Burning Quest - Part 13

And we're walking, walking, through a maze full of mirrors, turning here, turning there; oops, no.  Ooops, no, not that way either.  Can you catch yourself?  No, I mean, catch your 'self'.  Is your self here, or there?  Can your self break through?  Is self only an illusion?  Is there a true you?  If so, can the true you navigate out through the self maze and realize, oops, pinch yourself, "Ouch!"  "Yes, I do have a self; that self is me!"

Catch the 'me-self' if you can.  That 'me-self' that is a living, breathing soul.

Huh?  What?  Did you say "soul"?  Self?!  Soul?!  What's that?

Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda author of the book What Buddhists Believe, believes that Buddhism is neither a theory nor a philosophy; it is

 "not the product of mere intellect" (Page 161).

Rather, one must 

"seek to understand one's own mind" (Page 161).

In Burning Quest - Part 12 we learned that according to Biblical perspective, 'mind' is an aspect of the soul.  The mind, will and emotions spring from the soul.  The soul being the "true self".

So we begin to understand the mind not through "mere intellect" and reasoning and experiments as would a scientist, but via 

"concentration which gives one a profound inner wisdom or realization..." (Page 161).

Through this a mortal could silently ascertain the realization of "the illusion of self" (Page 161).

However, what is to be concentrated on?  What is the inner wisdom based upon?

Buddha suggested the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths, which lead one to live the Eight-Fold Path of Enlightenment.  This is the salvation of one's self, attained by one's self; this self that is an illusion.

Buddha taught his way of life is "neither theory nor philosophy" (Page 162).  'Theory' meaning, according to Google Dictionary,

 "a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained".  

And 'philosophy', also from Google, meaning, 

"the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline."

On the other hand, looking at the life of a follower of Jesus Christ, it is definitely NOT either of these.  It is true that human intellect does become bogged down in constant debate and disbelief that precludes faith.  Yet God does not want mindless, blind acceptance or robotic children.  He engages the heart and the mind of the soul.  Faith, however, must, at some point, enter the equation.  To trust God.  To trust Jesus.  To say, "Yes" to him and accept His free-to-human beings-gift of salvation.

Salvation from all consequences and penalties of sin, bad deeds and unwholesome acts incurred in our  lifetime.  In Christ we have the victory over self and soul.  Jesus is the Master who has mastered our sin, suffering, death, and yes, eternal judgement; that eternal sentence of damnation in the torments of Hell.  In Christ we have the victory when self, that is, submits willingly to Him, and learns the mind of Christ.

Sri Dhammananda continues on Page 163...

"Buddhism lays special emphasis on practice and realization.  The philosopher sees the miseries and disappointments of life but, unlike the Buddha, offers no practical solution to overcome our frustrations which are part of the unsatisfactory nature of life.  The philosopher merely pushes his thought to dead ends.  Philosophy is useful because it has enriched our intellectual imagination and diminished dogmatic assurance which closes the mind to further progress.  To that extent, Buddhism values philosophy, but philosophy fails to quench one's spiritual thirst.  Philosophy is to know but Buddhism is to practice."

Life with Jesus offers both.  Jesus said in John 4:14 that He is the source of living water that can quench one's spiritual thirst.  We can know Him and then we practice living like Him.  This is for anyone who believes.  There we have "faith" again.

"...but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14 ESV).

Once there is the knowledge of this, then faith in Jesus Christ is the 'connector' that brings us into that relationship with Him.  That is putting our faith into practice as we then live to please Him with a progressively ever more sanctified life.

God's Word says "knowledge puffs up" or makes one proud (1 Corinthians 8:1 ESV).  It also tells us 

"It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us..." (Titus 3:5 KJV).  

James 2:26 NIV informs us 

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."  

Not just faith.  Not just works.  When faith is not accompanied with action the faith is dead (James 2:14-26, esp vs 17).  

That portion refers to Abraham, the ancient father of all who have faith, his faith and his actions were working together; his faith being made complete by what he did.  The deeds were evidence of his faith (vs 24; see also Genesis 22).

