The Human Spirit
Pope Shenouda III discusses the subject of the human spirit, explaining some of the ideas and doctrines that appeared throughout history concerning the origin, nature, and destiny of the spirit.
He considers the ideas of pre-existence, transmigration, reincarnation, and return to incarnation, explaining that these are ancient ideas that appeared in different religions and philosophies.
He explains that some of these beliefs connected successive incarnations with the idea of paying for sins or being purified from attachment to matter and reaching a state of spiritual purity.
Spiritual Message
According to the Pope’s teaching, Christianity rejects the idea of successive incarnations, based on the biblical statement: “It is appointed for people to die once and after that judgment.”
He also rejects the idea that the human spirit is a part of, or an emanation from, the divine essence, because this would lead to difficulties concerning the spirit’s sinlessness and unlimited abilities, whereas human beings are limited and capable of error.
He also rejects reducing the spirit to the concept of an etheric body or transparent body, explaining that introducing limited philosophical or scientific concepts into religious doctrine can lead to unsound ideas.
Educational Lesson
The Pope explains that ancient humanity tried to understand the existence of the spirit by observing the difference between a living and a dead person, as well as through what people experienced in dreams.
He also explains that some ancient peoples confused the spirit with the soul and the mind, and built various ideas about the movement of spirits and their influence on human life upon this confusion.
He presents some Egyptian, Indian, and philosophical beliefs concerning the spirit, not as Christian doctrine, but to show how these ideas arose, spread, and moved from one society to another.
Practical Spiritual Application
The primary spiritual application is to distinguish the teaching of the Church from religious and philosophical ideas that arose in other cultures.
Christian doctrine should not be built upon speculation or theories concerning the nature of the spirit, but upon what has been revealed by the Church and Holy Scripture.
The subject emphasizes the importance of preserving the Christian understanding of the human being as one in nature, body and spirit, together with faith in judgment and the resurrection rather than the idea of successive incarnations.
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