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The (natural) immortality of the soul.

PostPosted: January 8th, 2008, 10:29 am
by mitchellmckain

PostPosted: January 8th, 2008, 6:15 pm
by Leslie
Is there perhaps some confusion between resurrection and judgement? In my understanding, everyone has to be resurrected, and then face judgement. A resurrected soul may find itself permanently cut off from God, depending on the outcome of judgement. So I don't think believing that the soul dies and is resurrected along with the body necessarily entails universalism (although it may be true that Polkinghorne is a universalist; I have no information on this point).

I don't believe in soul-body dualism. I am one being, and all of my being will die one day. And since my physical manifestation (i.e. my body) is not static matter, what is resurrected is not a specific set of molecules, but a pattern, the mental/spiritual and physical pattern that is me. The pattern will be reconstituted in matter of some sort, and also in a spiritual dimension. And at some point after the resurrection (God willing) that pattern will be perfected, and all its flaws removed.

So, if you like, it is the pattern that survives death. Between death and resurrection, the pattern exists only in the mind of God. And the resurrection is his new creation of beings according to those patterns.

PostPosted: January 8th, 2008, 7:38 pm
by mitchellmckain

PostPosted: January 9th, 2008, 3:50 am
by Leslie

PostPosted: January 9th, 2008, 8:38 am
by mitchellmckain

PostPosted: January 10th, 2008, 12:58 am
by Leslie