Anthropology 2024/2025 Discussion Board 1

[pastorderrick]

Write an essay showing the different theological views on the origin of the human soul pointing out what view(s) you agree or disagree with and why.

Paste the same submission from the previous step here by clicking on the REPLY link just above. Your submission should be made by Wednesday the 12th of March 2025.

Then scroll down to see your peer submission and click reply to comment on their submissions. You MUST comment on at least one post with a minimum of 200 words by 11:59 p.m. (WAT) on Friday the 14th of March 2025. Your comments will also be graded.

[Chibuike Onyeogulu]

The theological view of the origin of the human soul have been subjected to three main theories.
The theory of pre-existence
According to this view, every human soul existed before mortal conception and eventually entered or was placed into the body prior to birth. Origen Adamantius, an early Christian scholar, proposed the idea of pre-existence, in that God created each human soul before conception.
Origen referenced Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” as his basis of his argument and then brought forth a question, “How could his soul and its images be formed along with his body, who, before he was created in the womb, is said to be known to God, and was sanctified by Him before his birth?
His argument sounds logical, couple with scriptural backing, however I do not agree to it because further studies on this theory totally contradicts God’s foreknowledge (Omniscience), mosaic account of man’s creation in the image of God and lastly, it shed no light on the origin of sin as well as inherited sensual sin which it holds to have come from Adam or upon God’s justice in dealing with sin.
The theory of traducianism
The term ‘traducianism’ comes from the Latin word ‘tradux’, meaning ‘layer’. According to this notion, all souls are, in some way, descended from Adam’s original soul. Tertullian, a prominent early Christian author, taught that the soul is ‘passed on’ from father to child via the organic process of generation. During procreation, both the soul and the body pass on a portion of themselves to their offspring, resulting in the full person, soul and body, being derived from the progenitors.
Again, his argument sounds logical and had scriptural backing as it gives more explanation to the original sin, inherited sensual sin and the subsequent redemption we have in Christ. Traducianists find support in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, and 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life”, However, I do not agree with this theory because it still raises a few insuperable problems about personal identity. Psalm 139: 14 and Romans 12:6 laid emphasis on the fact that every human is created fearfully and wonderfully, and God have given every individual a unique gift for doing thing so well.
The theory of creationism
This theory belief is that God created each soul and individual at the very moment he joins it to the developing organism thus, God creates a soul for each body that is generated. This theory gives support to the marked individuality in a child which cannot be explained as a mere reproduction of the qualities existing in parents (Psalms 139:13).
Furthermore, I partially agree to this theory with relation to the fact God is the creator of the human soul however, my general belief regarding the origin of the soul agrees to Pearlman view as seen in the course content, which suggest a cooperation of both God (creator) and parent as the origin. Man begets man in cooperation with “the father of Spirit” (John 1:1-4 and Genesis 5:1-3)
References
• Yates, J. C. (1989). The origin of the soul: New light on an old question. Evangelical Quarterly, 61(1), 121-140.
• Augustus Hopkins Strong (1908). Outlines of systematic theology. Philadelphia, the Griffith and Rowland press, 1701 Chestnut street.

[VictorKachi]

Scholars and various religious traditions hold divergent perspectives regarding the origin of the soul. It is evident that God breathed life into Adam, resulting in his transformation into a living soul. However, several question arises concerning the source of souls for subsequent generations. This essay aims to examine three theological viewpoints regarding the origin of the soul.

1. Creationism
This view holds that God creates a new soul into each individual at the moment of conception or birth (Ps 139:13) . This theory teaches that the human body is transferred from the parents, but the soul, since it is immaterial, comes from God. Their Support for this is found in the fact that after creating Adam, God breathed life into his body—giving him a soul (Gen 2:7).
This theory does face some challenges. How is the sinful nature passed on if God provides each person with a soul?
The soul, often seen as the centre of activities and the essence of our mind, is referred to in the Bible as “desperately wicked.” This raises another intriguing question; if God is the creator of the soul, when does it become corrupted? Because this seem unlikely, some reject this view

2. Traducianism
This view suggests that the soul is transmitted from parents to children through the process of reproduction. This view emphasizes the fact that both the body and soul are inherited from the parents (Ps 51:5). Supporters of this idea believe that God’s act of creating things from nothing ended after the sixth day of creation, which is backed up by the fact that God took a break on the seventh day.
Paul Enns said it this way, “If the parents pass on the nonmaterial nature then it explains the propagation of the sin nature and the tendency, from birth, of every human being to sin”.
I contest this viewpoint by asserting that accepting it implies the belief that Jesus inherited the sinful nature of Mary, which is not accurate. Neither do I propose that sin was exclusively associated with the male genetic lineage, since Mary did not inherit this gene because Jesus was born without sin.
One additional strength of the traducian theory lies in its emphasis on hereditary influences; individuals not only inherit physical traits from their parents but also often share similarities in personality, intelligence, and emotional responses. If the soul were to be directly imparted by God, independent of parental influence, such resemblances would likely be less pronounced.

