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To: Cicero
There are two ancient doctrines, related but different: the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body. Traditional Christians believe in both.

The doctrine of resurrection is ancient, biblical and a foundational aspect of Christianity:

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

The doctrine of the immortal soul is also ancient, but IS NOT biblical.

You might want to refer to this thread

55 posted on 02/09/2008 7:04:49 AM PST by DouglasKC
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To: DouglasKC

Some ideas came into Christianity from Greek thought at a very early stage. For instance, the idea of the Logos, or of Christ as the Word of God, is found in the opening verse of the Gospel of John.

The immortality of the soul is not so obviously stated in the Bible as the resurrection of the body, but belief in this doctrine goes back to the very early days of the Church.

For Catholics, it’s not a problem. For Protestants, there is always more room for dispute about such matters.

Actually this doctrine arises in the history of Papal Infalibility. The basic teaching, of course, is that the Pope will not formally promulgate false doctrine. He may be an evil and sinful man, he may be condemned to hell, he may do unwise things and lead the Church in unwise directions, but he will not step over that line into promulgating heresy.

Twice in history a pope came close to losing it. Once, when an Arian bishop was named pope, but then seems to have changed his mind and refrained from promoting Arian doctrine, despite pressure from the Emperor. The second time when a late medieval pope was persuaded by the Spiritual Franciscans, a branch of the order that went astray, that the soul was not immortal. He was about to say as much when an emergency team from the Univesity of Paris persuaded him not to. So, yes, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul was once in doubt, and was not formally defined until late—though widely believed in from earliest days. But it didn’t happen. The decision went the other way.


63 posted on 02/09/2008 8:55:39 AM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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