Christian theology Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Anthropology: Humanity=== {{Main|Christian anthropology}} {{Further|Theology of the body}} Christian anthropology is the study of [[Human nature|humanity]], especially as it relates to the divine. This [[theological anthropology]] refers to the study of the human ("anthropology") as it relates to [[God]]. It differs from the [[social science]] of [[anthropology]], which primarily deals with the comparative study of the physical and social characteristics of humanity across times and places. One aspect studies the innate nature or constitution of the human, known as the ''nature of mankind''. It is concerned with the relationship between notions such as [[Human body|body]], [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] and spirit which together form a person, based on their descriptions in the [[Bible]]. There are three traditional views of the human constitution– [[trichotomism]], [[dichotomism]] and [[monism]] (in the sense of anthropology).<ref>[[Millard Erickson]], ''Christian Theology'' 2nd edn, 537</ref> ====Components==== ;Soul {{See also|soul|nephesh|psyche (psychology)|Spirit (animating force)|Human body|Flesh}} The semantic domain of [[Bible|Biblical]] soul is based on the [[Hebrew]] word ''[[nephesh|nepes]]'', which presumably means "breath" or "breathing being".<ref>''Hebrew–English Lexicon,'' Brown, Driver & Briggs, Hendrickson Publishers.</ref> This word never means an immortal soul<ref>''Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology.''</ref> or an incorporeal part of the human being<ref>''Dictionary of Biblical Theology,'' Father Xavier Leon Dufour, 1985.</ref> that can survive death of the body as the spirit of dead.<ref>''New International Dictionary''.</ref> This word usually designates the person as a whole<ref>New Dictionary of Biblical Theology</ref> or its physical life. In the [[Septuagint]] ''nepes'' is mostly translated as ''psyche'' ({{lang|grc|[[wikt:ψυχή|ψυχή]]}}) and, exceptionally, in the [[Book of Joshua]] as ''empneon'' (ἔμπνεον), that is "breathing being".<ref>"A careful examination of the biblical material, particularly the words nefesh, neshama, and ruaḥ, which are often too broadly translated as "soul" and "spirit," indicates that these must not be understood as referring to the psychical side of a psychophysical pair. A man did not possess a nefesh but rather was a nefesh, as Gen. 2:7 says: "wayehi ha-adam le-nefesh ḥayya" (". . . and the man became a living being"). Man was, for most of the biblical writers, what has been called "a unit of vital power," not a dual creature separable into two distinct parts of unequal importance and value. While this understanding of the nature of man dominated biblical thought, in apocalyptic literature (2nd century BC–2nd century AD) the term nefesh began to be viewed as a separable psychical entity with existence apart from body.... The biblical view of man as an inseparable psychosomatic unit meant that death was understood to be his dissolution."—Britannica, 2004.</ref> The [[New Testament]] follows the terminology of the [[Septuagint]], and thus uses the word ''psyche'' with the Hebrew semantic domain and not the Greek,<ref>''Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament''</ref> that is an invisible power (or ever more, for [[Plato]]nists, immortal and immaterial) that gives life and motion to the body and is responsible for its attributes. In [[Patristic]] thought, towards the end of the 2nd century ''psyche'' was understood in more a Greek than a Hebrew way, and it was contrasted with the body. In the 3rd century, with the influence of [[Origen]], there was the establishing of the doctrine of the inherent immortality of the soul and its divine nature.<ref>The early Hebrews apparently had a concept of the soul but did not separate it from the body, although later Jewish writers developed the idea of the soul further. Old Testament references to the soul are related to the concept of breath and establish no distinction between the ethereal soul and the corporeal body. Christian concepts of a body-soul dichotomy originated with the ancient Greeks andwere introduced into Christian theology at an early date by St. Gregory of Nyssa and by St. Augustine.