# How do you explain "spirit" and "soul" to a 5 year old?



## RamistThomist

My daughter asked me what a "soul" was? What's the best way to explain this? Roughly the same for "spirit."


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## Scott Bushey

From what I understand, the 'soul' or spirit refers to the breath of life in men.

21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: 22 All in whose nostrils _was_ the breath of life, of all that _was_ in the dry _land_, died.

_The Holy Bible: King James Version_, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ge 7:21–22.


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## RamistThomist

Thanks. That's kind of what I said.


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## BGF

Does she have a favorite doll? Ask her, "How, are you and your doll the same?". Help her answer (two legs, two arms, a head, a body, etc.), and then ask, "How are you different?", (ability to speak, breath, love, hate, think, etc.). Then tell her that this is how God made you. He put something in you that you can't see or touch but it makes you special. It's one of the ways that God made you like him. You can't see or touch God because he is a spirit, but you know he loves you and takes care of you. Of course this could lead to more questions, but that's life with a five year old.

Reactions: Like 3 | Amen 1


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## ZackF

BayouHuguenot said:


> My daughter asked me what a "soul" was? What's the best way to explain this? Roughly the same for "spirit."



You mean you just didn't have her start a blog and work through it?

Reactions: Like 3 | Funny 1


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## Ryan J. Ross

BayouHuguenot said:


> My daughter asked me what a "soul" was? What's the best way to explain this? Roughly the same for "spirit."



Start by using one word and saying the other word means the same thing. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Cymro

I think Bret has given a very simple, visible, credible practical example that a child would understand. This way was borne home to me in my childhood days, when it was the practice to take children into see for the last time a dearly departed family member. The form was there but the life force , the personality, the soul or spirit was no longer present. A doll is a good substitute.

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## Ask Mr. Religion

When my son asked that question when about six years old, I told him thing that makes you _you_ is your soul, your spirit. You cannot take it out of you and touch it, but you know it is there because you know you are _you_. That seemed to settle his question at the time.

About a week or so later:
"Dad, my soul hurts."

"Mine does, too, sometimes, son."

Kids!

Reactions: Like 5


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## Dachaser

Ask Mr. Religion said:


> When my son asked that question when about six years old, I told him thing that makes you _you_ is your soul, your spirit. You cannot take it out of you and touch it, but you know it is there because you know you are _you_. That seemed to settle his question at the time.
> 
> About a week or so later:
> "Dad, my soul hurts."
> 
> "Mine does, too, sometimes, son."
> 
> Kids!


Are they the same thing?


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## Jack K

BayouHuguenot said:


> My daughter asked me what a "soul" was? What's the best way to explain this? Roughly the same for "spirit."



This is a tough question to answer without a bit of forethought. First, you have to decide whether or not "soul" and "spirit" are the same. I say they are. Second, you have to decide whether "soul" is simply one's mind and emotions and desires, as secularists would say, or whether it is something spiritual that relates to God. I say the human soul is spiritual.

So to a child, I would say something like this: "Your soul is a part of you that you can't see or touch. Your soul will live forever, and with your soul you either love or hate God."

Then I might follow up by explaining that we express love or hate for God with our bodies too, and that one day believers' bodies will be resurrected and rejoined with our souls to live with God forever as well. The _unity_ of body and soul is a bigger theme in the Bible than is the difference between them, and sometimes this gets missed when children are taught.

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## Dachaser

Jack K said:


> This is a tough question to answer without a bit of forethought. First, you have to decide whether or not "soul" and "spirit" are the same. I say they are. Second, you have to decide whether "soul" is simply one's mind and emotions and desires, as secularists would say, or whether it is something spiritual that relates to God. I say the human soul is spiritual.
> 
> So to a child, I would say something like this: "Your soul is a part of you that you can't see or touch. Your soul will live forever, and with your soul you either love or hate God."
> 
> Then I might follow up by explaining that we express love or hate for God with our bodies too, and that one day believers' bodies will be resurrected and rejoined with our souls to live with God forever as well. The _unity_ of body and soul is a bigger theme in the Bible than is the difference between them, and sometimes this gets missed when children are taught.


I think that the soul would be the mind of man, the part that is self aware, material aspect, while the spirit is that immaterial aspect that communes and fellowships with God, and is now on until activated again in the new birth experience.


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## Ask Mr. Religion

Dachaser said:


> I think that the soul would be the mind of man, the part that is self aware, material aspect, while the spirit is that immaterial aspect that communes and fellowships with God, and is now on until activated again in the new birth experience.



I do not think the trichotomous view of man (body, soul, spirit) versus the dichotomous (body and soul) is the right way to think about the issue at hand. See the attached.

