Death is not natural

[pwlj_christ87]

upon reading some catholic theology on atonement I came across the philsophy that death is not natural…

how is this so when we al lknow that the body ages and eventually becomes old , decays, and such (like grass we wither away accoding to scripture)…

in this article, it says that death is not natural but a result of sin, and christ took upon death even on a cross…

i dont understand that… unless it refers to spiitual and soul death… and not physical

 

[Iron_Donkey]

“Natural” does not mean, in this sense, “what normally happens.” Certainly, the way things are now, everyone dies.

Death is not natural in that we were not intended to die - physically or spiritually. Had it not been for sin, we wouldn’t die physically either. In this way, death can be said to be contrary to the purpose for which we were made, and is unnatural in this sense. Natural, when used in this way, means more nearly “according to reason” or “according to the purpose” rather than “what actually happens without intervention.”

 

[on_the_hill]

Could it be that death came about because of The Fall in the Garden of Eden, without which there would be no death? Just wondering…

 

[SJacob7]

Yes, physical death came about because of sin.

16.Romans 5:12
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ ] Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

23.Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

[MrSnaith]

upon reading some catholic theology on atonement I came across the philsophy that death is not natural…

how is this so when we al lknow that the body ages and eventually becomes old , decays, and such (like grass we wither away accoding to scripture)…

in this article, it says that death is not natural but a result of sin, and christ took upon death even on a cross…

i dont understand that… unless it refers to spiitual and soul death… and not physical

Hello pwlj_christ87! Thank you for the question!

Within the human person there are two principles at work: the spiritual and the material (physical). We, as a specie, are unique in this. Humans are unique in this, that we are a material/spiritual union. The spiritual principle is immortal. That is, all spirits are immortal; they do not die. The material principle is mortal; all material creatures die. This is due to the principle of change, temporality, that is essential to the material universe. Change means that one thing ends, and a new thing begins. Death is natural to the material world. It is not natural to the spiritual world. Angels and demons had one choice. They made it, and their choice is “set” forever. This is because the spiritual world operates upon the principle of permanence.

So what about humans? We are a spirit/body union. Before the Fall, our nature was integrated and properly ordered. In the natural order of things, the spirit is higher, or above/over the material. Angels are higher order beings than animals, for example. Thus, within the human person, the spiritual principle had properly ordered authority/power over the material.

When we say that death is not natural (to humans), we mean that God originally created us to be immortal because the spiritual principle within us was primal, and its immortality provided our bodies with immortality also. When our first parents sinned, at the Fall, our natures became damaged, and disordered. Now, we are subject to concupiscence. What this means is that our spiritual principle is no longer primary. The material principle is. Thus, we are subject to death, we are driven by our bodily urges, by our passions and emotions, we are subject to physical frailties and suffering diseases, etc. This is not our natural state.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[pwlj_christ87]

this is incredible, and has increased my belief and need for God… thank you

 

[pwlj_christ87]

so our natural state, the state that God created us in (adam and eve)… were supposed to never die? this seems that they were to be in a state of grace and to live amongst the earch forever already without a need for heaven… and this is because the spirit took priority over the material?