30 May 07
Originally posted by AThousandYoungThe Bible does not give percise definitions but I can tell you my own interpretation of what I have read in the Bible. I view the "spirit" as that part of you that is really you. It is what will live forever in some form or another. This "spirit", however, has been given a body to inhabit in order to funciton in the material world. Your "soul", on the other hand, is that inermediary that connects the spiritual world to the material world. It communicates both with the body and spirit. The Bible even makes the analogy that the carnal man, or body, wars against the spirit and the spirit against the body. In other words, the body wants you to tend to the things that please it such as food, sex, pleasure, and the spirit wants you to tend to the things of the spirit such as communing with God and his word and things that feed it. So as a Chrisitan your primary focus is to feed your spiritual man verses your carnal body. After all, our carnal body has been "corrupted" because of sin and is dying. Thus choosing to feed it over your spiritual man once it becomes alive to God upon conversion over your phsical body should be the focus of the believer. In essence, feeding your spirit has eternal benefits as where feeding your physical man only has temperal benefits. Your soul then is caught in the middle and must choose.
What's a soul? What's a spirit?
30 May 07
Originally posted by whodeyIf the spirit is "really me" then why do you ask how I can be the body and the soul as well?
The Bible does not give percise definitions but I can tell you my own interpretation of what I have read in the Bible. I view the "spirit" as that part of you that is really you. It is what will live forever in some form or another. This "spirit", however, has been given a body to inhabit in order to funciton in the material world. Your "soul", on the oth ...[text shortened]... man only has temperal benefits. Your soul then is caught in the middle and must choose.
30 May 07
Originally posted by AThousandYoungI don't know how whodey would answer your question.
If the spirit is "really me" then why do you ask how I can be the body and the soul as well?
I would answer it by saying all three parts are connected and make up your total being.
The human spirit of man since the fall of Adam has been damaged. It has become comatose. It has become in a kind of deadened state.
The human spirit was originally designed to be the most influencial part of your being. But at the fall the human spirit sunk below the human soul. The human soul with its mind, emotion, and will became the strongest part of man's being.
Do not jump to any conclusions by this. We are not saying that the human soul was not important in the creation of man. We (I mean we tripartite believers) believe that God made the soul to be led and ruled by the human spirit.
The damage of the human spirit became the wrongful ascendency of the human soul. The primacy of the human spirit was usurped by the human soul.
In God's salvation there is an aspect of saving for each of the three parts of man.
1.) The human spirit needs to be REGENERATED
2.) The human soul needs to be TRANSFORMED
3.) The human body needs to be TRANSFIGURED
Full salvation in Christ is a matter of the regeneration of the comatose and deadened human spirit, transformation of the warped and corrupted human soul, and transfiguration of the fallen physical body to be a body of resurrection glory.
Aside from the three crucial aspects of personal salvation for every believer there is also a salvation of the environment as well. That is the creation is freed from the bondage of corruption and decay brought about by the rebellion of Satan and his angels and the fall and rebellion of man.
Much of this is touched on in the 8th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans.
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31 May 07
Originally posted by ahosyneyNo....I don't think so....
Did the disciples believe in trinity?
Did paul believe in trinity?
Were the christians in the early two centuries believing in the trinity?
When did trinity come to life?
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I'm not trying to prove anything here, I just want to know if Christians have answers to these questions...
Regards
http://www.biblicalunitarian.com/
31 May 07
Originally posted by AThousandYoungAs I said before, due to God's choice of placing us in a material universe we have a body and soul. The body and soul are simply extensions through which a spiritual being may exist in and communicate in a material world.
If the spirit is "really me" then why do you ask how I can be the body and the soul as well?
31 May 07
2 edits
The reason I asked those questions is:
1- I didn't find the trinity as a word or concept in the Bible. The direct references to it I found them to be later addition to the bible and doesn't exist in the older scriptures. Example of that Jn1.5.7 and Mt.28.19. This made me belive that someone or some group of people tried to add the trinity to the Bible at later stages.
2- I found no evidence in the Bible that non of the 12 Disciples, nor paul believed in the concept of Trinity. Actually it is clear in paul writings that he never thought about this idea. That made me think where did it came from as there is no clear reference to it, while it is the most important concept in Christianity.
3- Given that the trinity concept didn't appear in its final form until the year 385, and before that there was many christians who didn't believe in trinity and Jesus was for them just a man and prophet. And after the adoption of the trinity concept of GOD from the ROMAN empire (which was based on an idolatory faith system), this concept dominated.
4. The domination of the concept of trinity on Christianity doesn't make it a fact. It simply an inheritance from older philosophies no more, and it is far a way from Jesus teachings.
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The concept of Trinty is hard to understand or explaint because it is the result of human mind and his philosophy.
31 May 07
Originally posted by ahosyneyYou've discovered an important point about religion generally.
The reason I asked those questions is:
1- I didn't find the trinity as a word or concept in the Bible. The direct references to it I found them to be later addition to the bible and doesn't exist in the older scriptures. Example of that Jn1.5.7 and Mt.28.19. This made me belive that someone or some group of people tried to add the trinity to the Bible at ...[text shortened]... s hard to understand or explaint because it is the result of human mind and his philosophy.
Doctrines are developed by humans and change (dare I say evolve) over time.
We can go back to the original texts and 'prove' that these things always existed. I could porobably prove that pink is blue and up is down if I picked the right scriptural texts.
The trinity has been clearly demonstrated to be a development of the Christian church and came long after Jesus' death.
But the real question is not when it was developed or who did it or can we read about it in the Bible. The real question for a Christian should be what does it mean to them and their own faith? It doesn't matter if it's an invention of Jesus or Paul or Bob.
What matters is if it is a meaningful construct for the person of faith.
My guess is it probably is.
Although, in the end, what do I know - I'm an atheist.