Every human a living soul with conscience
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham.
Q: I visited the Titanic exhibit and found it interesting to read the account of how many “souls” were lost in that tragedy. It makes me curious as to why people are referred to as souls instead of bodies or people. We cannot see a soul; is it similar to our imaginations? - S.B.
A: “And the Lord God formed man… and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7, KJV). Likewise, the “conscience also [bears] witness” (Romans 2:15). God has put within us something that cries against us; it bears witness whenever we do that which we know to be wrong (Romans 1:19, 2:15). The conscience is the detective that watches the direction of our steps and decries every conscious transgression. It’s not imagination but rather a vigilant eye before which each imagination, thought, and act, is held up for either censure or approval.
Every human being is a living soul with a conscience (described as the
light of the soul, Proverbs 20:27). A warning light to go on inside when we do wrong; this is our conscience. It wants to steer us away from evil and toward good. Even when the conscience is dulled or darkened by sin, it can still bear witness to the reality of good and evil, and to the holiness of God. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, once stated that there were two things that filled him with awe - the starry heavens above and the human conscience within.
Continual sin can dull or even silence our conscience. On the other hand, continual attention to God’s Word will sharpen our conscience and make us more sensitive to moral and spiritual danger. We are instructed to cleanse our conscience, “not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God” (Hebrews 9:14, 2 Corinthians 1:12).