📖 Biblical Definition
The dichotomist view holds that humans are body and soul/spirit. God formed man from dust (body) and breathed into Him the breath of life (soul), making a living being (Genesis 2:7). Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (Matthew 10:28). Most Reformed and Catholic theologians hold that "soul" and "spirit" are different aspects of the same immaterial nature.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Division by pairs; a cutting into two parts.
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DICHOT'OMY, n. Division or distribution of ideas by pairs. In theology, the twofold division of human nature into body and soul.
📖 Key Scripture
• Genesis 2:7 — "The LORD God formed the man of dust and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life."
• Matthew 10:28 — "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."
• Ecclesiastes 12:7 — "The dust returns to the earth, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Materialism denies the soul; New Age multiplies spiritual components.
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Secular materialism collapses the dichotomy by denying the soul — man is merely matter, consciousness merely chemistry. New Age movements invent additional components — higher self, energy bodies, chakras — with no biblical warrant. Biblical anthropology recognizes man as a unity of body and soul, created for communion with God.
Usage
• "The biblical dichotomy affirms both the body's goodness and the soul's reality — against both materialism and gnosticism."
• "Jesus' words in Matthew 10:28 settle it: the body can be killed but the soul persists — man is more than matter."