The Mortal Soul in Ancient Israel and Pauline Christianity: Ramifications for Modern Medicine

Excerpt

Although it has borne various names in the religions of the Mediterranean: ba, etemmu, nepeš, psychē—the soul, a personal essence which transcends death, has enduring presence in both ancient and modern cultures. Even in this post-modern era, a majority of Americans believe in survival after death, a statistic which holds fairly steady despite religion, race or education.¹ Undoubtedly, the popularity of the immortal soul stems from its ability to cheat death, to enter the afterlife as the last breath exits the body. This otherwise popular notion, however, is largely absent in Hebrew Scripture and the Pauline epistles. More importantly, the concept of an immortal soul which transcends the physical and acts to preserve the true self despite ravages of age and disease fails to reconcile with the experience of modern life and evidence of modern science. Interestingly, it is the ancient Hebrew and Pauline view of the soul as mortal, decayable and fully susceptible to death which remains pertinent in a society experiencing an alarming increase in the number of people with dementia. As one witnesses the slow loss of personality traits, memory, independence and identity seen in Alzheimer’s Dementia, one is struck by how this clearly resonates with the Psalmist’s complaint, “My soul melts away…” (Psalm 119, v. 28, NRSV). …