Death and Afterlife 3 - What is death?

What is death? When we die there is a separation of the soul from the body. When the soul separates there is no life in the body, and it becomes immovable and begins to decay.

To understand death we must know our soul. What is it? Do you know yours?

Saint Gregory of Nyssa describes the soul as an essence that is created. It is a living and noetic essence that gives the body the power of life and it’s ability to receive sense-impressions. It is created by the Creator simultaneously with the body at the time of inception. Because the body has a soul it is able to move and respond to the environment.

In Genesis it says,

‘Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; man became a living being.’

Today we know that life of a new person begins when a sperm cell is joined with an egg creating a unique new person. This act is accompanied with the work of the a Holy Spirit to create a new human person with both a body which will grow physically and a spirit that is integral part of the whole person. 

Saint Gregory Palamas put it this way,

“When it is said to have made man according to His image, the word “man” means neither the soul by itself nor the body by itself, but the two together.”

Here are some characteristics of the soul:

Has a will.

Is invisible.

Not made up,of physical elements, it’s noticed.

Is intelligent and controls the body.

Without it the body has no life.

 So why does the soul ever separate from the body?  Next.