The Soul as Answer

Abstract

This article attempts to rescue the biblical and theological concept of the “soul” from the metaphysical morass that has usually held it captive throughout the history of Christian theology. In order to do so, it returns to the Hebrew roots of the concept (nephesh) by means of the Psalms. Then it observes that Paul Gerhardt used the Psalms’ unusual language and their understanding of the soul as the basis for several of his hymns. The article concludes that the biblical concept of the soul refers to the constant human dependence on God’s gift of life from outside itself. The soul is the totality of each human being’s identity and history as the human being stands before God’s judgment. It is a realm of speech in which God eternally speaks to the human, and listens for the answer of faith.