Life in Christ is not a philosophy, theory or ritual.  It is a relationship between God and his creature the human being.  This we do not gain from concentration or meditation but through faith in Jesus Christ.

The good deeds, works, actions of faith in Jesus Christ are put into practice after salvation.  How is one to know what those deeds are?  By reading the New Testament which is chock full of how to live life to please Christ; relying on Him; drawing closer to Him in a satisfying relationship.  This is all encompassing for all people for all time for whoever wishes.

"God gave His One and Only Son for the 'whosoever' that believes in Him" (John 3:16).

Buddhism, as reported by Sri Dhammananda, is also for all people for all time.  He says its a way towards 

"peace, happiness...to get rid of miseries, find liberation...selfless service, good will; salvation and deliverance from suffering" (Page 162).

But one must earn this salvation by "saving yourself".  This is the practice and is achieved through following the Eight-Fold Path to Enlightenment. 

As stated in God's Word, Jesus has earned salvation for all mankind.  He, Jesus, was that True Servant serving all mankind by taking upon Himself all the suffering and miseries which are the consequences of fallen mankind in general and of the individual in particular; the "whosoever" of John 3:16.  He took all His 'merits' as it were and gave them to all of us.  Jesus accomplished this through His death and resurrection. It is only through Him that we can have the deliverance, liberation and salvation desired.

In this life in Christ we will still have suffering and trials of many kinds.  We are asked to embrace them, not eradicate them.  It is through the embracing that good and improvement in character will come.  This is not unreasoned brainwashing, but a conforming to Christ's likeness (Romans 8:29).

James 1:2-7 startles us by telling us to consider "trials of many kinds" with "pure joy".  There is a progression of good things that develop:  testing of your faith, perseverance, maturity and completeness.   How about that!

First Peter 1:6-9 states similar benefits of "suffering grief of all kinds of trials".  Faith becomes refined and is proved genuine, causing "Jesus Christ to be revealed".

We do not go looking for trouble but when it comes to us the progression of our inner beings are made "more perfect" when we persevere.  It is the Holy Spirit indwelling, who empowers the believer to continue on.  We do not have to 'go it' alone.  God is gracious.  He gives us salvation through Jesus Christ.  He gives us His Holy Spirit.  He has given us His Word, the Bible and He gives us other brothers and sisters-in-Christ with whom to connect through fellowship in His word, prayer, and breaking of bread (Acts 2: 42-47).

Connecting with God and His family can help us in our life with Christ and in our daily routines of life as we strive in all sincerity to live to please God from whom all blessings and salvation flow.  Praise God we do not have to make life's journey solo.

The solo or individual "help yourself" is only in the initial choice to enter into the relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  No one, not parents, siblings, nor friends can accept Jesus on another individual's behalf.  The choice is for you, yourself, to make.  In this, you will find your self and put your self into God's care.  That is a-mazing!  Choose then to live for Him. This is living life in a Christ-centered manner, not a self-centered, solo affectation.

This is being made righteous in God's sight and then the progressive sanctification through obedience to Christ and His will and ways as seen in Scripture; and, through the trials and tribulations of life that test and refine one's faith and develops perseverance. 

Buddhists seek such purity and defeat of ones' own desires.  Life with Christ is not so much suppressing our own desires but coming to desire what God does as our will melds to His.  

"The chief aim of Buddhism is to attain purity and enlightenment.  Enlightenment vanquishes ignorance which is the root of birth and death..." (Pages 164-165).

To effectuate this enlightenment one must have confidence in one's self to realize the Four Noble Truths and follow the Eight -Fold Path to Enlightenment.  If self is an illusion then an element of faith would be needed to follow through to Nirvana.  I ask, "How does one eradicate an illusion?"

No disrespect of persons is meant here. 

Here's a small diagram to "simplify" what could be termed "Buddha's Formula" as shown from Page 165...

