Podcast Summary
Renewing Your Mind – "The Duality of Man"
Ligonier Ministries | November 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the dual nature of humanity—body and soul—contrasting Greek philosophical views with the biblical understanding of what it means to be made in the image of God. Dr. R.C. Sproul addresses historical misconceptions about the body’s role in spirituality, clarifies the distinction between duality and dualism, and critiques various theological perspectives, including trichotomy, while emphasizing the importance of both physical and spiritual aspects of human beings according to Christian doctrine.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Greek & Christian Views on Body and Soul (00:00–01:58)

• Greek Thought: Greek philosophy, especially Plato, saw the body as a hindrance—the "prison house of the soul." Redemption, in this view, meant escape from the physical realm.
  • "Plato called the body the prison house of the soul. And so the highest hope for man would be the disintegration and destruction of the body so that the soul could be released..." (00:00, A)
• Christian Doctrine: Contrasts this by affirming the goodness and lasting purpose of the body. Christianity teaches the future resurrection and glorification of the body, not its abandonment.
  • "Christianity teaches that redemption of the body, that in heaven we will have glorified bodies, but we will still be creatures who are body and soul." (00:34, A)

2. The Image of God: What Does It Mean? (01:58–08:00)

• Jesus as the True Image: Christ’s humanity is the ultimate revelation of what it means to be made in God’s image. Both his deity and perfected humanity reveal God’s character.
  • "He who has seen me, Jesus said, has seen the Father." (02:27, A)
• Image Retained After the Fall: Even after sin, humans retain the image of God in a "wider sense" (our faculties and humanity), though now corrupted and less able to reflect His holiness.
  • "With the loss of our innocence, we have not lost our humanity. But what has been lost is what the theologians call conformitas. We have lost obedience, and as disobedient creatures, we have besmirched and fogged the mirror that was made to reflect the holiness of God." (04:53, A)
• Distinctions in Theology:
  • Historical debate over whether “image” and “likeness” are different aspects.
  • Protestantism: We retain God’s image in our humanness but have lost our conforming righteousness.

3. The Physical Body in Theology (08:00–13:00)

• Rejection of Physicality is Unbiblical: The idea that God has a physical body (as in Mormon teaching) is rejected by orthodox Christianity—God is spirit—but our bodies are still included in what it means to be in His image.
  • "Over against that idea, historic Christianity, Catholic and Protestant alike, has insisted that God does not have a body..." (08:38, A)
• Resurrection of the Body: The Apostles’ Creed affirms belief in the bodily resurrection—God’s redemption involves both body and soul.
  • "I believe in the resurrection of the body. That does not mean...the body of Jesus. That's also in the creed...But what that phrase...points to is...that our bodies will be raised." (09:56, A)
• Jesus' Concern for Physical Needs: God’s care extends to physical needs; Jesus fed the hungry, clothed the naked—biblical faith is not anti-physical.

4. Historical & Philosophical Influences: Platonism, Gnosticism, and Dualism (13:00–17:00)

• Platonic & Dualistic Influence: Greek philosophy and various heresies devalued physical existence, often influencing Christian thought negatively.
  • "Plato believed that the highest order of reality is not physical...the physical he called the receptacle of the idea. And...any imitation is less than perfect, there's something lacking." (15:10, A)
• Demonstration with Chairs: Sproul humorously uses chairs to explain Plato’s “ideal forms”—physical things are imperfect copies of an unseen ideal.

5. Christianity’s Affirmation of the Physical (17:00–21:00)

• God Called the Created Order 'Good': Mere physicality is not evil; abuse of the good things God made is sin.
  • "We forget that when God made man and made woman, he made sex, he made food, he made creature comforts ... and pronounced his benediction on them, saying that's good." (19:59, A)
• Proper Context of Bodily Goods: Physical goods are good in their God-ordained context; the issue is their misuse, not their material nature.

6. Duality Versus Dualism (21:00–23:00)

• Christianity Affirms Duality, Not Dualism:
  • Duality: Human beings are a unity of body and soul, not two inherently conflicting substances.
  • Dualism: The Greek-inspired idea of perpetual conflict between body and soul is rejected.
  • "Christianity does not teach dualism with respect to man. ... Christianity ... teaches a duality. ... man is a harmonic unity composed of two aspects... there is duality, but no dualism." (22:14, A)

7. Trichotomy: Spirit, Soul, and Body? (23:00–24:37)

• Rejection of Trichotomy: The view that humans are three parts (body, soul, spirit), as influenced by Watchman Nee and Oriental philosophy, is traced historically and declared a heresy by early church councils.
  • "Trichotomy was condemned in the 4th century as a heresy because of its roots in this Greek dualism concept." (23:52, A)
• Scriptural Analysis: References to "spirit, soul, and body" in Scripture are not meant as a systematic anthropological blueprint. The generic biblical distinction is between physical (body) and non-physical (soul).

Memorable Quotes

• "He who has seen me, Jesus said, has seen the Father." – Dr. R.C. Sproul (02:27, A)
• "With the loss of our innocence, we have not lost our humanity. But what has been lost is what the theologians call conformitas." (04:53, A)
• "We need to be very, very careful about trying to set up a 'three concept' of man, because invariably it is associated... with another distortion of redemption..." (24:31, A)
• "Christianity ... teaches a duality. That is, man is a harmonic unity composed of the physical and the non-physical. There is duality, but no dualism." (22:14, A)

Notable Moments with Timestamps

• Plato and the prison house of the soul (00:00)
• Christ’s humanity as the full image of God (02:27)
• Fallen man retains the image of God (04:53)
• Apostles’ Creed and the bodily resurrection (09:54)
• Plato's chair illustration and the idea of "chairness" (15:55)
• God’s benediction on the physical world (19:59)
• Clarification of duality versus dualism (22:14)
• Historic critique and rejection of trichotomy (23:52)

Conclusion

Dr. Sproul succinctly challenges listeners to reject both the cultural devaluation of the body and spiritualized distortions within the church. Affirming, with biblical and theological precision, that to be truly human is to be both body and soul—a harmonious unity designed to image God in all aspects of life, both physical and spiritual.

Next Episode Teaser:
The following episode will address “the extent of the fall of man”—further focusing on humanity’s sin nature and its consequences.