- Joined
- 03 Jan 13
- Moves
- 13080
Don't scoff.
Don't jeer.
There is such a thing as a Christian sometimes knowing what he is talking about.
Right here you can get some insight.
"For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And there is no creature that is not manifeste before Him, but all thibngs are naked and laid bare to the eyes of Himn tio whom we are to give our account." (Heb 4:12,13)
The word of God is ABLE.
The word of God has the ABILITY to help a human being discover and discern the division deep within his being between the human soul and the human spirit.
Well, how do I know that ??
For one the Bible is true and tells me.
But I have experience also.
And the reason WHY many people do not LIKE to open a Bible and READ the word of God is PRECISELY because it feels to them sometimes like a sharp sword penetrating them, touching their conscience.
IF they can ONLY realize that this is not a negative thing.
THIS IS A POSITIVE THING and an expression of God's love.
It is an expression of God wanting you to really SEE where you are and to SEE His love for you to free you, love you, save you, and conform you to the image of His Son by further and further enlightening of your motives and intents.
It is not a NEGATIVE thing to want to avoid - as in thinking "I stay AWAY from that Bible"
It is a positive thing as to realize - "God want to be a living and loving Father to me. He wants me not to be in the dark but in His marvelous light and to be FREE and to have life more abudantly and joy and liberation and the glorious presence of His peace."
@sonship saidI live with and have discussed these issues with lifelong christians who do not make such fanciful claims. If what you say were actually true, then your faith would require no faith at all, because you would have actual knowledge of your spirit and of your god which transcends faith. I don't know what you mean by 'scoff', but comparing your views with those of actual ordained ministers with whom I have engaged in robust and lively debate... yours don't sound credible.
@avalanchethecat
Who I am is my mind and my body. There may or may not be a 'spirit' or 'soul' involved, but if there is, I am not able to perceive it directly. Can you?
Most of us cannot at first.
Many sense that there is something missing to them.
But they do not know what it is.
Others deal with the matter by insisting there is not ...[text shortened]... FREE and to have life more abudantly and joy and liberation and the glorious presence of His peace."
@fmf saidThe short answer is - we don't know.
Human consciousness continues to be mystery and its exact nature continues to elude scientists, philosophers and theologians.
How can the physical and human world translate into something as intimate ~ and as seemingly inexplicable ~ as a first-person experience?
Can we say anything objective about human consciousness?
I am of the belief that consciousness is an emergent property of an evolving brain. I think it can be fully explained by the laws of physics and the material world. Obviously, the explanation will be difficult to find.
Oddly, in some ways, I hope we do not find the answer in my lifetime. I think once we learn to get into brains and change all the settings at will, then much of the mystique will be lost.
@avalanchethecat saidI would not know about you if it were not reading your writings. Simply knowing about anything due what is written is only one available means of passing information, that and personal information being shared.
That's one opinion. Another is that your concept of god comes directly from the mythology detailed in the bible. If you'd never read it, never been taught it's content, you wouldn't know anything about your god. There's no 'reality' to your god without the books which give you that reality.
@bigdogg saidInteresting perspective.
The short answer is - we don't know.
I am of the belief that consciousness is an emergent property of an evolving brain. I think it can be fully explained by the laws of physics and the material world. Obviously, the explanation will be difficult to find.
Oddly, in some ways, I hope we do not find the answer in my lifetime. I think once we learn to get into brains and change all the settings at will, then much of the mystique will be lost.
I enjoy science fiction. 🙂
It would be interesting to see how they might change the settings and see what the results might be.
A super consciousness? Able to probe into the consciousness of others?
@avalanchethecat saidI get that. Sounds reasonable.
No, what gives you consciousness of god is the bible. You claimed that "consciousness is the awareness of the existence of body, mind and spirit". I am conscious, however I don't feel any awareness of 'spirit'. I feel an awareness of my mind and body.
The spirit is intangible. Has the idea of the ethereal. Thing is the spirit and the Bible are inseparable components when coupled with faith.
The awareness, or consciousness if you will, is activated by faith, and ones spirit is brought back to life. Only then can one be God-conscious in the sense of relationship. God is realized.
I could go on but I don't do page long posts. Once in a while though....
@josephw saidI think where you used the word "materially" above, what you meant - or should have said - was "metaphysically". I too think consciousness gives us awareness of ourselves and the environment in which we exist but it also gives us the capacity to come up with concepts like soul, conscience, and spirit as we grapple with the elusive task of describing and explaining consciousness.
Our consciousness gives us awareness of our selves and the environment we exist in, materially.The spirit gives us consciousness of God.
- Joined
- 06 May 15
- Moves
- 27445
@fmf saidIt seems to exist?
Human consciousness continues to be mystery and its exact nature continues to elude scientists, philosophers and theologians.
How can the physical and human world translate into something as intimate ~ and as seemingly inexplicable ~ as a first-person experience?
Can we say anything objective about human consciousness?
@kellyjay saidBut why would a God that created us be the particular God that you describe WITHOUT the Bible?
The reality of God is not confined to just that book and those who believe in it. If there were no Bible the reality of God would still be true even if none of us were also not here.
@josephw saidNow that I can't argue with. I think it must be wrong, but I can't really say it is without standing on your side of gulf, and try as I might I can't get over there.
I get that. Sounds reasonable.
The spirit is intangible. Has the idea of the ethereal. Thing is the spirit and the Bible are inseparable components when coupled with faith.
The awareness, or consciousness if you will, is activated by faith, and ones spirit is brought back to life. Only then can one be God-conscious in the sense of relationship. God is realized.
I could go on but I don't do page long posts. Once in a while though....
@avalanchethecat saidIf I never read anything you wrote, that too would not change the fact you are real, so why do you think that would be any less true with God?
That's one opinion. Another is that your concept of god comes directly from the mythology detailed in the bible. If you'd never read it, never been taught it's content, you wouldn't know anything about your god. There's no 'reality' to your god without the books which give you that reality.
@kellyjay saidI'm an example of the same thing you are. You can extrapolate that there are many others like you. It's not really possible to extrapolate the existence of a god.
If I never read anything you wrote, that too would not change the fact you are real, so why do you think that would be any less true with God?
@avalanchethecat saidYou have a mind and body, which are physical pieces of the whole. You are not only these physical pieces; people who lose body parts don't become less than they remain who they are. When one dies, all the pieces can remain intact, but something leaves, making all the properly connected chemicals in place lifeless.
Who I am is my mind and my body. There may or may not be a 'spirit' or 'soul' involved, but if there is, I am not able to perceive it directly. Can you?
Who you are, this soul/person is unique from all others who ever lived or will live.