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## Panegyric

Dachaser said:


> Are they the same thing?





Dachaser said:


> I think that the soul would be the mind of man, the part that is self aware, material aspect, while the spirit is that immaterial aspect that communes and fellowships with God, and is now on until activated again in the new birth experience.





Ask Mr. Religion said:


> I do not think the trichotomous view of man (body, soul, spirit) versus the dichotomous (body and soul) is the right way to think about the issue at hand. See the attached.



I agree with Patrick that it would simply cause confusion for the child to bring up dichotomy vs. trichotomy. I would just work with the child on soul. Along with the paper Patrick shared, I would also advise this sermon by Arden Hodgins of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church, which gives a pretty good quick overview of the implications of trichotomy, and deals with the exegetical concerns briefly as well.

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## hammondjones

As it so happens, I just did this very thing with my children as we went to a viewing last Friday for a deceased family friend. It was obvious that the body was there, but something was missing. So, for my 6 and 4 year old, I reminded them of the catechism song we sing "Do you have a spirit as well as a body?", and Eccl 12:7 (which is the proof verse for the song). I believe I ended up saying something like (in more childish terms) that the spirit was not tangible like the body, but that it was how we were made in the image of God, who doesn't have a body. 

This led right to the topic of resurrection, for it was clear, even to them, that there was something very unnatural about a lifeless body.


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## RamistThomist

Panegyric said:


> I agree with Patrick that it would simply cause confusion for the child to bring up dichotomy vs. trichotomy. I would just work with the child on soul. Along with the paper Patrick shared, I would also advise this sermon by Arden Hodgins of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church, which gives a pretty good quick overview of the implications of trichotomy, and deals with the exegetical concerns briefly as well.



Agreed.

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## chuckd

BGF said:


> Does she have a favorite doll? Ask her, "How, are you and your doll the same?". Help her answer (two legs, two arms, a head, a body, etc.), and then ask, "How are you different?", (ability to speak, breath, love, hate, think, etc.). Then tell her that this is how God made you. He put something in you that you can't see or touch but it makes you special. It's one of the ways that God made you like him. You can't see or touch God because he is a spirit, but you know he loves you and takes care of you. Of course this could lead to more questions, but that's life with a five year old.


Excellent answer. My 3 year old daughter has been asking where God is. I explain he is everywhere, but we can't see him. "But where's his body?" He doesn't have a body. "But where's his mouth?" He doesn't have a mouth, he is a spirit.

The illustration you gave will help a lot! What makes it difficult is our language for thanking God for providing us food "with his hands", etc. Any help?


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## Deleted member 7239

The difference between animals & humans came up in an Adam & Eve discussion. We discussed what makes us different than our dog. "What are things we can do that our dog can't?"

I think it made them think about their own soul and humanity and what the image of God is in us. We have the capacity to worship God and animals don't. Because we have a soul and are created in the image God. Not physically his image, non-physically.


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## Dachaser

Ask Mr. Religion said:


> I do not think the trichotomous view of man (body, soul, spirit) versus the dichotomous (body and soul) is the right way to think about the issue at hand. See the attached.


reading through that article, I was struck by how much my former Pentecostal learning seemed to be keyed into this concept of there being a higher spiritual level, as in the infamous dividing up the rheuma and Logos of the bible itself. Looks like I will have to modify another viewpoint of mine once again.

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## BGF

chuckd said:


> Excellent answer. My 3 year old daughter has been asking where God is. I explain he is everywhere, but we can't see him. "But where's his body?" He doesn't have a body. "But where's his mouth?" He doesn't have a mouth, he is a spirit.
> 
> The illustration you gave will help a lot! What makes it difficult is our language for thanking God for providing us food "with his hands", etc. Any help?


That's easy. Just explain that because we are finite beings we cannot comprehend an infinite God, so the Holy Spirit condescends to our, comparatively, infantile understanding by using anthropomorphic language to describe God's providential disposition toward us. I guarantee she won't ask any more questions.

But, seriously, this is why it is so hard with small children. They think very concretely and don't do well with metaphors and abstractions. We grown ups think we understand by using words like the ones I used above, but, if I were to be honest, I'm just operating at more sophisticated level of ignorance.

This may work in your favor, though. You can explain to your daughter that it's very hard for us to understand what it means when we say that God is a spirit. Because it's so hard to understand the Bible tells us things in ways that we can understand so that we know that it is God who really gives us all good things, like the food we eat. And God is so powerful that he doesn't need arms to feed us. 

This is super simplistic and may not be very helpful, but in my experience a 3 year old won't grasp much beyond that. The important thing is to keep doing what you are doing! Point her to God in all things. You will both be strengthened.

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