You Are Not the Body, So who are you? Options

[Simba]

"I am a collection of water, calcium and organic molecules called Carl Sagan. You are a collection of almost identical molecules with a different collective label." -- Carl Sagan, Scientist

There are many people who believe that they, real selves, are in fact their body. However, there have been other people that have suggested that you are actually not your body, but an eternal soul.

An analogy supporting this would be that we are to our bodies as people are to cars. A person drives a car, has to take care of the car, can decorate the car, but is in fact not the car itself.

Sound too supernatural to be for real? Discuss.

[Simba]

Ok, how about this. If we are not the bodies, but the eternal souls, how can we possibly go to a the heaven or the hell often described in Christianity? Or even how 70 virgins in Heaven makes any sense, as described in some Islamic?

To start of with, the Bible states:

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

Heaven and Hell in Christianity are often described as if they were material dimensions. (ex: "The fiery depths of Hell.") And I often hear from Christians that "Heaven is a paradise where you can receive whatever you desire," or something along those lines.

Though, how can it be logical that the spirit would go to any of these material dimensions?

So what if one would eternally burn in the fiery depths of Hell? There would be no medium to burn. So what if I could get anything I want in Heaven, including 70 so virgins? I would have no body to enjoy these sensual pleasures.

Or maybe those descriptions of Heaven and Hell are only metaphoric?

[Kontroll]

Ok, how about this. If we are not the bodies, but the eternal souls, how can we possibly go to a the heaven or the hell often described in Christianity? Or even how 70 virgins in Heaven makes any sense, as described in some Islamic?

To start of with, the Bible states:

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

Heaven and Hell in Christianity are often described as if they were material dimensions. (ex: "The fiery depths of Hell.") And I often hear from Christians that "Heaven is a paradise where you can receive whatever you desire," or something along those lines.

Though, how can it be logical that the spirit would go to any of these material dimensions?

So what if one would eternally burn in the fiery depths of Hell? There would be no medium to burn. So what if I could get anything I want in Heaven, including 70 so virgins? I would have no body to enjoy these sensual pleasures.

Or maybe those descriptions of Heaven and Hell are only metaphoric?

You do bring up some really good points. The problem is that you're viewing things within time restaints. Heaven and Hell are spiritual places within a timeless eternity. Beyond our universe is eternity. It only makes sense when viewing God. God is known to be all knowing, all powerful and everywhere at once. When time has no restriction of God, that makes sense. I'll show a little diagram to make it a little clearer.


Eternity |-------------------------------------------------------|TIME|--|

Eternity is basically a string or such that supports our world and time and everything involved. Our spirits are forever because we have a starting point and continue on forever.

If we have so many natural wonders and beauties on this earth, why wouldn't they be in Heaven? I mean, God made both places, so if He created something so wonderful and magnificent, whose to say that those things aren't in Heaven?

Considering you're talking about an all powerful God, He can make streets out of gold and and build countless mansions in Heaven.

Same goes for Hell.

There really will be no good answers for this topic because it's such a hard thing to answer if it can be answered at all.

[Simba]

If we have so many natural wonders and beauties on this earth, why wouldn't they be in Heaven? I mean, God made both places, so if He created something so wonderful and magnificent, whose to say that those things aren't in Heaven?

Considering you're talking about an all powerful God, He can make streets out of gold and and build countless mansions in Heaven.

Same goes for Hell.

Well, thing is, why would he? They would have no real purpose in either, if we would have no medium of seeing or feeling such gold streets and such. Well, then, I guess that would be hard to answer.

As an alternative of the material dimension of Hell described in Christianity, I've also heard by those who follow reincarnation and karma that Hell as not a material dimension or place, but as something of a state of being. That the less God-conscious one becomes, the deeper he goes into "hell" he is. Also, animals and plants, etcetera, are considered "in hell" since an animal has a very dim consciousness of God.