by Matt Slick | Oct 11, 2018 | Annihilationism, Minor Groups & Issues
Soul sleep is held by different groups from Jehovah’s Witnesses to Seventh-day Adventists to generic annihilationists. Within the conditionalist/annihilationist group, there are different views.
“Evangelical conditionalists also differ in terms of what we believe the Bible says about the constitution of human beings, and also about whether people are conscious in the intermediate state between death and resurrection. Some are anthropological physicalists or materialists who believe human beings are physical creatures, the functioning of whose minds is dependent upon their living bodies. Others are substance dualists who believe human beings have immaterial souls, but that they lack consciousness between death and resurrection. Still, others embrace a traditional body/soul dualism and contend that human beings’ immaterial souls live on consciously after death (although not immortal in any sense), until a resurrection of the body. The same diversity of perspectives exists within evangelicalism more broadly, and therefore is not a logical requirement or consequence of CI.”1
To summarize, there are three main views held by adherents to soul sleep regarding conditionalism, annihilationism.
Physicalists/materialists – the mind of the human being is completely dependent upon the living body. This means that when the human body dies, the human mind ceases to exist.
Substance dualists – the human soul is of a different substance than the physical body and can continue after death, but they lack consciousness.
Body/soul dualism – the human soul is of a different substance than the physical body and continues after death with conscious existence.
Now, before I get to the questions, I must first point out that there are definite problems with the physicalist/materialist position and substance dualism. Let’s take a look at them, and then, hopefully, the questions will make even more sense.
Problems with soul sleep
The physicalist/materialist position is self-refuting. In this position, the mind is dependent upon the living body. So, the mind’s existence is entirely dependent upon the existence of the living physical brain so that when the physical brain dies, the mind also ceases to exist. This would mean that the physical brain is limited to the laws of physics and chemistry. But, how does a physical brain that is limited to the laws of physics and chemistry produce proper logical inference? One electrochemical state of the brain that leads to another electrochemical state of the brain does not produce proper logical inference (not to mention how this works with different peoples’ brains which are not chemically identical). Chemical reactions only produce other chemical reactions that are the necessary result of those chemicals interacting. There is no reasoning in it. There is only an interactive chemical necessity. Therefore, the physicalist/materialist position means that the person who holds to this position cannot philosophically defend the idea that the human brain can be trusted to produce truthful, logical conclusions. Therefore, the physicalist/materialist position refutes itself since we cannot trust its own position to be true.
Substance dualism is the biblical position since it states that the soul can continue its existence and awareness apart from the physical body. However, the additional position defined in the quote above, which asserts that the soul is unconscious after death, is wrong because it is easily refuted by scripture.
2 Corinthians 12:2–4, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.”
In these verses, we clearly can see that Paul the apostle says a man was caught up into the presence of God, the third heaven, and that Paul did not know if this person was in the body or apart from the body. In this state, he heard inexpressible words. If the soul is unconscious or ceases to have life, then how could the person caught up to the third heaven hear inexpressible words? He couldn’t. So, though substance dualism is within biblical orthodoxy, the notion of the soul being unconscious after death is not. For more on this, see Annihilationism and 2 Corinthians 12:2, in the body or out of the body, caught up to heaven and Examining soul sleep and its problems.
Body/soul dualism is basically the same thing as substance dualism but with the continuation of consciousness after death. Please note that normally speaking, substance dualism is not defined as unconsciousness after death. This is a particular nuance held by some conditionalists. Nevertheless, the biblical position is that the soul is a different substance than the physical body and can continue after death in a conscious state. Again, 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 easily demonstrates a position to be true.
Questions about soul sleep
Are the soul and the spirit the same thing?
If the soul and the spirit are the same things, then what exactly is soul sleep?
If the soul and spirit are not the same things, then does one continue and the other does not upon death?
If so, which one continues, and which one does not?
If soul sleep cannot be precisely defined, then how does anyone know what it is?
If soul sleep cannot be precisely defined, then why do people appeal to it?
Is soul sleep continued existence of the soul without consciousness?
If soul sleep is continued existence without consciousness, what the New Testament Scriptures support that view?
What does it mean to say that the spirit of a person returns to God?
Does it mean that the Spirit is near God, that it is retained in a place next to God, or that it enters into the nature of God?
Is what returns to God the essence of a person’s life?
If it returns to God, does it retain its individuality?
If it returns to God and does not retain its individuality, then does that not mean the soul has been lost because a human soul has a personality in its individuality that has now been lost?
If the soul returns to God and retains its individuality, then how is this possible?
If the spirit of a person returns to God, does the spirit retain its individuality?
If the human spirit is later reunited with his body, isn’t this a form of reincarnation which says the soul, after physical death, returns to God, but later enters another body?
