What is a human being? Are we animals or are we spiritual beings? If we have a spirit, what is it made of and how is it connected to the physical body? Is our soul a consequence of our physiology, something one level above but dependent on our biology? Is there a difference between our mind and our soul? Can we access our soul if we have no mind? Can we be conscious of our existence without our mind? Is then our mind which differentiates us from the other animals? Is this difference one of quality or merely quantity? If it were merely quantity, then all animals would have a spiritual side only not as rich and developed as ours. Since most of us would not accept this idea, I move that what sets us apart from other animals is a qualitative difference in our minds, in other words, our minds are of a quality much different than the minds of mere animals. So we have reached conclusions to some of our questions. Our souls are viewed via our minds and both are products of our biology – that is, of our physical brain. Just as an electromagnetic field cannot exist without electrically charged particles, so our mind cannot exist without the electricity that runs our brains. Turn that electricity off and we are mind-dead, a vegetable. This sounds all too logical. It does however bring up a terrible conclusion. What happens at death? Energy, we are assured by Physics, cannot be created or destroyed – it can only be transformed. Mental energy in a dying person is reduced as bodily functions are slowly turned off, one by one or in careful orchestration, as the “life” slowly leaves the body. There could be a fallacy here, saying that the mental energy should be transformed into some other energy as the person dies. That’s not accurate though, since the mental energy is fueled by the electricity which is further fueled by physiological functions – it is connected and owes its existence to those sources. As those sources become weaker, the corresponding mental energy must be proportionately diminished as it is not its own fuel. No, the body dies and the brain dies with it. The mind and soul therefore die as well – they are turned off, electric appliances disconnected from the power outlet. Outrageous? Heresy? Not really. Semantics always gets us in trouble. Heaven (as in the stars we see at night) was once considered perfect, as if it were the location of spiritual heaven or the place where God existed and everything was perfect (“in Earth as it is in Heaven”). Quickly enough we found we had misinterpreted or taken things too literally – an all too common problem when interpreting the Scriptures. Non literal interpretations all too often prove closer to the truth and more eternal in their validity. When Christ said “my Kingdom is not a Kingdom of this Earth” he meant it! The Apocalypse is full of references to the old Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem, and Christ mentioned the glorified bodies of the resurrected. Clearly he was not talking about our Biology, His “Universe” and “all things in it” bear no resemblance with our current, visible and tangible universe. This our universe is not Christ’s Kingdom, just open your eyes and verify the abundance of sin, the scarce amount of true Christian love and forgiveness, the destructive products of our animal legacy. No, whatever Christ meant by a Life after death and in His company, has nothing to do with our current physical and hence biological world. It could be a state of Peace, where time has no meaning; a state of Perfect Love. So, are we to fear our conclusion that the mind/soul are turned off at death? No! That happens in this world, not in the new world. It is important that we understand this, that we may have good reason not to fear the apparent finality of death. Suffices to remember that we should not be concerned with our biological death – it is inconsequential!
So, what about the people that don’t believe in God and are very bad people on Earth; will they enjoy the same state of Peace after death since everybody’s mind/soul will be turned off the same way?
All I am saying is that the physical manifestation of our brain, i.e. our mind, is gone at death… something goes on as a glorified body but not in this physical world. We go on in God’s presence, but for Him time and space are useless. Both are concepts we need in the physical world, but God is present everywhere and always: He spans all eternity. So being with Him is not a physical experience, we will not be near Him as distance makes no sense. This is why I prefer to think of a state of Peace, rather than a “place”, because thinking of a place forces us to carry over all our current physical limitations. As regarding God’s justice, I often reflect on the difference in tone between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The first one presented an angry and sometimes revengeful God, one very much similar to man in this respect. The God of the New Testament has an altogether different approach. He comes preaching forgiveness and summing up all commandments into the most transforming power on Earth: Love. Christ did not eliminate the Commandments but he presented a very different way to follow them. Christ’s response to the woman found in adultery was too perfect to be fully accepted and understood. His Heart and His Wisdom are Boundless. He guides us away from our mistakes and brings His love to our troubled hearts so that we might turn to Him and ask for forgiveness. He Converts, He does not Condemn. As incredible as forgiveness of the thief on the cross heavy with guilt, Christ always finds how to pull us in. So, for me, the horrors of purgatory and hell have been something humanity has needed to correct its lost ways, just as one scares children when they cannot see the consequences of their actions. But, they have been a means to an end and not end itself. I cannot see the point in eternal damnation – it does not fix anything. All I can see in this respect is that evil is the absence of good and that only that portion of us that is good, will be present in the resurrection.
Yes, humans usually try to understand God in relation to their physical world and to what they can understand, not aware of all the limitations they have;I think we must love God with our heart and not with our minds. I really liked your reply!!