Is soul eternal?

[satay]

dear satay:

Show me where I said soul is eternal. You still don't seem to understand the difference between eternal and everlasting. Everlasting means "no end" but not "no beginning". If I say soul will be in hell or heaven or any other place everlastingly, I do not ascribe that to eternality at all! My belief is that soul is the life form that takes place when we are created. It is the eternal spirit that was breathed in to a body to make it a soul. Many use soul as a term to define body as a whole and that is okay. But, nowhere it is said soul is eternal, as far as I know. If I did say that then I am wrong!

Blessings,

namaste nirotu,

What exactly then goes to or burns in hell forever according to the christian belief?

[satay]

according to dictionary, everlasting and eternal are synonyms.

anyhow, I am still trying to understand what burns in hell if one doesn't accept jesus as the only saviour?

Regardless of what burns in hell it can not be for eternity since whatever it is that burns was created by god at the time of birth.

another point, if god is the breathing this spirit or soul into man at the time of inception, how can this 'holy' thing (soul or spirit whatever you want to call it) become unholy that it should burn in hell? since god is all holy and good, how can he breathe something out that can become unholy and then it should burn in hell for eternity?

In post#5, I said this

Continuing my analysis on christian perspective of Soul

From posts above we conclude that the soul is not eternal or immortal. This means that soul will not remain in existence forever and will end one day regardless of where it is after death. According to christianity, the soul can go to heaven or hell depending on if you chose to live the life of sin (disobedience of god) or not. However, since the soul is not eternal, it means that regardless of your choice, you will not be in hell or heaven forever...one day you 'will' die. Anything that is created shall die one day. Since soul is created...it will die.

Hence, the theory about 'living in heaven with god or buring in hell forever and ever is false.

[nirotu]

What exactly then goes to or burns in hell forever according to the Christian belief?

Dear Satay:

Here is what conservative Christians believe, which is quite different from Catholics.

Many conservative Christians believe that when a person dies, they enter into complete oblivion - a state of non-existence. They remain unconscious; they have no self-awareness. Their body decays. At the time of the second coming of Jesus, the dead are called from their graves; they will be resurrected with the same separated soul and reconstituted body and judged. Those who had accepted God while on earth will be given special bodies and go to Heaven; those who rejected will go to Hell destined for torment and eventual annihilation. In fact every human who has ever lived, are held in a temporary state of non-existence. Many will have been there for thousands of years before they are resurrected. They regard the other options as religious fantasy which does not exist in reality. But, of course, there is no general agreements about which are the true states.

Honestly, aren’t we all speculating what could that be? What happens after your physical body dies?" is an age old question that no one can really answer. After all these thousands and millions of years, no one can really prove what happens. We have the statements from the various religions and the beliefs of the relatively few people who dare to think about it.

Regardless of what burns in hell it can not be for eternity since whatever it is that burns was created by god at the time of birth.

That is why Christians believe it is a place where there is eventual annihilation and not eternal torment!

It seems you and MG are more preoccupied with HELL than the glorious HEAVEN that is awaiting you! The concept of Hell is not new to followers of either faith. If heaven is only for the pious and the good, then evil-minded cannot be extinguished at death nor can they reach heaven. So a hell is necessary! If you are able to think of glorious eternal heaven for being good and righteous why can’t you step further and see there is a place called hell for evildoers and the unrighteous!

Look at scriptures of Purana! We hear of Varuna thrusting the evil-doer down into the dark abyss from which he never returns. Indra is prayed to consign to the lower darkness the man who injures his worshipper. It seems to be the destiny of the wicked to fall into this dark depth and disappear. We do not as yet get the grotesque mythology of hell and its horrors of the later purana. Heaven for the righteous and the hell for the wicked is the rule, no matter who and where you are and what you believe in! (S.Radhakrishnan – Hindu Philosophy)

Instead of speculating about soul’s destiny after death, don’t you think it is much more productive to heed the call of Christ who had shown us that both heaven and hell resides within us? Why not consider the lifetime we spend on this planet as an opportunity for refining and transforming from our hell of ignorance into heaven of awareness and a deeper knowing of our true nature and connection with the Father.

Blessings,

[nirotu]

Yes, I think it is important for two reasons. One, once you have people very close to you die, you want to know if there is a hell. And, two, once you have people tell you that those loved ones may be in hell, you have to question the sense of such things and the nature of a God that would do this.

Dear MG:


It is wrong to rely on others to tell you about that. When a person dies, the place would be surrounded by emotionally charged minds. Ask a person who likes the dead person and he will tell you the heaven is the only destination where as ask some one who hated the deceased one, he will tell you it is hell. These emotions are transitory and change at the drop of a hat. Instead, read scriptures to guide you.

On good and evil, I dont think it is that clear. We really want to think there is evil and good, that we can point at certain people or behaviors and say that is "bad". Usually, other people, not us. [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/anil/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/03/clip_image001.gif[/IMG]But, I dont believe it is that easy to differentiate. Furthermore, paralleling this to sin, this is why I have a problem with the sin/damnation thing. Many people who sin are actually hurting. Example, just one of many, many I could list. I used to work with gang members. We want to think of them as evil, we think we know them, they are bad. But really, most of them are wounded boys, scared boys. So, what is wicked?

Here again, you are being very naïve to blame everything to God. I do believe it is very important to distinguish between human freedom (free will) and God’s sovereignty. It forms the basis in Christian philosophy and, in particular, the VA philosophy. An individual soul is entirely dependent on God for its activity. When God declares what is good and what is bad, supplies souls with bodies, gives power to employ them, He also becomes the cause in the ultimate sense for their freedom and bondage of souls. Yet, when we see so much misery and suffering in the world, it is not God who is responsible for it, but man, who has the power to work for good or evil. It is the will of man that seems to constitute a limitation of the absoluteness of God. It is the freedom to act that is bestowed upon souls, may also act so as to interfere with the will of God. If the absolute God is obliged to take note and act according to the law of karma, HE is not absolute at all!!! Since moral laws are eternal expression of His righteous nature, it is acceptable to say God is regarded as the one who rewards righteous and punishes the wicked!

Nirotu, you sound like a Hindu-Christian there. [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/anil/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/03/clip_image001.gif[/IMG]Isn't this post a mix of concepts, not just Christian? And I still love Jesus' teachings, I just don't agree with Christianity and I don't think Jesus would either. Modern Christianity has little to do with Jesus' words.

But, having said all that, I respect your right to follow what you think fits you. I spent a lot of time looking for answers in the Bible and Christianity and it did not have the answers I was looking for. Just me.

Thank you for being candid. What surprises me the most is when people say they like Jesus teachings and not the Bible. While it is understandable that Christian religion is to blame for misunderstanding, it is wrong to present Christ and the Bible in opposite squares. I do believe that the Bible is the faithful witness to the timeless spiritual truths spoken by Jesus Christ. If it weren’t for the Bible, we would not have known Jesus and His teachings!

Blessings,

[jaggin]

namaste jaggin,
what is your suspicion based on as far as christian theology? Are you saying that 'your' soul has been around for millions of years? is that an accepted christian view?

No this is not orthodox Christian belief but I have no adherence to orthodoxy.