All this is teaching there is no self, and once realized with all the good deeds which overcome any bad ones committed during any of one's rebirths even from eons and eons ago, all one's suffering will be eradicated and the person will have reached Nirvana.  The person will have ceased to be once and for all; no more rebirths, no more suffering.  The heart monitor will show that very straight, blip-less line.  Silence and nothingness become permanent.  This is Buddhist salvation.

On page 167 Sri Dhammananda points out that...

"According to Buddha, even the worst sinner, after praying for what he has done, can attain salvation.  Buddhism offers every human being the hope of attaining his or her salvation one day.  Other religions, however, take it for granted that some people will be bad forever and have an eternal hell waiting for them.  in that respect, such religions are more pessimistic.  Buddhists deny such a belief."

The apostle Paul of the Bible, who claimed to be "the worst of sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15), who had a great and highly educated mind, who followed religiously the mandates of Jewish and Pharisaical laws to the letter, came smashing into the realization that he too, needed Jesus.  He needed the salvation God offered, and still offers to one and all, including Buddhists, for the recompense of the sins of mankind, especially their own personal respective ones. 

In the roughly 2000 year-span of Old Testament writings, God proved repeatedly that mankind really CANNOT earn their own salvation no matter how much one improves one's mind and behavior, character and conduct.  

There is God, the One and Only, Creator of the universe.  There is creation.  There is eternity; eternity past where God was and is, and eternity, future, which those who belong to Christ will share with God and His doings.  There is a soul.  There is a self.  There is a spirit and both soul and spirit need redeeming which is a true enough fact.  That's why there is a Savior. 

The 'Savior' is not the individual's own merit and effort nor his/herself, but Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection.

There is Heaven.  There is Hell.  The redeemed of the Lord look forward to that peace, that cessation of suffering and conflict of good vs bad in his/herself; to praising the One true God and Jesus Christ for all eternity to come for the atonement gained by Jesus on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

By horrible contrast, those who reject God's offer of salvation , which is the only way to come to bliss and ceasing of suffering and battlings in the mind, will indeed end up in Hell, and that for all eternity future.

This is the crux of the matter.  The mind must accept this matter.  Salvation gained from our own efforts will not be salvation.  Salvation through accepting Jesus' efforts on our behalf will be the realization of salvation in the here and now, and in time to come, eternity.

Please do not deny and refuse God's way.

Coming to Christ is not a matter of our feelings or controlling the mind.  It is a matter of accepting facts as God tells us.  Do not deny Him; the eternal destination of your self depends upon acceptance of Jesus as Lord.  There will be joy.

For Buddhists there will be much with which to come to grips.  Accepting the actual existence of God, self, a soul, a spirit, eternity and salvation through Jesus's efforts only on their respective behalf.  By God's grace, pray for salvation through Jesus Christ on behalf of any and all Buddhists you know.  Pray for salvation in the here and now of their present (and only) existence.   May their 'rebirth' be only to find their self born again into God's family.  This is a wonderful reality extended to whosoever will accept.

And then he/she will find his/her self gazing, not into a maze of mirrors, but into the very face of Jesus, Him Self.   No theory or philosophy can compete with this relationship in which one may engage with one's whole self.  

What a reality!

                                                    ~ERC  March 2018~

Lord's Day Devotion - Consider God's Hands

Have you ever seen a picture of the famous 'praying hands' painting?  There's a story behind the painting of those hands.  The story of one brother 'sacrificing' his hands working in a mine to pay the way for the other brother to develop his art painting talent.  That artist completed his education and had become a very accomplished artist.  He came home to then switch places and work in the mine so that the first brother could then do likewise.

However, the first brother held out his rough and damaged work-worn hands and said he would not be able to do the fine painting.  Out of deep gratitude the artist brother depicted his brother's hands-of-sacrifice.

That is a very touching story.

There is another astonishing and true story about hands;  hands that belong to God.  This story is almost unfathomable.  It's certainly wondrous and breath-taking, but also life-giving.  Let me tell you about it.

The very

"foundations of the earth" 

were

"laid out by God's own hand" and His "right hand spread out the heavens!"  (Isaiah 48:13)

Consider that a while. 

Who else could do such a thing?

