Kris Lantijn

Some Christians declare that the soul has been created at a certain point and than later coupled to the body when that was created after wards, through conception. After death, it is said that one attains eternity either in hell or heaven. How can a created thing suddenly become eternal?

Where in the Bible can we find such references that clearly states that the soul has been 'created' by God, rather than being an eternal partial expansion of the Lord, existing eternally? Something which has a beginning must also have an end. That which is eternal has no beginning, no middle and no end. Since the Lord exists eternally, and we can enter into an eternal relationship with the Lord, the soul must be eternal too. The body is temporary (having a beginning and an end) and therefore it must be different from the soul.

Zechariah 12:1 (NIV)

12 This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares:

"who forms the spirit": to give shape or form, not necessarily means to create.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 (NIV)

7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

"who gave it": it came from Him (as if expanded from Him), it was not necessarily "created".

Hebrews 12:9 (NIV)

9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!

"the Father of our spirits and live": again, the soul comes from the Father, the origin of the soul, as if expanded from Him, rather than "created" by Him.

Genesis 2:7 (NIV)

7 the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

The temporary lifeless body "injected" with the eternal living soul.

Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

27 So God created man in his own image,

"man" refers to the body.

Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

"I am" refers to the mind and/or the body.

Please clarify with references.

Thank you.

In Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12-7 we read:

007: Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

http://www.allonlinebible.com/read.php

From this verse it appears that at the moment of death, the soul leaves the body. As it leaves the body at a certain point, it also must have entered it at a certain point.

We also observe that as soon as the soul leaves the body, the bodily vital functions stop. Can we therefore also assume that as soon as the bodily functions begin, the soul has entered the body (i.e. the embryo)?

If not, then what is it that makes the body (embryo) move - such as yawning, kicking, stretching etc?

Pope Benedict XVI has said: "sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalisation of sexuality" where sexuality is no longer an expression of love, "but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves".

Where in scripture can we find a verse or statement supporting the phrase that sexuality is “an expression of love”?

I was quite surprised reading this, since I’ve always understood that any religion is promoting celibacy, which includes sex within marriage for the purpose of procreation.

It seems to me that the Church, instead of taking to self-rectification after all the recent scandals, is (dangerously) compromising its values in order to regain popularity.

No offenses please.

I belief in an eternal life after death but according to Christianity we will rise again in the selfsame body as we are living in now. There is one problem with this idea. In which form will we come back. I wish to live forever as a teenager, but my mother wants to see me as a little child and my father as an adult. So what's it gonna be? How shall this problem be solved unless we will live in our original, eternal spiritual form, of which we are not aware now at present, being covered by material illusion and which has nothing to do with our present material body and mind?

Please explain.

I belief in an eternal life after death but according to Christianity we will rise again in the selfsame body as we are living in now. There is one problem with this idea. In which form will we come back. I wish to live forever as a teenager, but my mother wants to see me as a little child and my father as an adult. So what's it gonna be? How shall this problem be solved unless we will live in our original, eternal spiritual form, of which we are not aware now at present, being covered by material illusion and which has nothing to do with our present material body and mind?

Please explain.

...then why are they bothering doing further research? What is there to be endeavored for, if it all happens by chance anyway?

...having received a material body whose limited senses are unable to perceive the Absolute Truth, destined to dwell in a temporary world where the Supreme Godhead is willingly hiding from our vision, enabling us to compete for supremacy...

HOW DO YOU FEEL? :)

Sometimes Jesus spoke about heaven and sometimes about the Kingdom of God. It seems like there is a distinction between the two of them.

Anyone...?

(112) Jesus said: Woe to the flesh which depends upon the soul; woe to the soul which depends upon the flesh.

Source: Gospel of Thomas