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Post by lclore on Feb 11, 2013 21:11:00 GMT -5
So we discussed briefly this in group. It doesn't necessarily have to do with the book but it is an interesting topic. I would like to hear everyone's view on it.
Does our "spirit" have a physical presence (for example can we point to parts of the brain that contain morality)?
I, as a biologist, have an opinion that lies on the continuum. But rather than point out the science I want to know what everyone else thinks.
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Post by Jonathan on Feb 20, 2013 17:48:07 GMT -5
Okay, I was leaving this for a bit so that others could join in. My take on Scripture ... and there's a lot that goes into this, but those details can come out later ... is that our spirit/soul is what the Bible would refer to as "immaterial" and our body is the "material". Now, that's thrown into quite a bit of a loop once you begin to try to categorize terms like "mind" or "flesh" which are used for both categories.
How does this apply?
Well, I don't know that it does... it just seemed apropos.
As for the basic question that you asked: I think that both the immaterial and the material aspects of our person are almost completely intertwined. Hence, separation of the two is DRASTIC (i.e., death). So, could the spirit have some sort of physical echoes (for lack of better term)? Absolutely, I have no problem with that.
I am familiar with a couple of studies that have been done on the brain regarding the soul, etc.
One... that is rather famous, though probably not as reliable as more modern studies (and I don't know that it has been replicated) ... demonstrated that at death people lose 21 grams, consistently. Could that be the weight of the soul/spirit?
Another ... done by Yale and involving one of my profs at DTS ... studied the activity in the brain during "moments of religious ecstasy" (e.g., intense prayer, charismatic experiences, ... this was not limited to Christianity). This demonstrated that the brain clearly has some "religious center" ... could that be the "home" of the spirit? (yep, that's a really crude term/analogy)? Could be.
Our theology needs to be able to deal with these types of scientific discoveries, I think.
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Post by lclore on Mar 1, 2013 22:18:57 GMT -5
I have a question for you pastor... why do you get five stars? when I only get one...? Doesn't seem fair haha
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