Just think, even God's fingers are powerful.  David, in Psalm 8:3, was amazed at

 "the work of God's fingers, the moon and the stars, which He had set in place..."

People love to gaze up at the heavens:  the moon and all the hosts of the stars by night; cloud formations by day light; use powerful telescopes to survey the farthest reaches of the universe as possible and still there is no end in sight of all that God's hands have fashioned!

All the books, medical or otherwise, that explore the nooks and crannies of the human body and workings of the mind, and even of the animal kingdom, along with all the hours worth of photographers' patiently laying in wait for the most amazing shots of the animals, birds, insects and underwater creatures of the earth, sky and sea; of flora as well as fauna, cannot contain the whole nor tell even half the story.

Growing up I used to love going to my maternal grandparent's home as there we were privileged to, ever so carefully, browse through Grandpa's multitudinous collection of National Geographic Magazines.  They spilled enthralling, vivid pictures, captured moments of time, of God's splendid creation into 'our world', sparking our attention and spawning awe in our being.

Truly the apostle John well-spoke when he said that even all the works of Jesus, and, in the case of the magazines mentioned above that attempt to portray even a small specimen of His works, were written down (or captured in pictures), he

"supposed that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (John 21:25).

That's what God's hands have done!

God's hands can hold the depths of the earth (Psalm 95:4) and in the

 "hollow of His hand He can hold the waters of the earth" (Isaiah 40:12).

In God's hand

"is the life of every living thing"!  

You want to know what else God has in His hand?  He's got

"the breath of all mankind" (Job 12:10).

Ponder that!

That's what God's hands hold!

Preacher Mark Allan of Canada brought all this to my cognizance in one of his gospel messages.  Indeed there are so very many verses mentioning the things God's hands have done, are doing and will do.

God's hands sustain, hold and keep us (Psalm 18:35; Isaiah 42:6 NIV).  I picture a father holding his young son or daughter's hand--the little one's hand securely in the father's.  The father's hand protective, holding, guiding in loving relationship and fellowship with his child as they go along together.

God and His Son Jesus hold my hand in theirs.

 "...No one can snatch them out of my hand" said Jesus.  "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." (John 10:28-29).

God's hand does this for His children.

In Exodus 15:6 NIV, we read of Moses and the children of Israel singing praises to God their Father for how He had helped them escape from the Egyptians...

"Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power...shattered the enemy."

That's just what Jesus, God's Son did for the human race.  Jesus said that He and His Father

"are one" (John 10:30).

That makes Jesus, God.

And what was prophesied about Jesus' hands?  People will look upon the

 "one they have pierced" (Zechariah 12:10).  

Scoot on to the New Testament, to John 19:17-42; here Jesus is crucified--nailed to the cross.  His hands (and feet) are pierced with the nails, holding Him to the cross.  Verse 37 says...

"...They will look on the one they have pierced."

God's hands bore my punishment for my sins!  For your sins!  For the sins of the "whosoever" that Jesus came into the world to die for.  Why?   So that none would perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Do you believe it?

Thomas, one the twelve disciples of Jesus, had trouble believing that Jesus had risen again from the dead.  He said he'd only believe if he could see the nail marks in Jesus' hands and put his finger where the nails had been and his hand into Jesus's side where the soldiers had pierced with the spear (John 20:24-25).

"Seeing is believing" is an old adage.  Jesus graciously allowed Thomas the opportunity to do just that (John 20:26-27)!

Scripture doesn't record Thomas actually doing so, instead we read he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" 

He was struck humble and worshipful at the sight.

Those wonderfully, marvelous divine hands of God that created, sustained, protected and shattered enemies, that are powerful and majestic, were pierced!!  Pierced for me!  Pierced for you! 

 That is so profound!

Hands pierced on the cross shattered God's enemy Satan.  Jesus got the victory over death, hell and Satan.  We learn from the psalmist in Psalm 60:5; 138:7 and 98:1 that God's hands save and gain victory.  What a mighty God we serve!

Jesus has gone back to His Father in heaven.  What is He doing there?  He is sitting at

 "the right hand of God interceding for us" (Romans 8:34).  

