Relating Body and Soul: Insights from Development and Neurobiology

Various models of personhood exist within Christianity. These often involve a particular understanding of the human soul. We believe that three common assumptions about the soul are incorrect and may lead to errors in Christian praxis. These assumptions are that the soul (1) is instantaneously created at the moment of fertilization, (2) is immaterial and pure and somehow better than the body, and (3) is the “real person.” Using insights from biology, we suggest a new perspective that we call “developing hominization.” Our model is open regarding anthropological monism or dualism. However, we seek to clarify Christian anthropology by stipulating that models employing the foregoing beliefs must be changed or eliminated since they do not meet philosophical, scriptural, and practical qualification to properly inform our understanding of personhood and all its ramifications in theology and science. We examine, through examples, how our model would better inform Christian praxis.