Lesson 30

There are a lot of spiritual beliefs held to be true by mankind, just as there are many differing beliefs and doctrines held by devout Christians. A Biblist, using the Berean style of discovery, may feel overwhelmed by the options needing to be proved. Use the basic laws of logic with the trusted words of God as touchstones to test the belief in question. If the belief fails to logically stand up to them, then it should be abandoned. Unambiguous, well known verses will quickly expose most incorrect beliefs when the laws of logic and critical thinking are applied to help reason out the errors. Let’s practice and put logic into action against the immortal soul doctrine. Used as a pillar for many beliefs, if it cannot stand up to logic, any doctrine depending on it will be proven false at the same time.

John 3:16 The Passion Translation
16 For here is the way God loved the world—he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life.

When only those who believe in Jesus experience everlasting life, the law of noncontradiction demands that those who don’t believe in Jesus will not have everlasting life. Using the same law, if those who believe in Jesus never perish, those who don’t believe in him will perish. Using the law of excluded middle, perish (die) can not mean it’s opposite, mortal man can die. Everlasting life can only mean one thing according to the law of identity. You either have it or you don’t. Some of the truths of God logically extracted from John 3:16 are, only those who believe in Jesus gain eternal life, death is the absence of all life, only those with eternal life have it. These truths contradict many Christian doctrines about the afterlife. Most Christians believe humans have an immortal soul. Believing humans innately possess eternal life; they also believe bad humans will be punished in hell for all eternity. These beliefs are not logical and are in error. When we understand humans are completely mortal, with nothing that lives on beyond our physical death, no one can be tortured in hell for the rest of eternity. The only way to gain eternal life is to believe in Jesus which keeps us out of hell. Some people will die in hell and remain there for the rest of eternity, their punishment will last forever. Realising soul means our physical bodies, not something that has an eternal life of its own helps us logically learn other truths of God. What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be dead? Can you perish (die) and still be alive? Using your logic, can people be alive and dead at the same time?

Ezekiel 18:20 King James Version
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.