Do Living People Have Immaterial "Souls"?

It is true that "The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body is . . . nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture." But, even though scripture does not teach that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body, does scripture teach that there is a separate entity in the body called a "soul" that exists while the body is alive? In other words, does scripture teach that the living human is made of two substances: a material body and an immaterial soul – the immaterial soul being ultimately responsible for human consciousness? Do living humans have a "thinking part" that is separate from the physical body?

To answer this, we look at how the scripture authors used the word often translated as "soul" in order to learn what they meant by it. Did they use the word in any way that is similar to our definition of the word "soul" today - which is that it is an immaterial part of man that is responsible for human consciousness? Or did the Hebrew word usually translated "soul" (nefesh) have a different range of meanings than it is typically used to mean today?

For further study:

"Supposed Spiritualisms: What Scripture Really Says About Souls and Spirits,"
https://youtu.be/KlZEOQ0EVto

"What Does it Mean to 'Keep the Sabbath Holy'?"

https://youtu.be/QyXKi0kXpIc

Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 10, "Satan's Final Deceptions" 

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

www.bdsda.com 

Email us at bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and literature requests.