I Am A Soul

One of the most quoted CS Lewis aphorisms is "You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." It is almost as if Mr. Lewis came up with the zinger, and then challenged the world, "chew on that for a while!" So I began perusing various websites and blogs, but was actually fairly disappointed with what I found. Webpage after webpage merely copied this quote without commentary or simply accompanied by the words, "This is my favorite quote." Heh. I get a kick out of people who do this. Maybe they are just being succinct and I am on the other end of the spectrum. Or perhaps CS Lewis' work can be nearly self-explanatory, and in no way in need of further verbal adornment or clarification. But I sincerely doubt the statement's profundity would be diminished by a bit of reflection.

To me, this can be rephrased as follows, "What I am is indestructible; while my body may wither and die, what I am cannot be destroyed. I am invincible and infinite, I am immortal." I would guess that most Christians take this for granted, but the impact of this axiom (and an axiom is what it is) cannot be understated.

1. This is the reason why Christians have joy. We share the promise of everlasting life (John 3:16 "that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"), that we will not turn to dust as tragically echoed by Hamlet:

"What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?" Hamlet, Act II. 303-9.

The real tragedy of poor Hamlet isn't that he faced betrayal and the loss of everyone he cared about, but that he experienced the existentialist epiphany of being alive knowing he could not help but fail in the end. The consequence of self-awareness was anguish for him, isolated in time against all others, and he could only find solace in his perception that the pain would end with his death. If only he had pushed forward to resolve the question of his soul.

Christians take it as faith that we will not end with the ending of our brief time suspended in reality. Faith gives us hope, gives purpose and leads to a discovery of a whole new world. Faith pushes us when courage fails upon the overwhelming fear of the unknown. And perhaps the one pillar of all of this, is the axiom that we are souls.

2. There is another consequence. I cringe at the thought of bringing in popular culture here, but the quote is apt: "What we do in life echoes through eternity." Maximus Decimus Meridius, Gladiator (2000). For good or for evil, our actions have consequences not just for the impact they have on other people, but for our own souls. If you hurt someone today, aren't you really damaging your soul? I guess I should back up. The sum of who we are, in this lifetime, can only be made up of what we think, what we feel, what we experience through our senses, and what we do. And if the essence or sum of who we are as individuals can be deemed as being part of (or all of) our souls, then doesn't it follow that our actions as dictated by our minds would be included in that essence?

Imagine a soul made up of destructive or selfish pursuits, full of lies and pain. I think it was CS Lewis who brought up this scenario (although I am probably butchering his words). Now, imagine a room full of this souls. Or a thousand rooms filled with these tortured and twisted souls for eternity. Could you even stand to be in such a place for a few moments? Can this be anything else but hell?

3. Finally, there is another logical extension to this. The dispelling of fear. If we are indestructible, invincible, then what have we to fear? So much of our lives are lived in fear. Fear of nuclear weapons, bio/chem terrorist attacks. Fear of contagious diseases or succumbing to this cancer or that cancer. We have fear of other people taking away the material possessions that we have, or losing our jobs or upcoming promotions. But on the flipside, in the infinite span, I cannot imagine wasting a single moment worrying about things that matter so little.

Live in this world we must, because our souls are here. But live without fear of the trivial.

The impact of being soul is thus noted, acknowledged. We are souls and all of us live now and forever with the consequences of what we do and think and feel. So, back to the axiom now. How can we know we have souls? What if we don't?

Honestly, I don't know the answer. But I can tell you what I know.

I know my mind is more than my brain, and that my heart is more than the organ that beats in my chest. I know that listening to music can bring me to tears, causing feelings of joy or pain. The feeling extends beyond the mere sensation of the physical being. I know this, because it can linger there for years or longer.

I'll give you an example. I have this song that I play from time to time, Day By Day. The chorus runs something like this:

"Cause I'm Goin' wherever you're goin'
Turning faces into the light
And I can't wait to fall at your glory
On my face, God of the morning
You're coming closer day by day."

The first time I heard this song, I nearly burst into tears. The reality of my life is truly that I am heading closer and closer to God, and facing the Infinite One. Everytime I hear the song, my heart aches with trepidation, anticipation. The music lights me afire and I can feel it. More than anything that I do, when I listen to music, I know that I am more than a body, more than just a physical being.

There probably are a dozen quotes I could put in here, but I'll save them for another time.

From one soul to another, I greet you.

-David