Are we body and soul? Dichotomy

Most people believe that there is a spiritual aspect to our world and our bodies. This makes us both physical and spiritual beings. Later, I will be discussing the understanding that human beings are made up of three parts, body, soul and mind/Psyche. For now lets consider the idea that we are an embodied soul. 

Embodied soul

My soul resides in my body; the two are connected or meshed together. The soul and the body influence each other. My identity as a person is found not in my body or brain but in my soul. Scientist haven’t been able to find out where our self awareness resides because they are looking in the wrong place. The brain is responsible for a lot of things but it is not responsible for everything.

In the beginning

God is the eternal and all powerful spiritual being who made this world. This means that he made our brain and our bodies. He is the one who gave us our soul. All of this means that God understands us better than anyone. When we are in trouble, when we suffer, God can help us. When we try and understand the world, God must be in the centre of that understanding. When we seek to answer the question “Who am I” we must do so within our understanding of who God is.

Our affinity

God made us in his image. We are like God so that we can relate to him, so that we can have a friendship with him. We are made to live our lives in communion with God and each other as embodied souls. God made both a physical and spiritual world for us to live in; with him and each other.

Our dislocation

Being made in God’s image meant that we could choose not to be God’s friend. When you look at the state of our world it is not good. There is significant suffering in the world because humanity chose to reject God’s friendship to pursue our own happiness. This evidences itself spiritually in that people deny God’s existence and physically in people’s misuse of their bodies towards themselves and others.

Our dislocation affects both the spiritual and the physical

If we live our lives separately from God then this will evidence itself both spiritually (in our values and beliefs) and physically (in the way that we use our body.)  

Values and morality

Every culture, every race, and every religion share similar values and morality. It’s wrong to murder, steal and cheat. It is good to be faithful in your relationships, to honour your parents. These in built values and morality are there because of God. However, even though we have the value that stealing is wrong we still steal, we still get angry and murder people with our tongues, we are unfaithful in our friendships. The question then is why? Who is responsible for our own failure to keep our own values?

Who’s responsible?

It has become very popular in our culture to blame many things on the brain and the body. Alcoholism is considered a disease, depression is often thought of as a chemical imbalance in the brain, children are commonly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. The body certainly can affect the soul. For example, you may decide to stay up late even though your body is tired. But eventually your body will shut down so that it can get some sleep. If you stand at the edge of a cliff your body will send you danger messages so that you don’t fall over the edge.

The body can have chemical imbalances that make a person feel depressed; it can have physical dependencies that we call cravings. But can the body make you a bad person? Can your body be responsible for you beating your wife, can you blame your body for having an affaire? Let me suggest that the answer is no. Ultimately your spirit can have control over your body when it comes to morality even though your body might have inherent weaknesses. The soul is moral the body is material.

Recognise the difference

There is a difference between something that is morally/spiritually wrong and a physical weakness. It is not morally wrong to find it hard to pay attention in the class room. But it is morally wrong to never try to pay attention and to run amuck during class. It is not morally wrong to have sexual desires but it is immoral to have an affair. Being able to distinguish between spiritual and physical problems can be extremely helpful. Physical problems are the limitations that the spirit has to learn to cope with. Moral and spiritual problems need to be resolved because issues of the soul affect your relationship with God. Being able to recognise the difference between physical and spiritual problems can mean implementing more effective strategies to deal with our troubles.

To be continued…