3 Books on the Nature of the Human Soul (Soul-Body Dualism)

 

It's Easter Sunday!

This morning at Redeemer I am preaching on what happens when we die, and the reality of persons being a composite of a nonphysical soul and a physical body.

Here are three very good resources if you want to really dig in to this.

Jesus is risen!

The Soul: How We Know It's Real and Why It Matters, by J. P. Moreland

A Brief History of the Soul, by Stewart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro

Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality, by Gary Habermas and J. P. Moreland

Celebrate! It's Easter Sunday!

 

See William Lane Craig:

"The Resurrection of Jesus"

"Forum on the Resurrection of Jesus"

Jesus' Body Lies in a Tomb Owned by Joseph of Arimathea

(Ancient tomb in Jerusalem)

SCRIPTURE - MATTHEW 27:57-66

⁵⁷ As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. 

⁶² The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³ "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' ⁶⁴ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."
⁶⁵ "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard."

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THESE VERSES?

As a new Jesus-follower I learned of factual, historical pieces of evidence that strengthened my faith. One is this: Jesus' dead body was placed in a tomb owned by Sanhedrin member, Joseph of Arimathea. This provides a piece of evidence that, along with other facts (esp. Jesus' postmortem appearances - see, e.g., Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony), forms an strong inductive argument for the resurrection of Jesus. 

On the Saturday following Good Friday Jesus' body lay inert in Joseph of Arimathea's family tomb. We can be certain, historically (which means "inductively certain"), that this was the case. How so? Here are two reasons: 

1) this story, in the four Gospels and Paul, is found in independent sources that together attest to this; and 

2) by the "criterion of embarrassment" a story of a member of the Sanhedrin helping Jesus' family is unlikely, and not plausibly invented by Christians. This argues in favor of its historicity.

1) We have sources that together attest to Jesus' burial in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea.

Paul Barnett writes: "Careful comparison of the texts of Mark and John indicate that neither of these Gospels is dependent on the other. Yet they have a number of incidents in common: For example, . . . the burial of Jesus in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea" (Paul Barnett, Jesus and the Logic of History, 1997, pp. 104-5). Regarding the burial stories, the differences between Mark and the other Synoptics point to other independent sources behind Matthew and Luke. (Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the "Synoptic" gospels.)

So what's the point? It's this. If, e.g., a police officer had multiple, independent (unrelated) witnesses to a crime, and they all gave the same report (even if worded differently and with variations), this would provide stronger evidence than if only one report had been given. We have this re. the burial stories, in the Gospels and Paul. Here is the key Pauline text.

1 Corinthians 15:3 ff.: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

William Lane Craig writes:

"This is an old tradition, handed on by Paul to the Corinthian church, which is among the earliest traditions identifiable in the NT. It refers to Jesus' burial in the second line of the tradition. That this is the same event as the burial described in the Gospels becomes evident by comparing Paul's tradition with the Passion narratives on the one hand and the sermons in the Acts of the Apostles on the other. The four-line tradition handed on by Paul is a summary of the central events of Jesus' crucifixion, burial by Joseph of Arimathea, the discovery of his empty tomb, and his appearances to the disciples."

2) Most NT scholars say it is highly likely that Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea. 

Sometimes I hear someone say, "OK, but Christians just made these stories up." This is improbable. As a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin that was opposed to Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea is unlikely to be a Christian invention. In this regard New Testament  scholar Raymond Brown says burial by Joseph of Arimathea is probable. Why? Because it is almost inexplicable why Christians would make up a story about a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin who does what is right by Jesus. That would, for a Jesus-follower in the days after Easter weekend, be an embarrassment. 

Craig Keener writes: "Given early Christian experiences with and feelings toward the Sanhedrin, the invention of a Sanhedrist acting piously toward Jesus is not likely." (Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio- Rhetorical Commentary, 690)

Why is this important? It's important because the location of the tomb where Jesus' body was placed was known. Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" (the mother of James and Joseph) knew where it was, as did the chief priests and the Pharisees. On Sunday, the tomb was empty. If Jesus' body was still in the tomb, it could and would have been seen or exhumed on the days following Easter. 

Why would Joseph of Arimathea offer his tomb for Jesus' body to be placed in? The answer is: he had become a disciple of Jesus. (Matt. 27:57) Both he and Sanhedrin member Nicodemus saw something in Jesus, and stepped out of the box to follow Him. Joseph is a risk-taker who is willing to put aside his place of political and religious power to go after the truth and love he sees in Jesus. He doesn't realize what's going to happen on Sunday. But he wants to make sure his new Lord receives a proper Jewish burial. 


REFLECTION

1. Joseph of Arimathea risked his reputation and career to follow Jesus. Reflect on how you are risking all for Jesus.


***

My two books are:

Leading the Presence-Driven Church

Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God.

I'm now working on...

Transformation: How God Changes the Human Heart 

And, when all this settles, Linda and I intend on writing our book on Relationships.

