Body, Soul & Life Everlasting, ch. 5-8

5 - "Calvin seems unaware..." As a Reformed pastor, I found myself jarred by this statement. I in no way find Calvin to be infallible, but with Cooper making a case for the importance of this issue, it is hard to hear that Calvin was off. As I went through this chapter, I found myself struggling with wondering if there could be three parts to humans rather than two as evidenced by the 'body', 'soul' and 'spirit' presented in this chapter.

6 - Dealing with 'non-Pauline writings' in this chapter, Cooper seeks to address my struggle of three in the last chapter. He takes time to review the terminology and how we are to understand it in light of our discussion. I was challenged by the review of Scripture Cooper offered. This answered one of the questions I have always had about the three days between the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

7 - Dealing with specific Pauline passages, Cooper seeks to support the case he has been making. From this he affirms that the soul exists after death, before the ultimate resurrection. He also affirms that there is an intermediate state in which we exist before we are resurrected. While this is new for me, I can see where Cooper is building this case and am open to this theology.

8 - Cooper spends time in this chapter to philosophically distinguish his position from those of philosophical history. He advocates for an 'holistic dualism'. He also makes sure we understand the ramifications of accepting a position other than this one. I valued the honesty and confidence with which he presented this.