The Immortal Soul:

It is a fragile thread that connects us to this world. We are at every moment precariously poised upon the precipice of extinction. The duration of our existence at best is brief and at worst is but a momentary flickering of a spark that will never become a flame. The span of our journey is as much a matter of chance as it is of genetic inheritance or conscious calculation and we are ever exposed to the ruthless and merciless demands of our senses. It is a journey that is as beautiful as it is ugly and the distinction between the two, to a large extent, lies both in the mind of the interpreter and the heart of the observer while that selfsame mind and heart are unceasingly subject to the immediate circumstances and events that mold and manipulate them. It is, nonetheless, the joy of humankind that it has been endowed both with the power of vision and the power of discovery whereby it is enabled to rise above the world of the senses and dwell in the heaven of spirit. It requires, however, a conscious effort and vigilant attention of the mind and heart to subdue the raging forces of nature and avoid becoming a slave to the senses. It is not without pain nor is it without sacrifice but the prize is worth the effort.

Why is it that humankind, from as far back as accurate records and story telling traditions indicate, has always entertained the inner conviction that only his outer body dies but that his inner soul lives on forever? This is an assertion that has always been advanced by religion and its most revered and respected proponents and it is also an assertion that has been embraced by most members of the scientific community. Nevertheless, there is also an element within humankind composed of scientists and philosophers who scoff at the idea of God, who refuse to give credence to His existence, who reject the idea of an immortal soul, who assert that death is the end of both the physical and spiritual life, who claim that the entire range of a human person’s existence occupies only the time frame from crib to coffin, who contemptuously state that there is no hereafter and that those who believe that there is have been deluded by religious leaders and spiritual cranks whose only area of expertise is myth and superstition.

However, if we ignore myth and superstition, set aside traditional religious beliefs, subject the question to reason, logic, and empirical examination and then clothe it in the garment of scientific and technological discovery then perhaps we will find that the scales will tip more to one position than to the other and perhaps, also, will advance the irresistible likelihood that humankind, as a whole, has been instinctively, intuitively, and deductively correct from the very beginning. Besides, only in humankind does the faculty exist whereby the question can be conceived, its related data researched, and its various and contending aspects subjected to the rigors of argument. Nowhere in nature does this faculty exist except in humankind and not even nature itself, despite our physically being a part of it, is able to depart from obedience to its own inviolable laws and is incapable of abstract reasoning, conscious deliberation, deductive speculation, or coherent speech. It is a faculty neither exercised nor demonstrated anywhere else in nature and begs the question, “How is it that nature can produce something possessed of qualities and attributes of which nature itself is bereft?” It is the same as imagining that if a person were to take an empty cup and immerse it in the ocean that they could find in the contents of the cup that which is absent in the ocean from which it was derived.

Even the most cynical and irreligiously minded scientist, who disclaims any association with any organized religion will, when the question is appropriately put to them, admit that they have neither an explanation as to how the expanse of the universe originally came into being nor any means by which they can replicate it. They are unable either to describe or define the First Cause, the Primary Motivating Force, the Creator of all things visible and invisible, and yet, are equally unable to deny that an effect must have a Cause, that a creation must have a Creator, and that it takes Intelligence to beget intelligence. Not even the most skeptical scientist would attempt to advance the notion that intelligence came into being as a result of random chance nor would they be so presumptuous as to claim that they have personally created any of the operating principles and underlying laws of nature that they have discovered. Humankind was created in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of God with the primary difference being that God is the Creator whereas humankind is simply creative. God brings something into existence out of nothingness whereas humankind must have something with which to begin. Science is the arena of discovering that which is already there whereas God is the One who put it there.

One of the axioms, that is to say, the self-evident truths that even the simplest of human intellects can readily grasp is that, ‘We did not create ourselves’ and another is that, ‘We did not create the universe in which we live’. These two axioms, without drawing upon any others, are incontrovertible proof of the existence of God. However, they do not describe Him nor do they explain His Existence. They simply testify that He exists and that humankind is a product of his Creative Energy. Knowing that something exists and observing and recording the phenomena that derive from it is not the same as understanding it or comprehending its inner reality. We know that God exists but at the same time have not the capacity nor the means by which to know what He is.

Admitting the existence of God, even though we have neither the tools nor the method by which to grasp His inner Reality and Essence, is the first step toward admitting also of the existence of the human soul, that pre-eminent spiritual substance that distinguishes humankind above and beyond any other creature on planet earth and by which he is in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of his Creator. This term is applied in the same way that we would describe our own image and likeness were we to gaze upon our reflection in a mirror. Although all the characteristics, the shape and form, that identify us outwardly as human are captured in the reflection, nonetheless, we did not descend into the mirror in order to create that reflection and the reflection cannot be said to have the same qualities or attributes that we ourselves possess. It is true that we are in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of God in that we possess all of His attributes but we possess each and every one to a limited degree which is what makes us human whereas God possesses each and every quality and attribute to an absolute degree which is what makes Him God.

If we admit that God exists and that He is the Creator of all things both visible and invisible and, if we admit that He possesses all qualities to an absolute degree, then it necessarily follows that His Creation is absolute, that is to say, it has no boundaries, no limitations, no ending, and no dimensions because as an absolute it will possess all characteristics to an infinite and immeasurable degree. Science readily accepts the postulate of the ‘indestructibility and conservation of matter’ wherein the ‘building blocks of matter’ may disassemble and re-assemble in various shapes and forms but are themselves never destroyed and, hence, are infinite as regards the physical universe. On the other hand, religion postulates that the soul is an indivisible substance not subject to decomposition that was created by God to be eternal and imperishable and which will travel through all of His infinite worlds gradually unfolding the infinite qualities it has in common with Him and by which it will arrive at its intended destiny. There should be no conflict between these two positions that, in essence, are two halves of a whole. God is called the Creator not the Uncreator. Whatsoever He fashions and sets in motion cannot be unfashioned or set in reverse. Nothing whatsoever can frustrate the Will of God and any and all attempts are invariably met with built in safeguards that protect its design and purpose and which impose corrective measures against those who foolishly disregard its warning signs.

Having advanced simple but incontrovertible proof of the existence of God and, similarly, having advanced the self-evident truth that humankind possesses qualities and attributes of which nature is bereft, we are left with the irresistible postulate that these qualities and attributes, not found in nature, are the human soul. Further, since God is an Absolute, the only absolute, it necessarily follows that He does not act with limitation and, having created the soul in His ‘Image and Likeness’ would confer upon it the self same infinite nature and range of qualities that would enable it to pass successfully through an infinite extension of worlds which by His Absolute Nature He would be compelled to create. The human soul is the crowning point of God’s creation and by its very nature is immortal, indestructible, and indivisible.