Where does humanity stand in the whole
of creation? More importantly, how do we compare to the spiritual
realm? We humans occupy a unique place in the world of matter, in
that we also occupy a place in the realm of the spirit. Animals,
plants, objects; none of these things have a spiritual component.
What makes us different is that God made us a bit like Himself,
namely a threefold being. We are body, soul, and spirit (debates
about the differences or lack there-off between soul and spirit
aside).
All
of what we see, and most of what we concern ourselves with is this
physical form. This isn't terribly surprising as it is the point of
most of our conflict. We are concerned with getting sick or getting
injured, worried about future weakness as age takes it's toll and of
course we're all a little concerned about death. This body is like a
screaming baby, perhaps not the most pressing concern, but the most
noisy and what draws our attention most of the time. Humanists would
have us believe that this flesh is all there is, that we occupy no
higher plane. One wonders though, if that were the case, why all the
philosophical thought in the world? How did we get the idea of
anything more if there isn't anything more? How are we able even to
have thought that is self-aware if all we are is a meat-machine?
What
makes us different is that we are more than mere humanity. What I
mean by that is we aren't just meat-machines we are
“semi-transcendent.” I used to believe the old phrase “I'm a
soul in a body not a body with a soul,” and that sounds good and
all but it's not really accurate. In actuality we are physical
beings with souls, that combination is what we are; which explains
why we will have bodies in eternity. You cannot divorce yourself
from your soul and still be really alive, but you also can't say that
you are only physical. Our semi-transcendence means that we are
slightly above the physical realm. We are not angels so we are not
removed from this world, but we aren't animals either. We have a
perspective that allows us to see beyond what we see. It is this
state that allows for our sentients, that allows us to be self-aware.
This
state of being is a blessing and a burden. Though we are fallen from
grace thanks to our sin, our semi-transcendence gives us a sense of
the eternal, of the “more than this.” This is a part of that
“God-shaped hole” we all have in our hearts. Though we are
separated from God, we were created to be more than just animals and
so we strain against the bonds of our sin and this material world.
We yearn for more than just rocks and air and flesh. It is this
desire, this unfulfilled and indefinable pull that ultimately leads
many to God. To many the party line of molecules to man just doesn't
cut it because they know
that there is something more, something beyond what they see and
touch and taste.
Man
is an interesting creature, made to be more than just skin and bones.
God made us a little like Him, not deity, but stamped with the image
of God. We do a disservice to ourselves and our creator when we
attempt to remove or ignore the part of ourselves that moves beyond
what we can study in a lab or see on the street.
“Then
God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our
likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the
birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created
man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and
female He created them.”
(Genesis
1:26-27)
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