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[.. That makes me very sad because then it is not God Who is being worshipped, but one's concept of God - a smaller "god" the mind can comprehend. ..]

No one comes to the son unless the father draws them.. One sows the seed, another waters, but God gives the increase..

A spirit seeks its own level.. what being human is all about.. All humans are spirits..
Where a spirit is, is exactly where its supposed to be..
Manifesting "what/who" it really is.. What a plan..
ALL human(spirits) live forever.. somewhere..

In a New heaven, a New earth, or possible even a New Hell..
What a plan.. An amazing plan.. We are all being qualified..
For WHAT?.. Now thats a good question...

Thank you so much for sharing your insights!

A few years back I prayed about this very issue, asking God in prayer about the disposition of the soul or spirit. Adamic man has the breath of God (Gen 2) and yet Jesus warned:

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. – Matt 10:28

In sum, I was led to a number of passages and insights concerning the Hebrew words for soul and spirit:

1. nephesh – the will to live, the animal soul, or the soul of all living things (Genesis 1:20) which by Jewish tradition returns to the “earth” after death.

2. ruach - the self-will or free will peculiar to man (abstraction, anticipation, intention, etc.) – by Jewish tradition, the pivot wherein a man decides to be Godly minded or earthy minded (also related to Romans 8, choosing)

3. neshama - the breath of God given to Adam (Genesis 2:7) which may also be seen as the “ears to hear” (John 10) - a sense of belonging beyond space/time, a predisposition to seek God and seek answers to the deep questions such as “what is the meaning of life?"

4. ruach Elohim - the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2) which indwells Christians (I Cor 2, John 3) – the presently existing in the “beyond” while still in the flesh. (Col 3:3)

Obviously ruach Elohim does not get destroyed with any man’s body or soul. The leaning I have in the Spirit is that neither can the neshama - the breath of God - be destroyed.

But the ruach can be destroyed in hell and along with hell itself be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20) - the second death.

And the nephesh of a man could likewise be destroyed – or the Jewish mystics might be right, it just folds back into the physical creation (I don’t have a leaning either way though I would be surprised not to see animal or carnal life in the new heaven and the new earth.)

At any rate, that is my spiritual understanding of the matter at this time.