Is there any activity of the soul during the period of soul sleep, such as thought or awareness?
If there is an activity of the soul during soul sleep, what is this activity?
If there is no soul activity during the period of soul sleep, how is the soul alive since life is active?
If the soul is not alive because there is no activity, then has it ceased to exist?
If the soul ceases to exist in soul sleep and is re-created to enter another re-created human body, how is the first soul the same soul since continuity between them cannot be established?
If the human soul depends on the physical body for its existence in that it is a product of the human physical brain, then is the soul restricted to the laws of physics and chemistry of that physical brain?
If the human soul is restricted to the laws of physics and chemistry of that physical brain, how then can it produce proper logical inference and spiritual truth if it is merely the product of physics and chemistry since these do not produce proper logical inference?
If the human soul is restricted to the laws of physics and chemistry of that physical brain, how then can we truly know spiritual truth if our brain reads scripture and such activity is governed by the laws of physics and chemistry?
If the human body changes through cell replacement every several years, would that not mean that the soul itself is altered if it is true that the human soul is dependent upon the body for its existence?
If the soul is not altered in its essence, even though the physical body has changed, then does that mean that the soul is not dependent upon the body?
On the other hand, if the soul is altered in its essence through the physical body’s change, then does that mean that the person’s soul is not the same soul of that person 20 years ago?
If the soul ceases to exist upon death, how can it be said to return to God since it ceased to exist?
Questions are similar to others, but they are important if we truly examine what soul sleep is. After all, we want to know the details. If conditionals don’t know what soul sleep is in detail, why do they affirm it? I want to know more. When I asked these questions of those who hold to soul sleep, I rarely get any answers.
An article explaining various ideas that surround to topic of soul sleep, given in response to Teddy who thinks a deceased person doesn’t immediately go to heaven until the resurrection.
First of all note David ONCE again cannot put a Bible study on ANY subject but only posts CULT articles we cannot have a discussion with, there is no person to have a discussion with! LMBO! This is a Bible discussion forum NOT an article discussion forum! WOW! David is soooooo LAZY and nothing but a PARROT in false doctrine - BECAUSE college boy cannot study the Bible for himself without an instructor!
Secondly (the oxymoron part) David correctly posts - 'a deceased person doesn’t immediately go to heaven until the resurrection.' but does not even understand what he just posted that a DEAD HUMAN >>>PERSON<<< is a DEAD HUMAN >>>SOUL<<< by definition! How can a 'deceased person' go ANYWHERE when they are JUST PLAIN DEAD? Then David tries to tell us they are NOT REALLY DEAD???
Just as the word 'hell' is just another word for the GRAVE! The Bible even combines the word 'hell' with 'fire' which is none other than the grave-fire where the wicked die in (lake of fire), outside the New Jerusalem City when they attack it (Rev. 20:9,10!) and become DEAD carcasses (Isaiah 66:24! Look up words dear readers and don't let the CULTIST David confuse you!
Finally what's really hilarious is that David even admits his article is nothing but an 'article explaining various ideas' and therefore possible hallucinations about the 'topic' of so called 'soul sleep' in interpretation of the CULT article??? LMBO!
It’s getting to the point I hardly have to refute anything the TeddyBug claims because nonsense doesn’t really need to be refuted, you just call what it is.
The TeddyBug’s posts have been a PRICELESS and colorful cornucopia of scrambled flapdoodle that would be hysterically comical in any other venue.
But more importantly, Teddy’s posts unwittingly vindicate, in one form or another, nearly everything I’ve posted about his unguarded gullibility and his eagerness to embrace the type of counterfeit beliefs handed down to him from his leader.
Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Does that Spirit of Christ in us, be what raises us up again?
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Totally disconnected drivel in the first sentence that rips some precious verses of scripture from context and drags them through a vortex of contextual ambiguity
LMBO! 
This is a Bible discussion forum NOT an article discussion forum! 
WOW! 
David is soooooo LAZY and nothing but a PARROT in false doctrine - BECAUSE college boy cannot study the Bible for himself without an instructor! 
but does not even understand what he just posted that a DEAD HUMAN >>>PERSON<<< is a DEAD HUMAN >>>SOUL<<< by definition! 
How can a 'deceased person' go ANYWHERE when they are JUST PLAIN DEAD? 
Then David tries to tell us they are NOT REALLY DEAD??? 
The Bible even combines the word 'hell' with 'fire' which is none other than the grave-fire where the wicked die in (lake of fire), outside the New Jerusalem City when they attack it (Rev. 20:9,10!) and become DEAD carcasses (Isaiah 66:24! 
Look up words dear readers and don't let the CULTIST David confuse you! 
LMBO! 