—''Britannica,'' 2004</ref> Origen also taught the [[Reincarnation|transmigration]] of the souls and their preexistence, but these views were officially rejected in 553 in the [[Fifth Ecumenical Council]]. Inherent immortality of the soul was accepted among western and eastern theologians throughout the [[middle ages]], and after the Reformation, as evidenced by the [[Westminster Confession]]. ;Spirit The spirit (Hebrew ''ruach'', Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:πνεῦμα|πνεῦμα]]}}, ''pneuma'', which can also mean "breath") is likewise an immaterial component. It is often used interchangeably with "soul", ''psyche'', although trichotomists believe that the spirit is distinct from the soul. :"When Paul speaks of the ''pneuma'' of man he does not mean some higher principle within him or some special intellectual or spiritual faculty of his, but simply his self, and the only questions is whether the self is regarded in some particular aspect when it is called ''pneuma''. In the first place, it apparently is regarded in the same way as when it is called ''psyche''– viz. as the self that lives in man's attitude, in the orientation of his will."<ref>Bultmann, I:206</ref> ;Body, Flesh The body (Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:σῶμα|σῶμα]]}} ''soma'') is the corporeal or physical aspect of a human being. Christians have traditionally believed that the body will be [[Resurrection of the dead|resurrected]] at the end of the age. Flesh (Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:σάρξ|σάρξ]]}}, ''sarx'') is usually considered synonymous with "body", referring to the corporeal aspect of a human being. The [[apostle Paul]] contrasts flesh and spirit in [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 7–8. ====Origin of humanity==== {{See also|Creationism|Theistic evolution|Image of God}} The [[Bible]] teaches in the book of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] the humans were created by God. Some Christians believe that this must have involved a miraculous creative act, while others are comfortable with the idea that God worked through the [[evolution]]ary process. The book of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] also teaches that human beings, male and female, were created in the image of God. The exact meaning of this has been debated throughout church history. ====Death and afterlife==== {{See also|Afterlife }} Christian anthropology has implications for beliefs about [[death]] and the [[afterlife]]. The Christian church has traditionally taught that the soul of each individual separates from the body at death, to be reunited at the [[resurrection of the dead|resurrection]]. This is closely related to the doctrine of the [[immortality of the soul]]. For example, the [[Westminster Confession]] (chapter XXXII) states: :"The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption: but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them" ;Intermediate state {{Main|Intermediate state (Christianity)}} The question then arises: where exactly does the disembodied soul "go" at death? Theologians refer to this subject as the [[Intermediate state (Christianity)|intermediate state]]. The [[Old Testament]] speaks of a place called ''[[sheol]]'' where the spirits of the dead reside. In the [[New Testament]], ''[[hades]]'', the classical Greek realm of the dead, takes the place of ''sheol''. In particular, Jesus teaches in Luke 16:19–31 ([[Lazarus and Dives]]) that ''hades'' consists of two separate "sections", one for the righteous and one for the unrighteous. His teaching is consistent with [[Intertestamental period|intertestamental]] Jewish thought on the subject.<ref>D. K. Innes, "Sheol" in ''New Bible Dictionary'', IVP 1996.</ref> Fully developed Christian theology goes a step further; on the basis of such texts as Luke 23:43 and Philippians 1:23, it has traditionally been taught that the souls of the dead are received immediately either into heaven or hell, where they will experience a foretaste of their eternal destiny prior to the resurrection. ([[Roman Catholicism]] teaches a third possible location, [[Purgatory]], though this is denied by [[Protestants]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]].) :"the souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God, in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day." (''Westminster Confession'') Some Christian groups which stress a monistic anthropology deny that the soul can exist consciously apart from the body. For example, the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] teaches that the intermediate state is an [[Unconsciousness|unconscious]] sleep; this teaching is informally known as "[[soul sleep]]". ;Final state In Christian belief, both the righteous and the unrighteous will be resurrected at the [[last judgment]]. The righteous will receive incorruptible, immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15), while the unrighteous will be sent to [[hell]]. Traditionally, Christians have believed that hell will be a place of eternal physical and psychological punishment. In the last two centuries, [[annihilationism]] has become popular. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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