The Value of Our Souls

Past lives are real! They also are called “reincarnations” and were a common belief in Jesus’ time. Early Greek philosophers like Plato and Socrates discussed souls, and Church Fathers such as Origen taught reincarnation. In On First Principles, he wrote, “The soul has neither beginning nor end. [They] come into this world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats for their previous lives.” This belief survived in Christian orthodoxy for the Church’s first five centuries.

Past lives are real! They also are called “reincarnations” and were a common belief in Jesus’ time. Early Greek philosophers like Plato and Socrates discussed souls, and Church Fathers such as Origen taught reincarnation. In On First Principles, he wrote, “The soul has neither beginning nor end. [They] come into this world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats for their previous lives.” This belief survived in Christian orthodoxy for the Church’s first five centuries. But the Roman Justinian, Emperor for the Eastern Empire, cunningly removed souls and reincarnation from Christian theology by convening the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 CE. Of the 165 bishops who signed the acts of the Council, no more than six attended from the Western Empire—which had supported Origen’s views. Thereafter, souls and reincarnation were considered heresies.

The Prophet Muhammad is quoted as discussing souls, and Jews still respect and honor souls. Yet souls were imperceptible and inexplicable in early religions, just as they have remained until today. Therefore the term “soul” or “souls” seldom is heard or read in churches, synagogues, or mosques, and it typically may appear only in hymns or Old Testament scripture readings.

God or Allah’s gift of a soul to each of us therefore has gone unrecognized and disregarded by almost every one of us. Search Google and booksellers, but you will find very few mentions of the actual nature of souls. This has left us without realizing the great significance of souls for our lives, both on earth and in the hereafter. Our loss is intensified because we are not consciously aware of our souls.


Our lack of awareness is the divine result of two factors: one, souls are not material like our bodies are; and two, they therefore leave our bodies at our mortal deaths and return to Heaven for future reincarnations. Remember, Origen wrote about your or my soul’s victories or defeats during its reincarnations. This depended upon how successfully it helped you or me to overcome human frailties. Souls have conscience and an unimaginable variety of capabilities beyond human understanding. We may not be aware of our souls, but they try to help us through something like intuition. Unfortunately, their efforts may be stymied by our ego and our human frailties.

Notably, the prominent evangelist Billy Graham delivered his classic sermon, “The Value of a Soul,” at the Washington Convention Center during the 1986 Greater Washington Crusade. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association now has a new My Hope DVD video entitled “Value of a Soul,” for church and home showings.

The author of this news release wrote two non-fiction books that discuss several clinical phenomena that are attributable to the soul. These books are available on Amazon and from traditional booksellers. The author encourages comments and questions sent to his e-mail address. All communications remain confidential.

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