Sitting in the position of favor at that majestic, powerful hand of God.

Zip over to Revelation 1:17 NIV.  We are not finished seeing God's hand and what He can do with it.  This time I picture God's hand resting gently on my head as I read the verse,

"Then he placed His right hand on me and said:  "Do not be afraid..."  

A comforting hand dispels fear and gives peace.  Many seek peace.  Seek Christ and He will give you that rest and peace despite whatever situation you may be undergoing; God's hand will be upon you.

In King Hezekiah's time he invited many

 "to come to the temple of the LORD to celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel" (2 Chronicles 30:1).  

Couriers were sent out with these invitations which many scorned (2 Chronicles 30:10).  However,

 "in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind" (2 Chronicles 30:12)

 to prepare for this Passover celebration.  This Passover was a very important and central celebration for them in remembrance of God's rescue out of Egypt.

Coming together like this seemed to also signify their

"setting their hearts on seeking God." (2 Chronicles 30:19).

Consider again, God's hands.

When we seek God, God is in evidence in wonderful ways.  In this instance, giving "unity of mind" for a sacred reason and focus.  What blessed peace and harmony!

I too reiterate what Joshua, the leader who led the Israelites into the Promised Land, said after they'd all gone safely over the Jordan River on "dry ground" (another one of God's mighty feats on His people's behalf).  He said God did this

"so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God." (Joshua 4:24 NIV).

Let us always remember!  On Lord's Day when the bread and wine of remembrance are passed from one redeemed child of God to the next, that we will continue to recall this mightiest act of all time on all mankind's behalf.  Through Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, God's hand was NOT too short to save (Isaiah 50:2).  His hand was upon us in love, mercy and grace so that we may fear, honor and obey Him, following Him and thanking and praising Him until Jesus comes for all His people or until the individual is called Home to be forever with Him.

Let us always honor God in whose hand is our breath, life and all our ways (Daniel 5:23).

Consider God's hands.

                                                  ~ERC  March 2018~

NB...
Click on link to see Bible verses about God's hands.

Lord's Day Devotion - Made Worthy

Go back, way back to ancient times to the Old Testament and the wealth of true stories.  One favorite of my Dad's was the story of Mephibosheth.    Now that's a mouthful of a name.  This story comes from 2 Samuel chapter 9.  

King David showed kindness to Mephibosheth for the sake of his promise made to Jonathan, Mephibosheth's father.

Mephibosheth must have been quaking in his sandals when he was brought before the great King David.  He well knew that new kings got rid of previous kings' prodigy; eliminate the competition for the throne.  No wonder he was off hiding in the boonies some where.  But he had gotten "unearthed".  Here he was, come what may, in King David's presence with his face bowed to the floor daring not to look up into the king's face.

He had only been 5 years old when his grandfather King Saul and his father Jonathan had been wounded and slain in battle (2 Samuel 4:4).  What did he know of Jonathan, his father's friendship with David the then, shepherd boy come harpist?  Hearsay?  History exaggerated? 

No one would have known of the secret covenant and promise between David and Jonathan to care for each other's descendants should one or the other of them pass away first and said offspring needed the help (1 Samuel 20:14-17, 42). 

But David, a man of integrity, kept his promise to his good friend Jonathan and brought his son Mephibosheth to his table to dine daily.  He was also granted back the land that had belonged to his father and grandfather and one Ziba and family were to be his servants.    Wow!  So unexpected!

What a mighty man of character David was!  What mercy, grace and kindness he bestowed upon Mephibosheth.  Mephibosheth, besides being "the enemy",  was crippled on both his feet.  Yet those feet that could not be seen at the table were not an issue with David.  He kept his promise to his friend Jonathan, who incidentally was in the position to be the next king, not David, had he lived.

Mephibosheth likely did not feel 'worthy' to even be in King David's presence, yet here he was eating and communing at David's table!

Isn't this a wonderful example of what God did, through Jesus death and resurrection for all mankind?  If a person will accept God's gift of salvation, through faith, they are made worth in God's sight to come into His presence.  God credits that individual with His righteousness.  

