I got soul.

On our way from Philosophy to Psychology, Ryan and I had this little conversation... about a month ago.

Ryan: "You live in California, man. Your lungs are black."
Me: "But I ran cross country!"
Ryan: "Doesn't matter. You have strong black lungs."

Without getting too discouraged by Los Angeles's smog, he's got a point. We all breathe smoke and nicotine and caffeine and marijuana and disease and grime. It's kind of disgusting, but there are parts of UC Irvine that I hold my breath to walk through. But hey, it's a thing like this that clicks metaphors in my mind to share, so you'd benefit from my (cough) hazy thoughts, reader.

Firstly, on the topic of soul:
The human soul, or psuche (Greek), or nephesh (Hebrew) generally means one's self, identity, consciousness, life. 

Then [after cultivating the gardens Himself, for there was no man to serve the ground (v.5c)] the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [nephesh]. 
Genesis 2:7


Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul [nepheshka]
and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (See this previous post for a more in-depth study on the Anglicized Hebrew)


If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: 
"The first man Adam became a living being [psuche];" [Genesis 2:7]
the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
I Corinthians 15:44b-45


I sometimes forget that my every breath comes not primarily from the automatic flexing of my diaphragm or the intake and swooshing exhale of my lungs, but from Jesus's Word. Without His spoken approval, all things fall apart and come unglued like ice cream on a summer day--our consistency as creatures is in our Creator and Redeemer. Things haven't changed much from the dawn of human history as creatures built to worship God and serve the land God gives us.

Secondly, on the topic of spirit:
The human spirit, or pneuma (Greek), or ruach (Hebrew) is generally defining the ethereal, spiritual part of life. That which we can't touch, but can feel, much like the wind which both Greek and Hebrew equivalents also connote.

Jesus answered,
"I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit [pneuma]. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying 'You must be born again.' The wind [pneuma] blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
John 3:5-8
(I only wrote pneuma twice, for emphasis on the word-play our Savior uses. The other instances of wind/spirit are also pneuma.)

Who knows the spirit [ruach] of man which rises upward, or the spirit [ruach] of the animal, which goes down into the earth?
Ecclesiastes 3:21


Into Your hands I commit my spirit; [ruach]
You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth.
Psalm 31:5

Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundations of the earth, and forms the spirit [ruach] of man within him,...
Zechariah 12:1b

Having just completed my first Philosophy course, I feel it wouldn't do if I don't plug some sort of knowledge into this topic--for the most part, modern philosophers believe the human "being" is monistic in nature (the mind/soul/spirit/etc. and body are one and the same). That is, reader, opposed to the dualistic view of the human "being" as comprised of two parts-- the mind and the body. As a Christian, I believe that the biblical view of the "other" side of mankind is a unison of all these things: the soul, the spirit, the will, the sub-conscious, the mind, the thoughts, the desires and intentions, the bowels (or intestines, or liver, or stomach, or heart, or other graphic images the authors of the Bible used to describe a man's innards), and so forth. Man is not a machine; the fact you can read these words demonstrates my point. But our souls and spirits are poisoned, and we need a transplant desperately.

As love would have it, our Creator did not leave us like Dr. Frankenstein. Our monstrous hearts, tainted and vile with addicting sin, are graciously removed, paid for by the Surgeon's love. And the only spirit that would do would be His own.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit [ruach] within you;
and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit [Ruach] within you 
and cause you to walk in My statutes, 
and you will be careful to observe My ordinances...
I will put My Spirit [Ruach] within you and you will come to life.
Ezekiel 36:26-27, 37:14a


How glorious and wonderful my Savior's love is!