Those who believe in the concept of an immortal soul, that is, that within man exists an eternal entity which continues to maintain a conscious existence after death, should consider some of the “difficulties” that arise if in fact all men have such immortal souls. Some of the difficulties include:

1. Why did God fail to reveal such a truth in Genesis, i.e., that all men have immortal souls, right from the beginning? The book of Genesis is silent about such a doctrine. There is no mention of eternal torments for the souls of the wicked in Genesis, or in Exodus, etc... Would not something so important and vital to the well-being of all mankind be revealed right from the beginning? Many Christians point out that the doctrine of immortal souls and their eternal torment in hell was something that was hidden from the Israelites and that only in the New Testament was this “truth” fully revealed. If this be the case, then one must admit that God kept this “truth” a near-secret for thousands of years, waiting only for Jesus and his disciples to appear and reveal this truth to their listeners. Do you have any idea of how many ignorant, wicked “souls” from Adam to Jesus entered into an eternity of suffering and torment simply because it wasn’t time to reveal this truth to them during their eras?
   
2. If all men have immortal souls, then it begs the question, when exactly did these immortal souls come into existence? Does an unborn baby have an immortal soul? Does a fetus have an immortal soul? Does a fertilized egg at conception have an immortal soul? If so, what do these immortal souls look like if the unborn baby dies in the womb? Does the soul of a stillborn baby instantly gain full adulthood in appearance when they ultimate eternal destiny? Do the souls of these dead babies have fully developed brains when they “arrive on the other side of eternity”? Where will they have gained the knowledge to speak and the powers of memory and reason? What does instantly elevating a dead baby into the presence of Jesus do to the core doctrines of the Christian faith, such as, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him,” (Hebrews 11:6), or Paul’s teaching: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:10)?
   
3. If an immortal soul comes into existence at the moment an egg is fertilized in the mother’s womb, then would that not mean that our supposed “immortal soul” at one point did not exist? If this be true, then why would it be inconceivable that this “immortal soul” could not once more cease from existing? In other words, if our soul at one time did not exist, why cannot that state of non-existence repeat itself?
   
4. If immortal souls have bodies — fingers, toes, eyes, etc... — based upon Luke 16 and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man... then what use is there for a resurrected body? If the soul has a physical appearance, with human appendages, then the body rotting in the grave is of no further use, and reuniting the immortal soul with its resurrected body at a future date would be useless. William Tyndale, who first translated the Bible into English made this point:

   “And ye, in putting them (the dead) in heaven, hell and purgatory, destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul prove the resurrection....if the souls be in heaven, tell me why they be not in as good a case as the angels be? And then what cause is there of a resurrection.... The true faith puteth forth the resurrection, which we be warned to look for every hour. The heathen philosophers, denying that, did put that the souls did ever live. And the pope joineth the spiritual doctrine of Christ and the fleshy doctrine of philosophers together: things so contrary that they cannot agree....And because the fleshy-minded pope consenteth unto heathen doctrine, therefore he corrupteth the Scripture to establish it.”

   William Tyndale was able to see that a resurrection of those who are still alive (alive according to popular religious theory that places them in either heaven, hell or purgatory) is no resurrection at all, but rather an empty show.

   Consider what the Apostle Paul had to say concerning the necessity of the resurrection:

   But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. (1 Cor. 15:13-18)

5. The belief that the righteous and wicked go to their reward in heaven or hell not only destroys the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, but it destroys the core doctrine of the necessity of Jesus’ death. For if Abraham and Lazarus and all the ancient faithful were rewarded for their lives of righteousness BEFORE Jesus was even born and died, then why did Jesus have to die in the first place? Obviously Abraham got to “paradise” without Jesus, so why does one need Jesus in the first place?
   

6. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:13,15)

   What purpose is the Final Judgment if all men and their immortal souls are judged immediately upon death? What sense is there in calling back the dead from Christianity’s popular concept of “hell”? If the “damned” are sent to a fiery, eternal torment when they die, then what is the logic of judging them a second time at the “Final Judgment”? Will there be new evidence that will exonerate some of the damned so that a new “final” verdict will move them from hell to heaven? Will new witnesses come forward to testify that some of the wicked were in fact righteous and that they were assigned to the fiery torment in error? If not, then what purpose does it serve to raise the dead? Is not their future fate the same as the one they were experiencing prior to the Final Judgment?

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