There may be several places in the Bible that support substance dualism, but the case for substance dualism from those passages is not air tight. It's possible to interpret them in a way consistent with denying substance dualism. For example, some people use the parable about the rich man and Lazarus to argue for substance dualism, but this passage can be taken as a parable used by Jesus with no intention of explaining the reality of "life after death."
But there is one passage I think is about as air-tight as it's possible for a theological argument to be. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 says,
So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.If we do not have an immaterial self that survives the death of the body and is capable of disembodied existence, then how is it possible to be "absent from the body" while at the same time being "present with the Lord"? I don't think it is possible, so it seems clear to me that Paul is assuming substance dualism.
I'm not about to say that some possible answer couldn't be given to this argument. Though I have yet to hear one (i.e. one that doesn't ignore my point), I've been sitting here trying to think of one myself. I suppose a person could argue that by being "absent from the body," Paul is referring to the present body, and that by being "present with the Lord," he's referring to when we recieve our future resurrection bodies. After all, in chapter 5, Paul does use some phrases similar to phrases he uses elsewhere in reference to resurrection. For example, in verse 2, he says, "we groan," which is similar to what he said in Romans 8:23: "we ourselves groan within ourselves , eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." In verse 3 and 4, he talks about being clothed so that "mortality may be swallowed up by life," which is similar to 1 Corinthians 15:53,54, which says "this mortal must put on immortality," so that "death is swallowed up by victory." That whole passage in 1 Cor 15 is about the nature of resurrection.
Suppose, though, that the Bible is completely silent on the topic. Couldn't we still draw some conclusion through philosophical reasoning? The philosophical case for some form of substance dualism seems strong to me, which is why I'm a substance dualist.
3 comments:
I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Some religious ideas, like life after death, transmigration, reincarnation, etc., seem to depend on the notion that we have a soul. Of course that's one of the problematic aspects of some forms of Buddhism. They believe in reincarnation, but they deny an enduring self. These two views seem to me to be incompatible.
Mormons believe we all were originally born as spirit beings long before we ever became humans in bodies. Most Christians, though, think that a new person (soul and all) comes into being when a person is conceived. It's clear in some passages that Jesus pre-existed, but my impression that that ordinary people didn't pre-exist.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that some people will cease to exist when God destroys them, but most Christians believe once you come into being, you never cease to exist.
If you've ever read Phaedo by Plato, he makes some arguments that the soul exists and is eternal--in other words it has always existed and always will exist.
Steve, I often wonder how souls interact with each other, but I really don't have anything solid to go on, so anything I said would be speculation. I don't believe we all join God in the sense of literally becoming "one," because I think that causes problems with identity. Being obsorbed into the oneness of everything, in my mind, is no different than ceasing to exist as an individual, and that seems inconsistent with Christianity.
I think you're missing a key part of this: verse 9. It says, "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it." It means that here in this life, we are surrendering our daily, mundane routines to holiness. We are trying to communicate holiness by finding it an identifying it our everyday lives. I believe Jesus took on flesh and showed us this. And he healed broken bodies while forgiving sins to teach us that he values both. John 10:10, "I came that they may have life and have it to the full." The greek for "life" here is "Zoe" which means terrestrial life-- it isn't a vague redemptive truth Jesus is speaking of in this instance. He is saying that he came to redeem our DAILY lives-- consecrating us through the spirit and offering prevenient grace.
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