:7 that he came to be a living soul,", not that he received a soul.  The Scriptures also speak of soul’s doing work, craving food, being kidnapped, experiencing sleeplessness, and so forth, but if the soul is not a physical being why does the bible describe souls in this way?, and why would a soul be conformed to the basic rules of a living physical being,   (Leviticus 23:30; Deuteronomy 12:20; 24:7; Psalm 119:28), this indicates that man himself is the Soul, and when a person dies the soul dies too. . When a person dies, that soul dies is show in .—Ezekiel 18:4

The condition of the dead is made clear at Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, where it reads: "The dead know nothing . . . In the grave, where you are going; there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." (New International Version) Scripturally, death is a state of non-existence. The dead have no awareness, no feelings, no thoughts, so then why do you believe the soul leaves the physical body at time of death, and if this is the case why do the scriptures not support this view,.

With kind regards,
Sylvia


Answer
Dear Sylvia,

you have completely misunderstood the meaning of the biblical verses you have reported, because they must be read and interpreted within their context.

Psalm 146

2
Praise the LORD, my soul; I shall praise the LORD all my life, sing praise to my God while I live.
3
I Put no trust in princes, in mere mortals powerless to save.
4
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth; that day all their planning comes to nothing.
5
Happy those whose help is Jacob's God, whose hope is in the LORD, their God,
6
The maker of heaven and earth, the seas and all that is in them, Who keeps faith forever,

This psalm simply states that we must not put our trust in powerful men because they will die and have no more power.

By no means Ecclesiastes 12:7 speak about an inpersonal spirit; this is your wrong interpretation.

The fact that the soul can do work, be kidnapped, etc. is logical because all what occurs to our body, reflects also to our soul, because our soul is connected to our body during the present life.

Ezekiel 18:4
For all lives are mine; the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mine; only the one who sins shall die.

By  no means Ezekiel 18:4 shows that the soul dies when a person dies.


Ecclesiastes simply reports the most pessimistic view of a person who has lost his faith. The beginning of that book is in fact:

2  Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes: vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.

The fact that our soul goe on living also after our death is stated explicitly by Jesus:

MT 22:31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God,
22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

MR 12:26 And as for the dead rising: have you not read in the book of Moses, how God spoke to him in the bush, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: therefore you are greatly mistaken.


Lu 16:19 There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day:
16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
16:21 And he longed to eat the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
16:23 And in Hades he lift up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
16:24 And he cried out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus received evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented.
16:26 And beside all this, between us and you a great gulf has been fixed: so that those who would pass from here to you cannot; nor can any pass over from there to us.
16:27 He said, Then I beg you, father, that you would send him to my father's house:
16:28 For I have five brothers. Have him warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
16:29 Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
16:30 And he said, No, father Abraham: but if someone went to them from the dead, they will repent.
16:31 And he said to him, If they will not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.


John 8:51 Truly, truly, I say to you, If anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death.

10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
10:28 And I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, nor shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

11:26 And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

I think that faith cannot come only from logic, because to have faith in God means to trust and love God.
I think however that logics and science prove the existence of our soul and the existence of  God and that there are many rational arguments strongly supporting the christian faith.
The explanation of these aguments is rather long and Allexperts allows only to give short answers. You can find such arguments  the following site

http://xoomer.alice.it/fedeescienza/englishnf.html

where  I analyse the incongruencies of the materialistic conception of the mind, on the basis of our present scientific knowledges about brain and matter.
This analysis points out how the laws of physics  prove that the   brain cannot generate consciousness, which existence implies  the presence in man of a unbiological/unmaterial element. The problem of consciousness is then strictly connected to the one of the existence of the soul and, consequently, the existence of God.
In the first article entitled “Mind and brain...” you can find a general discussion of the mind and brain problem from a scientific point of view.
In the second article entitled “Scientific contraddictions in materialism”
you  can find an explanation of the fundamental inconsistencies of  the  typical arguments used by materialists, such as the concept of emergent, macroscopic or holist property, complexity, information, etc.
In the section called “FAQ: answers to  visitors' questions” you can find the answer to many typical questions, such as "Are there any scientifically proved miracles?", "Does the existence of the universe imply the existence of God?", "Can science explain God?", "Can science establish which is the true religion?", "Can science explain consciousness in the future?", and many others.

I hope this may help,

please ask again if you should need some clarifications,

Your brother in Christ,

Marco