Sri Lankan theologian, Vinoth Ramachandra says on a CMS DVD that Jesus did not die to save souls, He died to save people. The point he was making is that people have real physical bodies and exist in a physical environment, which is part of God's creation.
I was struck by reading John 3:16 yesterday - "God so loved THE WORLD that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." In the past when I have read one of the best known verses in the whole bible I have focussed on the second part and ignored the first part. Let's not forget that the world includes the whole planet and all that is on it.