Self-Forgiveness Often Includes Making Amends with Others

                                                     (The River Raisin, in Monroe County)

Are you having a hard time forgiving yourself for things you have done to others, or to your own self, or to God? If so, the book to read on this is Everett Worthington's Moving Forward: Six Steps to Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free From the Past. 

When this involves another person or persons, Worthington emphasizes the connection between self-forgiveness and seeking the forgiveness of those we have wronged. He cites studies showing "that people could forgive themselves more quickly and thoroughly if they felt forgiven both by God and by the person they wronged." (85) 

This is because, when we hurt another person, we damage our own character. In wounding others, we also wound ourselves. When we choose to restore relationship with the one we have harmed this "restorative moral action will narrow our own injustice gap and help restore our sense of self as a moral person." (Ib.)

How can we narrow the injustice gap our actions have created? For one thing, "to regain trust from someone you harmed, you need to show the person that you are taking full responsibility." (86) 

If I hurt you, then I am responsible, with your permission, to acknowledge your woundedness and the healing process. For example, the adulterous wife or husband must talk about their evil tryst, intentionally and proactively, so that their spouse does not have to keep asking all the many questions that are now in their mind. 

Worthington writes: "add substance to your commitment to take responsibility by acting to narrow the injustice gap." (Ib.) 

These responses begin to break the chains of self-hatred.

Why Don't I Do What Jesus Tells Me to Do?

 

                                                             (Art, by one of our youth)

Many of the posts I write are for me. If they speak to others, great! 

I write to remind myself. So, here we go.

Jesus said,

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord',

and do not do what I tell you?"

Jesus implied,

"I told you to love your enemies.

Why don't you?"

Jesus meant, 

"I told you to care for the least of these.

Why aren't you?"

Jesus asks,

"I told you to love Me with all of your being.

Why only 10% of you?"

Jesus said,

"I am building My church.

Why do you only show up on Christmas and Easter?"

Jesus stated,

"Seek first My kingdom.

Why isn't this #1 on your to-do list?"

Jesus commanded,

"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.

Why do you only talk about this on Good Friday?"

Jesus says,

"I told you to live in the Light.

Why do you flirt with darkness?"

Jesus instructs,

"Make disciples of people.

Why aren't you doing this?"

Jesus said,

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord',

and do not do what I tell you?"

"Plainly, in the eyes of Jesus there is no good reason for not doing what he said to do, for he only tells us to do what is best. Just try picturing yourself standing before him and explaining why you did not do what he said was best."

- Dallas Willard

Hell Inspires the Abusive Tongue

James 3:3-12. 

This passage is on the out-of-control mouth that ruins Jesus-communities with untruths. (In James, one of the problems is antinomianism; viz., the misguided idea that one can have "faith" without obedience to Christ. This is why James stresses that faith without deeds is dead.) 

James understands the power of words. He knows that such a small (micro) thing as the mouth can have mega-effects (megala) vastly disproportionate to its size.

The tongue, writes James, is a fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. That is, the origin of all divisive untruths, gossip, slander, flattery, and innuendo are from an unheavenly source. (Slander is saying something behind a person's back that you would never say to their face; flattery is saying something to a person's face that you would never say behind their back.)

New Testament scholar Scot McKnight writes, "Hell inspires the abusive tongue." (McKnight, James, 286) Words that tear down rather than build up, words of hatred rather than love, words showing favoritism of one person over another, all rise up out of a heart in touch with hell.

Why such strong language? After all, doesn't the old proverb apply here? "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." To the contrary, "Far easier to heal are the wounds caused by sticks and stones than the damage caused by words." (Douglas Moo, in McKnight, James, 286)

James ramps up the intensity when he writes: "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness." 

For James, this is crazy, because it means blessing a person with your words and then cursing the same person with your words. This is some kind of evil schizophrenia.  How so?  

Because “cursing” is a failure to see in one another God’s image. (David Nystrom, James) This is why James adds "who have been made in God's likeness." Praising God and cursing people is equal to praising and cursing God, since persons are made in God’s image. If you curse a person, you are cursing God’s image in that person. 

Thus, we have the contradiction:

1. I praise God.

2. I curse God (via cursing people who are made in the image of God).

This is the incongruous "double-mindedness" James warns about. James describes Christians who praise God with their mouths on Sunday mornings, and are brutal towards other people in their homes, or in their work places.

Cursing is tearing down the image of God in other people. N. T. Wright says if "someone turns out to be pouring out curses – cursing other humans who are made in God’s likeness – then one must at least question whether their heart has been properly cleansed, rinsed by God’s powerful spirit. And if that isn’t the case, that person is getting their real inspiration from hell itself." 

How can our mouth be healed of its abusive ways? The answer for James, and his biological brother Jesus, is by focusing on the mouth's source, which is the heart. To rescue your mouth, focus on your heart. 

Let your heart align with the heart of Jesus. If your heart is pure, your words will be pure. Nystrom writes:

“Jesus understood actions to be revelatory of character, as the saying “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit” attests. He also believed our speech to be revelatory of character, which is the essential point being made here. Our speech comes from the heart.”

