Are human beings material or immaterial? Are we made up of a bunch of cells or are we much more complex than that? Numerous questions were asked in class regarding this controversial subject. What about those numerous accounts of out of body experiences? Can one really float in space and look down at their body? Thinking about spooky stuff like this makes the X-Files tune pop in my head.Journi A. Smed says that Out of body experiences (OBE) are fairly common and that "one out of ten to twenty people are likely to have an OBE at least once." Most accounts of these occur when people are sleeping, resting, or dreaming. Other times, they occur with an apparition. This is when the OBE travels to a remote location where he/she sees someone and is aware of being seen. This witness then confirms that he/she saw an apparition.
From a Christian worldview, I believe that we are both material and immaterial because the Bible says we were created in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27). Likewise, Jesus says that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10: 27). Our soul and mind are immaterial and our bodies are material, therefore I believe humans are both.
This picture is a little scary! It made me think of other stories that I too have read about OBE. I wonder if this is because it is possible to be more immaterial than material at times. Right now, on earth, it seems we are more material than immaterial. When we die does the percentage flip-flop where we become more immaterial? Interestingly when Jesus had his "glorified" body, he could walk through walls etc. yet he could still be seen and touched...how? I have the spooky song playing in my head now too!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, and I agree on what you believe.Human beings are both material and immaterial, but it is difficult to believe we are both material and immaterial without the Christian worldview. However,I believe as Christian counselor we should spread the Christian worldview to people who believe that immaterial does not exist.
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