Athenagoras Argument On Soul And Body

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I find Athenagoras’s argument that the entire human must be judged, both soul and body, to be compelling. Although I personally don’t care for his emphasis on judgement in his argument, it makes sense that “the soul cannot be judged on its own, or else the body loses its share in the reward or punishment” (55). I think this is a better argument than others that more fully separate the body from the soul because it is better able to admit to the interaction of both. Also, if one believes that desire comes from the body (I doubt this, but it seems to be a common theme amongst early Christian thinkers) and the soul has to react virtuously in response or not to this body, then it would make sense that they both have a role in a person’s morality and should both be judged. I will say that I find Athenagoras’s argument that fat and fluids are not resurrected as odd, as I don’t understand how these aren’t essential to the body, but at least Athenagoras believes that the genitals are resurrected (though “sexual desires and practices” are not present in resurrected bodies, which I find problematic as Athenagoras is still overly critical of sex) (58, 52).

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