So what can we do? I like how Oswald Chambers directs us. He writes:

"Jesus says that there is only one way to develop spiritually, and that is by concentration on God. “Do not bother about being of use to others; believe on Me” — pay attention to the Source, “and out of you will flow rivers of living water.”

We cannot get at the springs of our natural life by common sense and Jesus is teaching that growth in spiritual life does not depend on our watching it, but on concentration on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows the circumstances we are in, and if we keep concentrated on Him we will grow spiritually as the lilies."

The message of James 3:3-12 is that, while humanity has failed to tame the human tongue, God can, as we abide in him.

***
My first book is Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God.

                                                           (Lake Erie, near our house)

"I HAVE A REASON"

I wrote this song in the 70s. 


Linda and I did it as we traveled throughout the Midwest singing and speaking.

Record Levels of Anxiety and Depression in College Students

 

Three weeks ago Linda and I took a much-needed night away. We went to a hotel in Ann Arbor, sat in the hot tub, and had a delicious meal in one of our favorite restaurants. 

In the hotel lobby there were free newspapers. I picked up The University Record, which is the University of Michigan's paper for faculty and staff.

One of the articles was "College students saw record levels of anxiety, depression last fall." Here are some of the highlights.

College students last fall reported their highest levels of depression and anxiety of any prior semester, according to U-M’s Healthy Minds Study, an annual web-based survey looking at mental health and service utilization among undergraduate and graduate college students.

Among the respondents, 47 percent screened positive for clinically significant symptoms of depression or anxiety  — up from 44 percent last year and the highest since the survey was started in 2007. The study included data from 32,754 students from 36 colleges and universities, with a response rate 14 percent.

“We are not necessarily attributing this to a dramatic spike in fall of 2020, but we actually see this as part of an overall trend of rising rates of depression, anxiety and other mental health outcomes and concerns that college students are reporting to us over the last five years, certainly, but even perhaps over the last 10 years,” said Justin Heinze, one of the principal investigators of the report.

Key findings included:

• Sixty-six percent of students indicated feeling isolated from others — a key risk factor for mental health — sometimes or often.
• Among students with a positive screen for depression or anxiety, only 40 percent had received any mental health counseling or therapy in the past year.

Affirmation Is Not Equivalent to Love

Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan

(I first posted this in 2016. It's more relevant today.)

If I don't affirm all your beliefs, it does not mean I don't, or cannot, love you. 

Loving someone does not mean affirming everything they do or believe in. If that was true, love would be nonexistent.

Take the statement: X is wrong, with X referring to, say, a behavior. Or a moral position.

Now, imagine I say, "The statement X is wrong is true." That is, I believe it is true that X is wrong. It's wrong to do X, or hold to the moral position of X.

Next, imagine you believe the statement X is wrong is false. That is, you believe it is not true that X is wrong. It's right to do X, or right to hold to the moral position of X.

This means we disagree on the truth-value of the statement X is wrong. It means that you think I am wrong about this statement, and I believe that you are wrong about it. Make no mistake about this. This is about right/wrong, true/false. Statements are either T or F, without exception. (This does not mean we know which it is. For example, There are an even number of stars in the universe.)

You, therefore, cannot affirm me in my belief that X is wrong. I should not expect that you would. Why would I expect you to affirm something you thought false, or wrong? And, I cannot affirm you in your belief about the particular state of affairs that X refers to. You should not expect that I would.

This may cause us to vote differently. It may mean we go to different churches. It may mean that I go to church, but you do not. It may mean I believe in God, but you don't. It may mean we have different beliefs about guns, or about fidelity in marriage, or about marriage.

Even though you think I am wrong, you should not force me to affirm something I do not believe in. Nor I, you. That's a waste of time, since coercion cannot produce belief. 

But at least one of us is mistaken about our belief. We cannot both be right. 

Ethical relativism will not work here. This is precisely why we disagree; viz., because we believe there is such a thing as rightness, and truth. This is why you are concerned to convince me that it is false that X is wrong. Maybe you are upset with me, angry with me. You think I ought to affirm you because you are right, and I am wrong. Objectively so.

Let's say I have studied the claim X is wrong for fifty years. I have read everything pro and con about it. I have taken classes on it. I have dialogued with contrarians over and over about this. And still, after all this, I cannot in my heart and mind affirm what you believe about this. Let's further say you have done the same, and come out thinking I am wrong. It happens. You cannot nor should be expected to affirm me regarding my belief, and vice versa. You should not expect me to endorse X, or to engage in X, or to champion X, or get all excited about X. Depending on the level of importance the matter has to us, this may result in a certain parting of ways.

But, we can still love. 

Jesus said we are even to love our enemies, and my enemies believe things I vehemently reject. 

An enemy is someone who affirms a set of beliefs which you do not, and cannot, affirm. But even if I am to you the enemy of your deepest beliefs, you can still love me. And, if you have the expectation that I should affirm what you believe, I feel misunderstood and disrespected by you. Perhaps we can agree on this, and agree to love in spite of, and in the process learn what such outrageous love is, and then talk about where it comes from and what it means.

Craig Keener's Book "Miracles Today"

 Coming August 2021.

Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World