3. Pre-Existence
 This third view is devoid of biblical backing, as it suggests that God created all human souls simultaneously and “assigns” a soul to an individual at the point of conception. According to this view, there exists a kind of “warehouse of souls” in heaven, where God keeps souls in anticipation of being connected to a human body.

Conclusively, In accordance with Perlman’s suggestion of cooperation between creator and parent as discussed in our prior course session, I am inclined to support a partnership instead of contradiction between creationism and traducianism. This perspective is rooted in the belief that God’s power governs and infuses the world, ensuring that all beings come into existence in accordance with the divine laws established by God. Consequently, even the natural process of reproduction activates these divine principles of life, resulting in the birth of a human endowed with a soul.Adam fathered a son in his own likeness, as noted in Genesis 5:3, suggesting that Adam’s offspring are also “living souls” without the necessity of divine breath being bestowed upon them. Romans 5:12 appears to indicate that we all sinned “through one man,” which points to everyone’s connectedness to Adam and his original sin. The commencement of a new existence and the innovative application of means are initiated by a Creator God (Jhn 1:3)

[Chibuike Onyeogulu]

Its being an interesting exercise with regards to the new insight and revelation obtained in course of engaging in this assignment and also a challenging one with regards to sorting out materials for this assignment.
However, the concept of creationism with regards to the origin of the human soul is one concept most believers could easily agree with or buy into since we can all agree that God is the creator but the verse of the scripture (Jeremiah 17:9) which says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” will definitely make you think twice or ask questions like “Did God actually create a deceitful and wicked heart.
A friend told me while on this assignment that the heart and soul are two different things, I quickly looked up the meaning of heart as used in Jeremiah 17:9 from “Bible Strongs concordance” and it literally mean same thing as soul which is the center of activities and having its components of will, intellect and emotion
So, in conclusion God did not create a wicked or deceitful heart thus this concept is rejected and wanting to lean on the concept of traducianism which gives answers to this argument that the soul comes from the parents and the wicked heart as used here is transcend from Adam to us after he disobeyed God.

[Humble oluchi God’s power]

The origin of the soul is a profound and intriguing question that has been debated by theologians, philosophers, and scholars for centuries, it invites us to contemplate the mysteries of creation, the nature of humanity, and the workings of the divine. May our exploration of this topic inspire a deeper appreciation for the complexities of human existence and the wonders of God’s creation.
Theological views of the origin of the human soul:
1) Traducianism
Traducianism is the theological view that the human soul is generated by the parents, either through biological reproduction or through some other means.
This view originated in the early Christian church, particularly among the Eastern Fathers.
Traducianism holds that the soul is generated in the biological process of reproduction, just like the body.
The view might be complicated because of the lack of explanation in the relationship between the soul and the body, however the point seems relevant because of the fact we see during creation, looking at what happened in the Bible as regards to the sin Adam committed that affected his descendants, through that, both spiritual and physical death was transmitted to the world.(Psalm 51:5)
God created a perfect and unique soul from the beginning but the disobedience of Adam affected the soul and brought corruption to the transmission of the soul.
2) Creationism
Creationism is the theological view that the human soul is directly created by God, and that it’s existence is not dependent on a natural process.
This view has its roots in the biblical account of creation, particularly in Genesis 2:7, where God breathes the breath of life into Adam, this suggests that God is directly involved in the creation of human life.
I might be tempted to accept this view, because in this view we can realize that the human soul is directly created by God, this point shows that God is the creator and the giver of life, Without the breath of God into the nostrils of man there will be know creation of the human soul . First, God formed man from the dust and in order to activate the soul he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.
3) Preexistence (or Pre-Existence Theory)
This view proposes that souls exist before conception or birth, and that God assigns a pre-existing soul to each person. This view emphasizes the eternal nature of the soul.
But this view since it has no Bible reference, it is not as relevant as the order two.

In conclusion, Traducianism, Creationism, and pre- existence theory offer different perspectives on how the soul comes into existence. However, with the knowledge gotten from the previous lessons , (Act 17:28) (Hebrew 1:3) (John 1:1-4) (psalm 51:5-6) (Genesis 5:1-3)what we see from these verses of scriptures is that God created, and man procreate, (Adam begot Seth). Gods power controls the world so that all comes in to being according to the laws he has ordained, so everything in life follows the pattern that is already Placed by God. It is God who gave man the ability to cooperate with him giving birth to another man.

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