Theories Of Pre-Existence, Traducian And Creationism

Christian theology, the study of the God of the Bible, includes anthropology, the study of man, from a Biblical view. The emphasis is on finding the answers to three questions:
“Whence am I?”
“What am I?”
“Whither am I going?”

These answers may be found in the Bible, which reveals man’s spiritual origin, his nature and his destiny.
There are three pre-dominant theories on the origin of the human soul: Pre-existence, Traducian and Creationist. The Pre-existence theory is the view that before a man is born on earth he is a spirit that awaits incarnation. The problem with this theory is that man has no memory of a previous existence. This theory originated in pagan beliefs and has no basis in Scripture.
The Traducian theory proposes that the
This theory is compatible with the doctrine of original sin. Opponents argue that it promotes a materialistic view of the soul and would make Christ’s soul impure. Another objection is that God is viewed as inactive after creation although Scripture records that God controls the conception process by opening or shutting the womb.
The Creationist theory posits that the soul of a child is created by God sometime between conception and birth and is not derived from the parents or a pre-existent spirit. Objections to this theory are that it is of pagan origin and makes man lower than the beasts because the father begets only the body of the child. There is also the problem that it appears God is creating a sinful soul in a pure body or vice versa. A mediating position is that the soul is made with the body under the influence of the parents’ bodies and wills.
While the Traducian theory explains the transmission of a sinful nature from Adam to all men today and eliminates the issue of God directly creating a sinful soul or a sinful body, there is still the problem of how this impacts the view of Christ’s humanity. Peter Connolly asserted that “our Lord’s birth was supernatural,” which is certainly true but James Boyce argued, “It is a contradiction to say that we are
This does not involve the human body as “God is a spirit.” Image denotes man’s position as God’s representative having dominion over all of God’s creatures. Likeness refers to man’s nature and abilities where he resembles God. Man possesses intellect, affections and will. He was created with a moral nature and a holy character.
God formed the first man Adam from dust and breathed life into him. God placed him in the Garden of Eden “to dress it and to keep it.” God created Eve to complete Adam. Every human is composed of a material body and an immaterial spirit-soul. The body is the center of world-consciousness. Man interacts with the world through the body but man has a spiritual existence as well as a physical existence. The Scripture teaches both dichotomy (two parts) and trichotomy (three parts).
Prior to the Fall, man was a trichotomy of spirit, soul and body. The spirit is the center of God-consciousness and allows free access to the spiritual world. The soul is the center of self-consciousness and forms the link between spirit and body. In the garden, the man and