Romans 4:22-24 spells this out...

"That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness"  But the words "it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also.  It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification."

Jesus made us worthy in God's sight when we accepted the gift of salvation from God which Jesus purchased with His own blood.  We are worthy and much loved by God.  Following you can click on a link that shows numerous Bible verses of just how much we are worth to God and how He has made us worthy to come boldly into His presence and commune with Him whenever and wherever we may be.  

The child of God has been made worthy to partake of the bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus's kind and loving act of dying on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, and to dine with Him in Heaven, forever, one of these days soon.

Click link:    Our Worth To God

                                                        ~ERC  2018~



 

Burning Quest - Part 12

People query,  "Is there an eternal soul?"  "Is there any soul, for that matter?"  How can we know?  And if there even is a soul of any kind, what is it?  What is a soul!? 

Off the top of my head, I can point to Genesis 2:7 where God breathes into the first man, that first human being named Adam, into his nostrils, the 

"breath of life and he became a living soul" (KJV).  

Then there's the verse,

 "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."  Ezekiel 18:4 KJV.

Christian Discipleship Network

In the  Bible, at times, 'soul' appears to relate to the whole being of a person.  In other instances, it
leads one to conclude that the soul is a part of a person.  The soul we learned relates to others trying to connect with them and involves the mind, emotions and the will of an individual.  It's the physiological, self-consciousness arena.  The spirit would relate to God, that God-consciousness where the spiritual happens and relationship and communion with God takes place.  There is also intuition and conscience in that area.  The body with the five senses relates to the environment and is world-conscious.  The spirit, soul and body like three strands of a braid plaited and woven together to make a whole; separate, yet interlacing and intrinsic to the whole being.

In the first instance of Adam being a "living soul" we understand 'soul' refers to the whole person.  In Noah's case of "eight souls" preserved we see similar scenario. 

In Deuteronomy 4:29 NIV  (See also Deuteronomy 11:8) we see the strand...

"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul."

In 1 Samuel 1:15 when Hannah 

"pours out her soul before the Lord".  

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the apostle Paul admonishes the Thessalonian believers...

"May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

How Does God Minister to my Soul

Another has explained the various parts further.  The body as said earlier is comprised of the five senses; the mind is where our thoughts gather; the heart involves the emotions; the spirit is the supernatural, God-conscious place and the soul is the true self (the will).  Under the soul is the mind and thoughts; the heart with the emotions and the will of the true-self.  Does that make any sense to you?

The soul is a complex thing to explain with its various intricacies.  There is a helpful definition from Collins Dictionary on line.  It tells us...

"Your soul is the part that consists of your mind, character, thoughts, feelings..."

From a Bible commentary we gain, from Got Questions, that... 

"the soul is the part that is not physical and lasts eternally after the body experiences death (Genesis 35:18); continues to live after physical death; central to the person-hood of a human being; a concept of whole being (Psalm 16:9-10; Ezekiel 18:4; Acts 2:41); human soul distinct from heart (Deuteronomy 26:16; 30:6) and the spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:17) and the mind (Matthew 22:37); created by God (Jeremiah 38:16);...needs atonement..."

Here is the Hebraic perspective...

"The soul is the whole of the person, the unity of body, organs, and breath.  It is not some immaterial spiritual entity, it is you, all of you, your whole being or self."

The soul, when realized as the whole person is not immortal as was discovered earlier in the verse...

"The soul that sinneth it shall die."  Ezekiel 18:20 KJV

Yet the spirit and soul can be quickened (made alive) through faith in Jesus Christ, gaining everlasting life for all eternity.  (Romans 8:11 KJV; 1 Corinthians 15:45).  

The soul is definitely the part that needs redeeming.  When we ponder the Hebraic definition, that means the whole aggregate needs the overhaul cleansing, and thus encompasses the whole human being.  Yet we know that the dead body of a follower of Jesus decays but will be resurrected with a new incorruptible body.  If the soul gets redemption, then the body will be made new and imperishable in God's time to come.

