Origin of the soul
- T08.1 Open: traducianism (Tertullian) vs creationism (later East and West); Augustine undecided (medium)
- T08.2 Souls survive death, but by God’s will rather than inherent necessity (1 Tim 6:16; Justin, Dialogue 5) (medium)
Two separate measures, shown side by side; neither is combined with the other (confidence-weighted, out of 4; counts show how many of this doctrine's 2 questions each rests on; ⚠ marks coverage more than 10 points below the median, a less certain rank). This doctrine is third-order (tier weight 1). How scoring works · Scripture and tradition · Glossary · Every score with its citation
Closeness to Scripture
Closeness to the fathers
Charts: closeness to the fathers by question, and timeline
- c. 155 Justin Martyr T08.2
- c. 205 Tertullian T08.1 · fathers varied
- c. 415 Augustine T08.1 · fathers varied
- 1646 Westminster Confession Presbyterian
T8 · Origin of the soul
Traducianism or creationism.
Tier: Third-order (scoring weight 1). How the tiers were set: theological triage. Method: conventions. Traditions’ sources: confessional sources.
In short
Does God create each person’s soul directly, or is it passed on from the parents? Tertullian took the second view; Augustine, writing to Jerome, could not decide. Scripture does not settle it, and most confessions say nothing.
Plan
Question: T08.1: is each soul created directly by God (creationism) or passed on from the parents (traducianism)? Scripture: Gen 2:7; Eccl 12:7; Zech 12:1; Heb 12:9; Ps 51:5. Fathers: Tertullian, On the Soul 27; Augustine, Letter 166. Question: T08.2: Is the soul immortal by nature, or by God’s gift?
Questions
Verdicts and trace
Weighed under the source-proximity principle: Scripture first, then the father eras I–IV.
T08.1 · Origin of the soul
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T08.1 | Open: traducianism (Tertullian) vs creationism (later East and West); Augustine undecided | Medium | T08.1.1 · T08.1.3 weighing | tertullian-t08-s1 · augustine-t08-s1 | T08.1.4: not a Scripture question |
T08.2 · Is the soul immortal by nature, or by God’s gift?
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T08.2 | Souls survive death, but by God’s will rather than inherent necessity (1 Tim 6:16; Justin, Dialogue 5) | Medium | T08.2.1 · T08.2.3 weighing | justin-martyr-t08-s1 | T08.2.4: medium |
Post-750 development
Which of this doctrine’s questions each tradition stays closest to, or departs from. Each row links to the tradition’s notes; exact scores and bases are in the reasoning.
| Tradition | Closest to the fathers on | Departs or sharpens on |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | partly T08.1, partly T08.2 | — |
| Orthodox | partly T08.1, partly T08.2 | — |
| Oriental Orthodox | partly T08.2 | — |
| Lutheran | partly T08.1, partly T08.2 | — |
| Anglican | partly T08.2 | — |
| Presbyterian | partly T08.2 | — |
| Reformed Baptist | partly T08.2 | — |
| General Baptist | partly T08.2 | — |
| Anabaptist | partly T08.2 | — |
Overall verdict
Open in the fathers and in Scripture; most confessions are silent. T08.2: all agree the soul survives death.
Verification status
Status from the score data: 3 tradition cells cite a text checked against an online source (marked verified); 6 cite the named article or practice without a separate check in this project (see each tradition’s section); 9 are not assessed (T08.1 Catholic, T08.1 Orthodox, T08.1 Oriental Orthodox, T08.1 Lutheran, T08.1 Anglican, T08.1 Presbyterian, T08.1 Reformed Baptist, T08.1 General Baptist, T08.1 Anabaptist), with the reason given in the reasoning page.