I think you really raise great questions. My comment about justice and mercy was far more simple than you took it. A lawyer or judge might do better with this but I will try- If I am acused of stealing but I am innocent- given the facts a perfect justice would find me innocent. No mercy needed. Now if I am guilty of stealing- given the facts a perfect justice would find me guilty. It is the guilty person who might consider mercy as an alternative to justice. An innocent person in perfect justice has no need of mercy. Mercy is like a pardon. The guilty one is released instead of punished. Mercy requires justice because blanket mercy is really injustice. To Christianity- The heart of Christianity is Jesus Christ's death on the cross. This was a punishment for sin. Forgiveness of sin is based upon this. It is the punishment of Christ for sin that makes forgiveness available. Madmax had a great post- It spoke of Christ's suffering, death and resurrection. And Paul the writer also spoke of sharing in these. If there is no justice there would be no need for Jesus Christ to suffer, to be punished. A prophet, Isaiah spoke about this over 500 years before Jesus Christ was born " But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." ISAIAH 53:5-6
Lev 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
I think death is just like a deep, dreamless sleep. You don't feel time pass and have no thoughts at all. Just darkness.
You can dance around the sematntics all you want. "We are star dust that just transforms from us back to to part of the universe or whatever" but the you you consider you is the result of the electro-chemical exchange within your body that receives and responds to stimuli. Upon your death you no longer receive or respond to stimuli, you are no longer conscious, you are no longer you. You don't think therefore you ain't. To believe in life after death is to take the leap of faith beyond reason. Great if that's what floats your boat but it has no basis in reality. What physics could you dream up to allow for a soul to exist beyond death as a conscious entity? Have a nice day, it's the only one you've got.
Well, you're my friend And can you see Many times we've been out drinking Many times we've shared our thoughts But did you ever, ever notice, the kind of thoughts I got Well you know I have a love, for everyone I know And you know I have a drive, to live I won't let go But can you see this opposition, comes rising up sometimes That is dread full imposition, comes blacking in my mind And then I see a darkness And then I see a darkness And then I see a darkness And then I see a darkness Did you know how much I love you There's a hope that somehow you Can save me from this darkness Well I hope that someday buddy We'll have peace in our lives Together or apart Alone or with our wives And we can stop our whoring And pull the smiles inside And light it up forever And never go to sleep My best unbeaten brother This isn't all I see Oh no, I see your darkness Oh no, I see your darkness Oh no, I see your darkness Oh no, I see your darkness Did you know how much I love you There's a hope that somehow you You'll save me from this darkness
The only faulty part of this statement is saying "transforms from us back to to part of the universe". Ultimately we are never anything else. That is why death is an illusion. Change is constant. Our "birth" and "death" are only two out of countess examples.
Not if Jesus Christ rose from the dead. St. John 20:24-31 "Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may[a] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
The only faulty part of this statement is saying "transforms from us back to to part of the universe". Ultimately we are never anything else. That is why death is an illusion. Change is constant. Our "birth" and "death" are only two out of countess examples. OK fine on the atomic level but atoms don't think and that is the definition of the human self. The only part of your endless transition from the big bang to the end of Entopy that has any meaning for you iswhen you have consciousness. The rest is meaningless because you don't sense it.
If- Talk about if! We're in the same boat. We both are going to die one day. We both can't be right. If you're right I trust you have made your millions, done your hearts desire and had one big good time in life. If I am right I pray you have never broken the ten commandments. If neither of us are right we will find out soon enough. Have you ever won the lottery?
if you had any collaborating evidence of Jesus's resurection, I might take a second look at your claims, but as it is, you have none. My sense of reason just prevents me from believing a story written by men who never met Jesus and lived many years later. Not to mention the fact that the resurection story is a copy of other dieties, many years older. The Terri Schivo autotopsy results coming out today leads to some interesting questions related to the after-life/consciousness debate we're having here.
really? wow, i don't read it that way at all. i'm one with the universe sounds pretty supernatural to me. i share my own being with the rest of creation aint' exactly hard science.
in English 15 " 'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
Made em, lost em, made some back. Money does make things easier. Pretty much, but my desires are pretty pedestrian. Yep, I found a gorgeous, tolerant woman who loves me. That's about all I ever wanted anyway. That and the 1994 and 95 NBA Championships. Praised be Hakeem, deliverer of all worldly desires.
