A Few Questions Briefly Considered
1. The "Living Soul"
Says one, "Did not the Lord put into man an immortal soul?"
No; the Scripture says:
"The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen. 2:7.
The soul was not put into the man, but when the life-giving breath was breathed into his nostrils, the man himself became a living soul, a living being. The ordinary version (King James) gives "a living soul" in the margin of Gen. 1:30, showing that the same expression is used of all the animal creation in the Hebrew text. The famous Methodist commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, says on this phrase, "living soul:"
"A general term to express all creatures endued with animal life, in any of its infinitely varied gradations."
2. Are "Soul" and "Spirit" Deathless?
"Are not the soul and spirit said to be deathless?" questions another.
No. One writer says of the Scriptural use of the words "soul" and "spirit:"