Does the Soul Die?

THAT question may have occurred to a person reading Time magazine of July 30, 1990. Discussing the increased road traffic in East Germany prior to the unification of the two Germanys on October 3, 1990, the magazine reported in its article “Speeding Over the Bumps”: “Road deaths in the East rose 60% in the first six months of 1990, claiming 1,078 souls.”

The article clearly meant that 1,078 humans were killed in auto accidents; they died. But did 1,078 souls die? Was Time magazine in error in its use of the term “souls” for people of flesh and blood? What really is the soul?

Throughout history, there have been various concepts regarding the soul. Many ancient peoples believed that an immaterial soul lived on after death, that death was, in effect, a doorway to another life. Some rulers of ancient times even had their slaves executed at the time of their own death in the belief that the souls of these persons could continue to serve them.

Although many today also believe that the soul means an immaterial, or spirit, part of a person that survives the death of the physical body, the Bible does not teach this. In fact, at Numbers 6:6, it speaks of “any dead soul.” No, the soul is not some immaterial thing in you. You are a soul. The soul can die, as Time magazine reported.

The Jewish Encyclopedia (1910) observes: “The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body is a matter of philosophical or theological speculation rather than of simple faith, and is accordingly nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture.”​—Volume VI, page 564.