Hiya Myrddin
"Given Matthew 22:31,32 -Yes, I agree. Jehovah is the God of the living, not the dead. That does not mean that no soul can die. Instead, it indicates that death exists, as we well know."
Yes, we know death exists. Death for both the body and the spirit is the question. As you stated souls can die. It is my belief though, through analysis of scriptures formentioned, that NOT ALL souls die when the body dies. So where do they go? You would say it was a FASLEHOOD to say they go anywhere (according to your many quotes to support that pre-NT theory). I simply disagree and state that souls are immortal unless God kills them. I do not INFER from scripture that He outright nukes every soul who's body dies. Therefore there must be SOME immortal souls who will be with Him from death to eternity and thus you have one of the two forms of an immortal soul. The other being the Reincarnated souls which have been slain that will end up in heaven or in hell when Judgement comes. It is not my belief that he has a Guff of souls and will eventually run out and then he will judge, all souls being immortal. As I understand it this is NOT the teaching of the Catholic Church either.
As for the Parable in Luke: I pretty much agree with what you say, but I wanted you not only to see why He was saying it but also what was being said - ie. there were these two classes of dead people BEFORE judgement which talked to each other and were consciously communicating requests back and forth. This was from the Word's mouth, ie. Jehovah Himself said it.
Now, parables as we know are not necessarily true (ie. not actual people or events), but each one tells of a story which was easy enough for all to understand. If he was teaching to His disciples, mostly Jewish, why would he illustrate it with a totally foreign concept of life after death unless it was a common theory and/or True?
And I have a parting thought for you concerning life after death/the immortal soul... where did Jesus go for the three days before his rising? To quote our belief again... and He descended into hell and Rose again on the third day. If he was simply dead for three days why would his resurection have been any different from a NDE? He went down yonder to Hell and triumphed over Satan. Then came back and told us he had done so. So if this is true (is it according to you?) there must be some presence after death, how else could Jesus' soul have gone anywhere if it were attached to his dead body? This once again illustrates the two forms of immortal soul forementioned.
pls. note: is it an inference from scripture that He NEEDED His old body when His soul returned or did it just add to the effect of His rising? |
