The soul is the ego, the โI,โ or the self, and it contains our consciousness. It also animates our body. Thatโs why when the soul leaves the body, the body becomes a corpse. The soul is immaterial and distinct from the body.
J.P. MorelandWhen God chooses to create somebody, he or she has an impact on other people's choices and it might be that they have an impact on their decisions to trust Christ or not.
J.P. MorelandThe disciples had nothing to gain by lying and starting a new religion. They faced hardship, ridicule, hostility, and martyr's deaths. In light of this, they could never have sustained such unwavering motivation if they knew what they were preaching was a lie. The disciples were not fools and Paul was a cool-headed intellectual of the first rank. There would have been several opportunities over three to four decades of ministry to reconsider and renounce a lie.
J.P. MorelandThe proper thing to do is to admit that hell is real and to allow our feelings of discomfort to motivate us to action.
J.P. MorelandIf you were to force people to do something against their free choice, you would be dehumanizing them. The option of forcing everyone to go to heaven is immoral, because it's dehumanizing; it strips them of the dignity of making their own decision; it denies them their freedom of choice; and it treats them as a means to an end. When God allows people to say 'no' to him, he actually respects and dignifies them.
J.P. Moreland