Locke defined the soul to be “a substance that always thinks. I know not what it can serve for but to make many men suspect that they have no souls at all; since they find a good part of their lives pass away without thinking” To Locke, a person’s soul serves no purpose if he or she does not live their life pursuing constant thought based solely on what is possible to be experienced. He goes on to say, “Perhaps it is the affection of knowing beyond what we perceive, that makes so much useless dispute and noise in the world” (Locke, 477). I am not certain if Locke is describing any topics that are not capable of being perceived physically with our senses
or experienced physically as without use or value and contributing to “noise in the world.” If so Locke is refuting the existence of belief in anything in the spiritual world that is not tangible and can not be perceived with our senses which biblically speaking Faith is defined in what we cannot physically see, know, or sense. Matthew 16:26 asks, “What shall profit if a man gains the world and forfeits his soul?” Locke’s stance proclaims that a soul is worthless if not for acquired knowledge through experience only the world can offer. Scripture says that the world has absolutely nothing to offer us and that by gaining the world, we make the choice to forfeit our soul.
“Since it is the understanding that sets man above the rest of sensible beings and gives him all advantage and dominion which he has over them (Locke, 468). Locke believes that humans should take pride in their knowledge and those who possess more understanding are more favorable than those without. Biblically, this idea is completely refuted because according to scripture that says we are without the right to boast in anything accept Jesus. Galatians 6:14 says, “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified.” Scripture instructs those that desire salvation through Jesus and to live a life honoring to God, that they can boast in nothing that they have achieved on earth. Locke’s works on earth along with everyone else’s that were not done with the intention of bringing glory and honor to a holy God will die with them, therefore they carry no authentic weight.
In the Bible achieving knowledge can be compared to gaining wisdom, even though the term wisdom encompasses more of a spiritual aspect opposed to a worldly one. In the passages of the Gospels that discuss “wise men,” these wise men are in search of something far more than knowledge. They are devoted to finding Jesus. In Locke’s written work An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, his goal is to challenge his readers to pursue knowledge. In the Bible, the wise men exemplify what scripture instructs us to do, to find Jesus because our soul will only ever have eternal value if this is done regardless of any achieved knowledge on earth. In other words, a person who devotes their life completely to knowledge and fails to confess Jesus as Lord will be in Hell following their death regardless of if he or she knew all there is to know.
“Whatever keeps us so much in the dark to ourselves, sure I am that all the light we can let in upon our minds, all the acquaintance we can make with our own understandings, will not only be very pleasant, but bring us great advantage in directing our thoughts in the search of other things” (Locke, 468). This quote presents Locke’s belief that an ignorant man without the understanding of the world found through experience is a man who lives in “darkness” and the only way to find light is through knowledge. Meanwhile it is written in scripture that a man is truly in darkness if he does not know Jesus who is the light. John 12:46 that, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in the dark.” These stances of Locke and scripture are not at all aligned because one views the achievement of salvation through worldly knowledge and the other is rooted in salvation through something far beyond anything the world is capable of offering. It is a scary thing that John Locke describes a person being without knowledge and understanding the way scripture describes being without Salvation through Jesus.
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