Bipartite (theology)

In Christian theological anthropology, bipartite refers to the view that a human being is composed of two distinct components, material and immaterial, body and soul. The two parts were created interdependent and in harmony, though corrupted through sin.

Alternative theological views of human composition include tripartite and unitary (or monistic) views.

Explanations of bipartite anthropology

Advocates of bipartite theology may quote the Reformation theologian John Calvin in support of a bipartite view. Calvin held that while the Bible often uses "soul" and "spirit" interchangeably, there are subtle differences when the two terms are used together.[1]

Some have held that the soul and the spirit are interchangeable and that this aspect of human inner life is expressed in a form of literary parallelism. Such parallelism can be found elsewhere in Scripture, such as the Psalms and the Proverbs.[2] Others have used chemical analogies.[3]

R. C. Sproul (1939-2017) holds that the body and the soul are two substances which are not in conflict. They are two natures or substances, divine and human, united in one person. In contrast with various Greek philosophical views, the material body (like the soul) is not seen as inherently evil, but inherently good. The Christian doctrine of salvation therefore does not imply a redemption from the body, but a redemption of the body and the soul.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Calvin, John (1845). Institutes of the Christian Religion. Vol. I:XV.2. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. But though the two terms, while they are used together differ in their meaning, still, when spirit is used by itself it is equivalent to soul, as when Solomon speaking of death says, that the spirit returns to God who gave it (Eccles. 12:7). And Christ, in commending his spirit to the Father, and Stephen his to Christ, simply mean, that when the soul is freed from the prison-house of the body, God becomes its perpetual keeper. Those who imagine that the soul is called a spirit because it is a breath or energy divinely infused into bodies, but devoid of essence, err too grossly, as is shown both by the nature of the thing, and the whole tenor of Scripture.
  2. ^ Laidlaw, John (1895). The Bible Doctrine of Man; Or the Anthropology and Psychology of Scripture. pp. 90–91.
  3. ^ Clark, Gordon H. (1984). The Biblical Doctrine of Man. p. 37.
  4. ^ Sproul, R. C. "The Origin of the Soul". Ligonier Ministries. Retrieved 21 October 2025. But the problem with the Greek view is not that it has two distinct substances, body and soul, but that it views them as in total conflict with each other, because the physical is inherently evil (at least in the metaphysical sense of evil). [...] Jewish-Christian thought, however, sees man as made up of two distinct substances that are not in conflict. Nor does the Bible view matter as being inherently evil. For the Christian, redemption is of the body, not from the body.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.