Friday, October 15, 2010

The Laws of Physics, Scripture, and Things that are Impossible for God.


“All things are possible with God” said Jesus. (Mark 10:27; Matthew 19:26) At the same time, it is “impossible for God to lie.” (Hebrews 6:18; see also Romans 3:4) Clearly then, Jesus meant this hyperbolically. For instance, not only is it impossible for God to lie, and by extension create lies and deceptions, it is also impossible for him to create a god that is more almighty than he is. That is absurd and laughable, yet it illustrates that Jesus’ declaration has reasonable limits to its application. Considering how he used a certain phrase and his descriptions of nature will demonstrate this.

The phrase “flesh and blood” is found three times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. The first use of it is by Jesus in Matthew 16:17, where he said: “Happy you are, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal [it] to you, but my Father who is in the heavens did.” By this contrast, we learn that “flesh and blood” refers to human nature, which is not found in heaven. If his Father, God, was flesh and blood as well, that would make his contrast quite defective. This observation would refute the Mormon position that God has a physical body and spirit blood, for such a doctrine would dilute the force of Jesus’ contrast and consequently make him a very poor teacher.

The other two occurrences of this phrase are used by Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:50 and in Galatians 1:16. Both are used in the same sense, referring to human nature. Notice how this is applied in 1 Corinthians 15:50: “flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.” Regarding this contrast and the meaning of the phrase “flesh and blood,” Adam Clarke’s Commentary states:

This is a Hebrew periphrasis for man, and man in his present state of infirmity and decay. Man, in his present state, cannot inherit the kingdom of God; his nature is not suited to that place; he could not, in his present weak state, endure an exceeding great and eternal weight of glory. Therefore, it is necessary that he should die, or be changed; that he should have a celestial body suited to the celestial state. The apostle is certainly not speaking of flesh and blood in a moral sense, to signify corruption of mind and heart; but in a natural sense; as such, flesh and blood cannot inherit glory, for the reasons already assigned. (italics original)
http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=1co&chapter=015

This agrees well with another description of Jesus, found in John 8:21, 23: “I am going away. … Where I am going YOU cannot come. YOU are from the realms below; I am from the realms above. YOU are from this world; I am not from this world.” Or, as the Bible in Basic English renders the last part: “You are of the earth; I am from heaven: you are of this world; I am not of this world.” Thus, Jesus here was declaring the same principle Paul later declared in 1 Corinthians 15:50, human nature is restricted to the earthly realm. Consequently, when he said “I,” he was referring to his being, his soul, not his physical body.[1] After his resurrection when he appeared with a human body, he was now being controlled by his spirit being, his physical body being a manifestation for teaching. This is seen in the account where he appeared suddenly in a room without entering through a door, which was locked. (John 20:19) During his ascension when “a cloud caught him up from their vision” (Acts 1:9), his physical body was then discarded, like he had done before entering the room.[2]

Regarding Jesus’ human body, Jesus himself explained to his disciples what would happen to it. This account is recorded at Matthew 16:21-23 and at Mark 8:31-33. Without going into detail as to what he said exactly, both versions of this event merely say that Jesus would die and then be raised three days later. Matthew’s version though quotes Peter rebuking Jesus, saying in verse 22: “Be kind to yourself, Lord; you will not have this [destiny] at all.” With that, both versions have Jesus responding with a swift, stinging counter-rebuke, “Get behind me, Satan, because you think, not God’s thoughts, but those of men.” (Mark 8:33) Now, did Jesus believe that his human, physical body would be retained after his ascension? Since Jesus said his physical body belonged to the lower earthly realm, he must have known such a thing is impossible. (See also Psalm 115:16, which Jesus must have read, that declares that human nature can only live on earth, not in the spirit realm.) This agrees with Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:50, and Adam Clarke’s comment that ‘human nature is not suited to that place.’ God cannot create contradictions and lies. He cannot create square circles or freezing infernos. He cannot make a physical body inhabit the spirit realm. This axiomatic observation refutes the Trinitarian Hypostatic Union and the Catholic Assumption of Mary[3] doctrines. Regarding the former, a very embarrassing and negative situation exists. Trinitarianism is like Peter rebuking Jesus, “Be kind to yourself, Lord; you will not have this destiny at all: you will retain your handsome physical body and it will not be forever mangled or executed!” Jesus’ counter-rebuke would be the same: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you think, not God’s thoughts, but those of men.” (Matthew 16:23) This rebuke from Jesus to Trintarianism is unavoidable.

Thus, in review, we can clearly see that both Mormon and Trinitarian theology, along with the Catholic doctrine of the Assumption of Mary, runs counter to the Laws of Physics that Scripture agrees with. These (the Laws of Physics and Scripture) are two witnesses that rise and refute those doctrines. A third witness is Jesus, who reveals them to be stumbling blocks and thoughts of men alienated from God.—2 Corinthians 13:1.

Footnotes:
[1] In the Bible, the soul is the person, as Adam was a soul and did not have a soul. (Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:45) Since Jesus however was from heaven and after his resurrection existed as a spirit creature, his soul is more expanded than with ours in that his life or being was not restricted to physical human life. Simply stated, our body is our soul because this is our life.

[2] To assert that Jesus retained his physical human body would be to contradict his earlier teaching in John 8:21, 23. It would also introduce an absurdity and an abstraction, like a two-dimensional being ascending to three-dimensional space and retaining his two-dimensional body. It is absurd and impossible.

[3] This doctrine teaches that after Mary “completed the course of her earthly life, [she] was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” (Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII Defining the Dogma of the Assumption, Munificentissimus Deus. November 1, 1950. Paragraph 44. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus_en.html) Again, this is analogous to a two-dimensional being ascending to three-dimensional space and retaining his two-dimensional body. It is absurd and impossible.


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posted by JimSpace at 10:08 AM