Man In His Original State
THE DOCTRINE OF MAN IN RELATION
TO GOD
MAN IN HIS ORIGINAL STATE
THE CONSTITUTIONAL NATURE OF MAN
From the discussion of the doctrine of God we pass on to that of man, the crown of God's handiwork. The study of man in theology should not be confused with the science of anthropology, though it bears the same name. It does not make man as such, but very particularly man in relation to God the object of its consideration and discussion. Under the present heading the essential constituents of human nature, and the origin of the soul in the individuals of the race will be considered.
A. The Essential Elements of Human Nature. There are especially two views respecting the number of elements that go to make up the essential nature of man.
1. DICHOTOMY OR THE VIEW THAT MAN CONSISTS OF TWO
PARTS, BODY AND SOUL. The usual view of the constitution of man is that he consists of two, and only two, distinct parts, namely, body and soul or spirit. This is in harmony with the self-consciousness of man, which clearly testifies to the fact that man consists of a material and a spiritual element. It is also borne out by the study of Scripture, which speaks of man as consisting of "body and soul," Matt. 6:25;
10:28, or of "body and spirit," Eccl. 12:7; 1 Cor. 5:3, 5. The two words, "soul" and "spirit" do not denote two different elements in man, but
serve to designate the one spiritual substance of man. This is proved by the following consideration: (a) There are several passages which clearly proceed on the assumption that man consists of only two parts, Rom. 8:10; 1 Cor. 5:5; 7:34; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 2:3; Col. 2:5. (b)
Death is sometimes described as the giving up of the soul, Gen.
35:18; 1 Kings 17:21; Acts 15:26; and in other cases as the giving up of the spirit, Ps. 31:5; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59. (c) The immaterial element of the dead is in some instances termed "soul," Rev. 9:6;
20:4, and in others "spirit," 1 Pet. 3:19; Heb. 12:23. These two terms merely serve to designate the spiritual element of man from two different points of view. The word "spirit" contemplates it as the principle of life and action which controls the body; while the word
"soul" refers to it as the personal subject in man, which thinks and feels and wills, and in some cases particularly as the seat of affections, Gen. 2:7; Ps. 62:1; 63:1; Ps. 103:1, 2.
2. TRICHOTOMY, OR THE VIEW THAT MAN CONSISTS OF
THREE PARTS, BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT. Alongside of the usual view another one arose, which conceives of man as consisting of three parts, body, soul, and spirit. This conception of man did not result from the study of Scripture, but was born of the study of Greek philosophy. It was adopted by several German and English theologians. These do not agree, however, as to the nature of the soul, nor as to the relation in which it stands to the other parts of human nature. Some regard the soul as the principle of the animal life in man, and the spirit as the principle of the higher rational and moral life. Others consider the soul to be a sort of intermediate element, which furnishes the point of contact between the body and the spirit. Biblical support for this view was sought particularly in 1
Thess. 5:23 and Heb. 4:12, but these do not prove the point. It is true that Paul speaks in the first passage of "spirit and soul and body," but this does not necessarily mean that he regards these as three distinct
elements in man rather than as three different aspects of man. When Jesus summarizes the first table of the law by saying, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," in Matt. 22:37, He does not have in mind three distinct substances. Such expressions simply serve to emphasize the fact that the whole man is intended. Moreover, Hebrews 4:12 should not be taken to mean that the Word of God, penetrating to the inner man, makes separation between his soul and his spirit, which would naturally imply that these two are different substances; but simply that it brings about a separation in both of these aspects of man between the thoughts and intents of the heart.
B. The Origin of the Soul in Each Individual. There are three theories respecting the origin of the soul in each individual.
1. PRE-EXISTENTIANISM. Some speculative theologians advocated the theory that the souls of men existed in a previous state, and that certain occurrences in that former state account for the condition in which those souls are now found. It was thought to afford the most natural explanation of the fact that all men are born as sinners. This theory meets with little favor at present.
2. TRADUCIANISM. According to Traducianism the souls of men are propagated along with the bodies by generation, and are therefore transmitted to the children by the parents. Scripture support for it is found in the fact that God ceased from the work of creation after He had made man, Gen. 2:2; that the Bible says nothing about the creation of Eve's soul, Gen. 2:23; 1 Cor. 11:8; and that descendants are said to be in the loins of their fathers, Gen. 46:26; Heb. 7:9, 10.
Furthermore, it would seem to be favored (a) by the analogy of the animal world, where both body and soul are passed on from the old to the young; (b) by the inheritance of mental peculiarities and
family traits which inhere in the soul rather than in the body; and (c) by the inheritance of moral depravity or sin, which is a matter of the soul rather than of the body. This theory is burdened with certain difficulties, however, of which the following are the most important:
(a) It either makes the parents in some sense creators of the soul of the child, or proceeds on the assumption that the soul of the parents can split itself up into several souls, which is contrary to the doctrine that the soul does not admit of division. (b) It proceeds on the assumption that God works only in a mediate manner after He has finished the creation of the world. But this is an unproved assumption. God often works immediately in the performance of miracles and in some parts of the work of redemption. (c) It makes it very difficult to guard the sinlessness of Jesus, if He derived both His body and soul from the sinful Mary.
3. CREATIONISM. The creationist view is to the effect that each individual soul is an immediate creation of God, which owes its origin to a direct creative act, of which the time cannot be precisely determined. The soul is supposed to be created pure, but to become sinful even before birth by entering into that complex of sin by which humanity as a whole is burdened. This theory is more in harmony with Scripture than the preceding one, since the Bible throughout represents body and soul as having different origins, Eccl. 12:7; Isa.
42:5; Zech. 12:1; Heb. 12:9; cf. Num. 16:22. Moreover, it is far more in harmony with the nature of the human soul than traducianism, since it safeguards the spiritual and therefore indivisible nature of the soul. And, finally, it also avoids the pitfalls in connection with the doctrine of Christ, since it enables us to guard the sinlessness of Jesus. This does not mean, however, that it is free from all difficulties. It makes it rather hard to account for the re-appearance of the mental and moral traits of the parents in the children. In addition to that it ascribes to the beast nobler powers of propagation