The cells inside our bodies are constantly growing and dying. When we relieve ourselves of our waste, it goes on into other forms of matter. Your cells can become the very plant you hold at another moment in time. Whether a cell is dead or living, it was a part of you and its significance can be as strong as the memories you hold. What this means is that you are not physically the same person 10 years ago or even last year. You're an amalgamation of past and present parts. There are plenty of other stimuli affecting your consciousness and changing your perceptions, but aging is one that everyone must ultimately live with. To fight or ignore it (or other stimuli) in order to reach a semblence of stability is only an illusion. You're going to change no matter how you react. In neurology, there is no dualism between the soul and the brain. An untimely stroke or other brain trauma will affect bodily processes and sometimes cognitive behavior. There are also factors such as drugs and behavior conditioning that, through brain imaging technology, will show significant correlation to certain lobes of the brain. These pieces might not be designed to fit in the grand scheme of things, but they aren't/can't be taken into account in improving the quality of physical life in these studies. Yet, it's still not easy to dismiss the idea of a distinct mind and soul. Children can expose this with the words they say like, "My brain hurts." If this perception is innately held at such a young age, the change as people age is something to consider. Mostly, the idea of the soul and the search for self have been intertwined in the question of life...mine, at least. In Chinese and Japanese philosophy, the search for a complete sense of self is a never ending journey. The gist can be summed up much like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, where at one moment you can only observe some parts or factors, but not the other. Knowing very well that you get older or even that a day brings an entirely unique experience, how can the mind stay permanent in thought? Even the mirror is more likely what others see of you, and not genuinely how you see yourself. The anatomy of our brains allows an experience unlike any other animal, but who really knows if that's a qualifier for anything different? My guess is that the idea of the soul is the sum of all the memories that have had an impact upon your life. It's the semblence of how you hold yourself in regards to your experience despite how memories can be easily converted or influenced. It allows you to peer through other worldviews you once maintained in the past and compose it into a consistent or stable timeline. It rationalizes change through the appearance of stability. It holds you accountable for the great mistakes and the great opportunities in your life. I guess it'll be a downer if I can't make any definitive statement on death given my prose in this post. All I know for sure is that in the physical sense, I have been dying a little and living a little every day. It might not be as absolute when I finally kick the bucket, but I can see in small short term pieces where I will ultimately go. And if there is a heavenly designed afterlife, it'll be a trip to see what ultimately happens. Maybe your memories is a receipt for your actions, while a higher Being holds the entire record. I watched the Empire Strikes Back on DVD yesterday, and one thing that caught my eye was how they changed the Anakin at the end to the punk in the prequels. It makes some sense because the young Skywalker was good and the old Vader was evil. Let's say this is what happens given how some religious people are portraying heaven. You have your old self and the young 10 year old you up in the clouds while the crazy convict in your life is out of sight and out of mind. Another idea of Heaven is it could possibly be the collection of all consciousness (individuality is lost, but it ultimately doesn't matter) into a central God force and that singularity is what is considered God's love. But how would that idea be any different than returning to the earth and being assumed by living and non-living forms of matter?
These days are closing in The end has become apparent We're only here for so long Will anyone remember my name When time has washed away the dust of our ashes? When my head rests in a velvet lined casket? What's out there? What is my eternal fate? It only just recently hit me That this life is just a state Mortality fading Like the innocence of love I'm scared to death of what's to become Of my immortal soul of this eternal flame Will you remember? Will your heart sing with pain? Who calls out my name? Who can tell me what happens When my eyes close for the last time? Does it all simply end in a blanket of darkness? What of my soul, what of my soul? All those things you couldn't say You should have said All those I love you's lost Weighed more like lead on your chest What if I could take back all those misspent days? Every second of anger, I would wash my sins away.....
