If one examines the definition of soul in the same dictionary, it appears that neither Merriam nor Webster had one idea the nature of the soul because the words there are psycho-babble - what I call the foolishness of psychology. Just look at them: essence, principle, actuating cause, rational, total self, essential part, nature, positive feeling, and fervor. Do these words really help you to understand the most important part of you?
The word "soul" is used 498 times in the Bible. "Love" is only used 442 times. It seems that as far as usage, God believed that the concept of "soul" is as meaningful as love itself. Christianity is all about love. Jesus indicates that with the Greatest Commandment, and the one like unto it: love of God with all the heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37).
There are three parts to mankind. (See, "parts" is so much simpler than "components" or "essences"). Each of the three parts are the whole. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (Genesis 1:3), and "God created man in his own image (Genesis 1:27). The One God JHVH has three Parts which we define as the Holy Trinity. (I guess because Trinity is more majestic than parts!) Likewise, man's three parts are the trinity of mankind.
People get confused over the Trinity. Don't. That word merely describes God's three parts: Heart, Mind, and Spirit. Scripture identifies God's three parts:
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost...God's Mind, Heart, and Spirit are the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, respectively. We know what each part of God does: Creates, Saves, and Comforts. (Look up your own scripture if you doubt these purposes).
Since we are made in the image of God, we too are one. Our heart "pumps" and has "feelings". That is the identity of our body. Our mind is the controller for both our body and soul; it sits prominently atop the body in our brains. We can't see the mind itself but it has it's own container. It's working can be measured electronically. Our mind is not independent of the heart and soul but the three are one.
The soul is as real as the heart and the brain. The scripture below explains the soul:
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. 21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's...The soul is defined in verse 16: It is the temple that holds our portion of the Holy Spirit. However, that is only if we turn it over to God to "fill". Right before God imbues the soul with His Holy Spirit, it is emptied of its worldly contents:
Providing we don't hate, and that we trust Jesus then we see, (1 John 1:7) "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."When we are born, the soul is empty except for a "seed". That seed is an inborn desire to rebel against God. Theologians call that "seed", original sin. Since, it has not yet grown into willful sin, children are not held accountable for the contents of their soul. As their minds develop, Jesus will commune with their minds telling them they need something within.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.Mankind cannot stand emptiness within the soul. Something must "fill" it, and if Jesus doesn't, sin will!
Think of the soul as a container. Differing from the theologians, I believe the "cup" of Jesus in Mark 14:36 refers symbolically to Jesus's own soul. I support that by this verse:
Luke 22:17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves...What was in Jesus's cup at the last supper" What theologians call "the elements": the wine and the bread which Jesus called his blood and his body. Jesus asked His Father, "why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). God left Jesus as he died. As Jesus's blood flowed from his body, God's Spirit flowed with it, cleansing the sins of all mankind! That shed blood represented my sins and yours, flowing from Jesus onto the dust from which it came: I believe onto the skull of Adam - the ground at Calvary.
Now, my point: The soul is something! Just as the void of space is something because it is the container for everything, our soul contains everything within us that the eye cannot see, and the ear not hear. Like the mind which can be measured by EEGs, fMRIs, and MEGs; the love within men's souls can be measured as well.
My "Daily Thought" yesterday on the fruits of the trees, gave measurements for the contents of the soul. There is evil within, and I named forty-four. There are many others. On the other hand, if there is love within, the measurements are twelve in number. We know the soul is the container for love because "love" can be made by the soul's operation - love God and others. The metrics of the soul are the Ten Commandments. The soul is calibrated in units of obedience.
I could go on and on about the relationships between the "parts" of mankind's "trinity". Those relationships are the study of the soul because without soul, the mind and body are mere nuisances! This theology is "the study of the soul". Scripture warns us about the wisdom of man (1 Corinthians 3 above). Mankind has misused wisdom to elevate the "creature" above the "Creator". The philosophers of ancient Athens are still actively studying their "Unknown God" (Acts 17), but they are more deceptive about it - their false religion is presented as a mystery. Psychology is "the study of the soul"! But that's what the Bible is? I just presented God's Words on the soul, and they differ from the Unknown God of psychology!
I know - I'm screwed up. That's what you may be thinking. They do, do some good, but much of it is doo-doo! All the fields of psychology, most opposing the others, contradict each other. They are a grab bag of trial exorcisms using the power of their Unknown God.
I asked my psychology professor, "This is just another religion isn't it?" Dr. Fong's response was "Are you just now figuring that out?" Her admission was that I am correct in my allegation, yet you still disbelieve! The "study of the soul" is God's Word. Any other "wisdom" is from fools. Foolish people listen to fools. Wise men read the Word.
Paul said it best to those early "students of the soul":
Acts 17:23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.Paul declared Jesus Christ. The Unknown God is an imposter. Hiding within the serpent back in the Garden was that same Unknown God. Holy Scripture is setting the Unknown God straight. He is one of the unseen powers who we call Satan. Anything which contradicts the Word is a product of Satan. Need I say more?
Billy Graham often commences his commentary by, "I am not a psychologist, but ..." Thank God, Billy, you are not. You are a minister for those souls. The study of it is Holy Scripture. Let's hear about God's love. The love of self interests God very little because he sees it every day!
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