At the point of redemption of the soul,  the individual's spirit can then engage in that relationship with God.  Redemption sends God's Holy Spirit to indwell the follower and to lead and guide the person's spirit that is in obedience to Christ.

Once the soul has been redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ which He shed on the cross in atonement for our sinful souls, then the soul needs to live in an ongoing progression of sanctification in becoming ever more Christ-like, that learning to be blameless.  (This sanctification has been explained in greater detail in previous Burning Quest entries.)

One can conclude, there is a soul.  Furthermore the soul is immortal and has been corrupted since the time of Adam.  However, when salvation comes to the individual who in faith has accepted God's gift of salvation, that soul then has eternal life from that moment onwards.  

The human soul without salvation will live in eternal death, forever.   That is the sad and horrifying truth.  My prayer is that all who read this will find that life eternal through Jesus Christ.

Now armed with some understanding of the soul from a Biblical viewpoint, let's look at the Buddhist perspective.

The question, "Is there an eternal soul?" is one Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda discusses in his book What Buddhists Believe.  On page 152 of his book he writes...

"Belief in an eternal soul is a misconception of the human consciousness."

On page 153 he further states...

"...ego, self, soul, personality, etc...do not refer to any real independent entity."

"Buddhists cannot accept that there is anything either in this world or any other...that is eternal or unchangeable.  We only cling to ourselves and hope to find something immortal."

Hope.  

Can human kind depend on this sort of hope?  Hoping and hoping through birth and rebirth after rebirth that that hope of immortal something will be that defining moment of attainment of enlightenment.  Or is there hope in what Jesus Christ has done for all mankind?  In Jesus Christ there is hope for:  a ceasing of suffering and sensual desires.  Through Jesus's death and resurrection, a person will not reach nirvana nor will our suffering instantly be over but He died taking the punishment for all our sins and the consequential sorrows, infirmities and suffering.  He paid the ultimate price  for the immortality of having eternal life in Christ.  To be able to have this saving of our individual souls in our present lifetime, is the sure hope by which we can live.   Faith to believe is essential to the equation.

If there is no soul, self or ego, then an individual's perception of their existence, need not even be.  They will not need to exist further.  This is freeing and the object to aim for writes Sri Dhammananda.  This is freeing and directs a person straight towards their rebirth being destroyed (pages 155-156).

There is no need to cling on to anything or anyone.  With the view of Nirvana before them, the Buddhist need not cling to the 

"...body or the momentary elements of the present personality, which they mistake for the soul..." (page 157).

Scientists get into the mix here expostulating what their researches have revealed.

"The so-called 'soul' is no more than a bundle of sensations, emotion, sentiments...all relating to the physical experiences...the term 'soul' is a mere figure of speech to which no reality can respond." (page 157)

Sri Dhammananda illustrates with the Buddhist parable of the monk who mistook a moving rope for a snake.  That made the heart palpation increase till he realized, 'oh, it's only a rope'.  His fear of the illusion which he at first believed to be reality was abated.  In other words, the author was conveying the message that we may be afraid that the soul is a reality but since it is not, then there is nothing to fear; instead, move forward towards Nirvana.  Keep that goal in sight.

Truly, the soul, is a reality, not illusion.

May each and every soul realize this and the need of faith, which I understand many modern scientists scoff at.  The soul is not imagination.  It will have to be dealt with before Almighty God.  If this puts the fear into folks, then I have accomplished something in the hopes that they will be propelled towards God who also exists, and who loves them and wants a relationship with them.  God. Souls.  Eternal Life.  Yes!

Those modern scientists and others may deny the existence thereof, but it does not change the reality of their 'being'.  May each have the faith to believe and to know that other reality of the need of a redeemed soul before God who can and does impute His righteousness upon those who believe and give each and everyone of them everlasting abundant life; existing right along with God, in Heaven where there is no suffering, forever.  

                                                       ~ERC  2018~

Note:
Some may wonder about animals and souls and spirits.  Click on the link for an article on this subject.