I'd say that I certainly respect rahirah's take on it, and she's a terrific writer, (I really like all her metas and adore her satirical writing) but on this issue I agree more with elisi's take, the way she's parsed out what the soul means in the Buffyverse in her opinion: http://elisi.dreamwidth.org/359595.html

I don't want to be afraid to talk about the subject openly (although in fact there's a lot about Buffy and Spike I'm afraid to talk about openly); but I'm not interested in getting into a war about it, either. I think both opinions are equally true and valid because each is saying "this is what interests me", and canon is so loose in that regard. In any case, it's not a "thing" for me so much. Perhaps someday it will be, but I'm very Buffy-centric, and there's a lot of other ground to cover.

guilty self-loathing makes a rotten moral compass.

100% agreement - and we see that in Buffy, Willow and Xander as well. And even Giles - although he's a character who never quite integrates his Shadow Self, or dare the journey that Buffy, Willow, Faith and Spike take. Ergo the disconnect (on a metaphorical level) with Buffy in S7.