Resurrection of the Body vs. Immortality of the Soul-Two Opposing Theologies of Christianity
Resurrect of the Body-What Is the Basis for This Theology
The Resurrection of the Body
| The Resurrection of the Body
| Scriptural Support For the Theology
| What is the Basis of this Theology
|
|---|---|---|---|
Biblical Scriptural Support for Theology
| Supported by the Bible
| Genesis 3:1-22
| God created man as a mortal being but with conditional immortality
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Man's sin brought about his death
| The Law demanded a penalty for man's sin
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Man cannot save himself with "good" deeds
| Man's life was over shadowed by pending death.
|
Yes
| Ditto
| God provided amnesty to sinful men (John 3:16, Romans 6:23)
| Redemption comes from God only
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Genesis 18:27
| Man is a living soul, nothing but dust and ashes.
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Psalm 16. Job 14:13-15
| All men will die and go to "Sheol" (also referred to as "Hell",or simply the "Great Pit" until God is ready to resurrect them.
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Job 14
| Upon taking his last breath, man cannot escape mortal boundary.
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Ecclesiastes 9:1:10, Ecclesiastes 12:7 Psalm 6, Psalm 16, Psalm 146
| Dead men do not even know that they are dead. They remain in their graves, incapable of making supplications. They breathe their last, and their spirits return to their Maker, and their body returns to the earth, where it will decompose. Everything dies with man, including his passion, hatred, love. His soul dies and goes to the grave with him.
|
Yes
| Ditto
| John 5:24-29, Job 14:14
| Man must patiently wait into his grave until God calls him back to life.
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Romans 8:29
| Jesus Christ was the firstborn to be resurrected and transformed. Many will follow Christ
|
Yes
| Ditto
| John 6:44, 54
| The dead in Christ must wait until the return of Christ to be resurrected (restoration of body and spirit). They will be in the "First Resurrection" and will be blessed.
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Revelation 21:3
| God, the Son, will return to the earth to establish his earthly kingdom
|
Yes
| Ditto
| II Peter 3:10-13
| The earth will be the "home of righteousness" for Christ's Elect.
|
Yes
| Ditto
| Revelation 20:10-14, 21:8
| Wicked men will now be resurrected to face God's "Final Judgment". Their fate will be the "Second Death" in the "Lake of Fire & Brimstone" which will be built to punish Satan and his followers.
|
The Immortality of the Soul
| Scriptural Support for the Theology
| Scriptural Reference for the Theology
| What is the Basis for the Theology
|
|---|---|---|---|
Theology is not supported by the Bible
| Partial
| Luke 16:19-32
| The basis of this theology is grounded in philosophies of Socrates and Plato as advanced into Christendom by Origin (185 to 254 AD)
|
No
| Partial
| Luke 23
| Christ's promise to the thief to his left was that he would be in "Paradise" with him. Proponents point to this promise as one of the basis for the immortal soul.
|
No
| Genesis 3
| Man was created and God blew breath into him, and he became a "living soul", not an "immortal soul".
| |
No
| Genesis 18:27
| Abraham saw himself as nothing but dust and ashes, not an immortal being.
| |
No
| Job 14
| Job stated that men are mortal and cannot go beyond their mortal boundaries without God. He was content to patiently wait in his grave until God called him back to life (resurrection) and change him from corruptible to incorruptible.
| |
No
| Ezekiel 18:4, Matthew 10:28, Genesis 3:22
| The soul that sins shall surely die, and God is able to destroy body and soul in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. Anything "immortal" cannot be destroyed, even by God. Immortal beings are subjected to his control, but he cannot destroy them once they have this godly attribute.
| |
No
| Revelation 20:10-14, 21:8, John 3:16, Romans 6:23
| Wicked men who reject God's amnesty shall be resurrected to face a "Final Judgment" of God. Their final fate will be in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where they will undergo a "Second Death". This is the death from which no resurrection will be possible. The wages of sin is death and the soul that sins shall surely die.
| |
No
| Genesis 3:4
| Satan initially misled men into believing that they were immortal beings. Men seemed inclined to accept Satan's Great Deception, and doubt God's admonition of death for those who would sin and not accept God's amnesty.
|
Resurrection of the Body Theology Is Supported By the Bible
Prior to the 2nd Century AD, the resurrection of the body was the only theology taught and preached by Christian believers. Believers widely accepted the fact that sin separated man from God (Isiah 59:2). In addition, man's sin ended his conditional immortality and brought about his death. God's law required the payment of a penalty for man's sin. This death is commonly called the "death from Adam". However, foolish and wicked men have allowed Satan to fool them into believing that they already had the godly attribute of immortality. Christian believers have wrestled with this misleading theology of having an immortal soul to their own spiritual detriment. Despite God's Word, they still believe that they are "demi-gods". However, the Bible clearly shows that God will fulfill his promise to man through the resurrection of the body. Men do not have immortal souls which survive biological or physical death.
