Question for Christians about the afterlife & mental state of the soul

The death of Ronald Reagan got me thinking about this. If someone who had Alzheimer's or a similar condition dies and goes to heaven, I assume they regain their mental faculties. This sounds bizarre to me, would it be like waking up after a long sleep? I'm not a Christian myself, but I like to try and understand it as well as I can.

I've been under the impression that a person's immortal soul has a sort of fundamental mental setting, so to speak, and this is the level you return to after death. But what level is it, exactly? Would it be the point in life when you were perhaps at your most mentally sharp and knowledgeable? Or a higher level never achieved in life maybe? What about retarded people, do they spend eternity that way, or are their souls not affected by such a condition?

I'm finding it hard to explain what I'm asking, but I hope someone who is more knowledgeable about Christianity understands what I mean here. I ask this out of curiosity, helpful answers are appreciated, thanks in advance to anyone who can offer any.

edit: I also apologize if this has been brought up before, I haven't visited this forum in awhile.

[This message has been edited by Morb (edited 06-12-2004).]

The mind and the soul are two separate things. Those whose minds have been affected by conditions like Alzheimer's or mental retardation will not not be this way after death, because the mind dies with the body. It is the soul which lives for eternity, and those who have pure souls will go to heaven.

That's my understanding anyway.

[I_Like_Traffic_Lights]

In the crystal city of christianity depicted in the bible would a mind even be necessary? It might even be something you could enjoy more if you were retarded.

I have no idea what other people think, BUT i'll explain some of what i have learned/think/believe happens.

Souls are born into new bodies on the earth. The soul's memories of heaven are erased. Throughout the body's life on earth, there are scars and burdens that it must endure, like Alzheimers. At the end of the long journey, the body dies, and the soul ascends into heaven or burns in hell. At that point i think that the soul regains its memory of heaven, and i think that our idea of conciousness and mental health is absolutely irrelevant and laughable to the higher conciousness and enlightenment of the souls in heaven.

I'm not sure what happens to the bodies on earth. Jesus was resurected in his body, and ascended into heaven in his body (did he not?). I think that some believe that the souls are resurected with their healed, cleansed bodies when Christ will return at the end of the world, and after Satan is thrown into hell for the last time, that Christ and his followers will live on the earth, in their bodies for 1000? years, then ascend into heaven to live with him forever.

AGAIN, this is just opinion/things understood or gathered from different religious sources. Take from it what you will.

I dont know and no one actually does know the answer to this question. But for retarded people you'd have to realise that the retardedness is part of their mind andnot the soul.

We Humans were created as a "Trinity"...

Genesis 1:26 "let us make man in our image..."

This is one of a few times that God refers to himself "Pluraly". His Ideal of creating man is by making us a Trinity.

Genesis 2:7 "and the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground (Body), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Spirit), and man became a living soul (soul)."

Body/Soul/Spirit like a football, You have the outer shell of the ball(body) and the inner tube (soul) and the Air (Spirit).

Body: Self evident

Soul: its in the shape of your body and still has the ability to feel. Luke 16 "the rich man lifted up his eyes in Hell being in torments"

Spirit: The spirit is "Like" Wind. Jesus defined Spirit in John 3:8

Ive heard it explained like this, when you die your body goes to the worms, your souls goes to one of two places,Heaven or Hell, depending if youre saved, if you dont know one way or the other read this. And your Spirit returns to God who gave it....



[This message has been edited by Sniper Piper (edited 06-14-2004).]

[KikoSanchez]

I don't see why people believe in 'souls' and 'spirits'. The ideas of both just seem mystical and have no basis other than being an imaginative idea thought up by man.

[DgenR8]

Can you be a Christian and not believe in the concept of "soul" or "afterlife"?

quote:Originally posted by DgenR8:

Can you be a Christian and not believe in the concept of a soul?

Yes.

I belive that the soul is not a biblical teaching, but a christian dogma.



Gen 2.7-proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul .

He didnt give him a soul, he became a soul.

Psalms 146:4-

His spirit goes out, he goes back to the ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.

and also the scriptures sayimng "the living are conscious that they will die, but the dead are conscious of nothing at all" (i cant remember excatly where its from yet)

I dont belive in a soul as a part of you that leaves the body and goes to heaven. Its just the life force inside you, and when you die the life force ceases to work inside you.

If you've ever seen dead bodies, its very wiered looking at them. Theyre human, but then something tells you inside that they are not. Theres no real emotional connection to them, unlike if someone was alive and unconscious.

sniper i dont understand how you could belive so much in God and even give a site where people could go to to be saved but make a post that is so racist like the one u made about blacks... there are some bad blacks there are some good blacks.. there are also some bad whites too... your just stupid

quote:Originally posted by JordanVidrine05:

sniper i dont understand how you could belive so much in God and even give a site where people could go to to be saved but make a post that is so racist like the one u made about blacks... there are some bad blacks there are some good blacks.. there are also some bad whites too... your just stupid

I agree with that above statement, and have wrote a simular one at the bottom of my first post on the "Niggerfying of America", the object of that thread was to expose the liberal agenda, not necessarily to bash blacks.

By the way, I have taken much of my time to deal with blacks, matter of fact, Id give my whole weekends and make a road trip to Atlanta and spend a whole day passing out that above linked tract to them. These are not the actions of a man that hates blacks.

I dont "Hate" blacks, I just dont appreciate someone telling me that I should like them, I should adore them, I should let my blond haired blue eyed daughter marry one. answer your question.