Our limited sense of awareness and our life in the Hereafter

[Robert_Sock]

Imagine a great reservoir of knowledge, greater than the water of all the oceans. Also imagine having a limited amount of awareness where you could acquire the knowledge one cupful of knowledge at a time, at best, and only with considerable effort; and because of your limited awareness, imagine having still greater difficulty trying to integrate one cupful of knowledge with the next. Think of this as the current scenario for man as we live this life on earth!

Now imagine a Supreme Being who is aware of it all at once, with each piece of knowledge fully integrated with all other related knowledge, without any effort whatsoever!  Imagine entering into a new world and living an enjoyable life where there was great cooperation between you and the Supreme Being;  perhaps clothed in a body of a different form, and possessing a keen sense of awareness.  Imagine Him providing everyone with the exact knowledge that each of us needed to know, at the exact moment the knowledge was needed.  And because we have been fully reconciled with Him, and the world of His judgment has come to pass, imagine that our level of cooperation with one another reached close to perfection.

Absurd?  Are these thoughts a sign of a fool?  Perhaps, but which of the two would be a greater fool:  the person who assumes that a greater world does not exist simply because they have never seen or experienced it, or the person who is willing to consider such a possibility?  Look around you and notice the speed, accuracy, and dependability that already exist in some computers within our world.  And, especially look at the advances in artificial intelligence!  Could there be a Supreme Being who is making it all happen?  Did our being simply evolve by random chance as described in science?  Or were we, and our world, fashioned for a specific purpose?  Might something similar to the world I just described be a reality?

These particular ideas are merely thoughts of imagination.  However, they reflect a purpose in this life that is somewhat consistent with many of the world's great religions.  More specifically, many of the world's religions maintain the view that our soul is able to enter into some kind of an existence after bodily death.  According to the more traditional views held in Christianity, this existence will be in Heaven.  But, it is also maintained that we must undergo some degree of spiritual purification before we will be allowed into this Kingdom;  our soul must be purified like that of silver, or that of gold.

(I’m not sure how I expect people to reply to this, but I’m sharing these thought in the hope that at least some are able to gain some new insight into the power and glory of God.)

 

[thomasbannach]

Imagine a great reservoir of knowledge, greater than the water of all the oceans. Could there be a Supreme Being who is making it all happen? Did our being simply evolve by random chance as described in science? Or were we, and our world, fashioned for a specific purpose? Might something similar to the world I just described be a reality?

These particular ideas are merely thoughts of imagination.  However, they reflect a purpose in this life that is somewhat consistent with many of the world's great religions.  More specifically, many of the world's religions maintain the view that our soul is able to enter into some kind of an existence after bodily death.  According to the more traditional views held in Christianity, this existence will be in Heaven.  But, it is also maintained that we must undergo some degree of spiritual purification before we will be allowed into this Kingdom;  our soul must be purified like that of silver, or that of gold.

(I’m not sure how I expect people to reply to this, but I’m sharing these thought in the hope that at least some are able to gain some new insight into the power and glory of God.)

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[Thomas_Jennings]

What interests me is that there are things in the hereafter that will bring (be) joy but that we can’t even begin to imagine here on Earth. How wonderful. Perhaps, at the depth of our every desire, it will be the thing we desire most?

 

[paduard]

What interests me is that there are things in the hereafter that will bring (be) joy but that we can’t even begin to imagine here on Earth. How wonderful. Perhaps, at the depth of our every desire, it will be the thing we desire most?

Yes, basically I agree. It raises within me another interesting aspect i.e. the imagination was given us for our use, and to be used, therefore I see no harm in imagining what it is like in Heaven. So it could not be untoward to attempt to imagine ‘the thing we desire most’ as you put it.

 

[Thomas_Jennings]

Yes, basically I agree. It raises within me another interesting aspect i.e. the imagination was given us for our use, and to be used, therefore I see no harm in imagining what it is like in Heaven. So it could not be untoward to attempt to imagine ‘the thing we desire most’ as you put it.

Sort of agree! There’s no harm in attempting to imagine but, I should think, what will make is joyful will be so good we cannot yet fully picture it…
I think we can know the DIRECTION so to speak. What we truly love (even in hobbies) gives us hints of the final perfection of our joy…but (maybe just me personally) I cannot imagine something that equalises with my hope for just how good it will be. Even with what I dream will exist there I have to say to myself, "yeah, like that but even better-better in ways I can’t yet comprehend!).

If this were not the case (in my personal opinion) Heaven is no great hope. I can dream of fantastic things but not of the ‘ultimate’. My paradise? Fantastic movies and a wonderful woman. Oh look, I can have that here. See what I mean? Super powers mean little to me (though that might be someone’s ideal), I need not fly or have super strength. What I (seem to) most desire here is attainable, even if only attainable with some difficulty. But none of those things would utterly satisfy- there would always be a missing ‘part’.

 

[paduard]

Sort of agree! There’s no harm in attempting to imagine but, I should think, what will make is joyful will be so good we cannot yet fully picture it…
I think we can know the DIRECTION so to speak. What we truly love (even in hobbies) gives us hints of the final perfection of our joy…but (maybe just me personally) I cannot imagine something that equalises with my hope for just how good it will be. Even with what I dream will exist there I have to say to myself, "yeah, like that but even better-better in ways I can’t yet comprehend!).

If this were not the case (in my personal opinion) Heaven is no great hope. I can dream of fantastic things but not of the ‘ultimate’. My paradise? Fantastic movies and a wonderful woman. Oh look, I can have that here. See what I mean? Super powers mean little to me (though that might be someone’s ideal), I need not fly or have super strength. What I (seem to) most desire here is attainable, even if only attainable with some difficulty. But none of those things would utterly satisfy- there would always be a missing ‘part’.

I understand the points you make, and think that possibly we are agreed on the principles we think are involved.

Perhaps you might find it interesting to consider (especially in relation to your last paragraph above) - that your reflections would/or might take on quite a different perspective if you were focusing your imagination on the basis that you were not going to die and had all the time in the world before you. Quite different from our present perspective where we know that we shall face death and our time (and thus thought) is limited by this fact.

God Bless…

 

[Thomas_Jennings]

I understand the points you make, and think that possibly we are agreed on the principles we think are involved.

Perhaps you might find it interesting to consider (especially in relation to your last paragraph above) - that your reflections would/or might take on quite a different perspective if you were focusing your imagination on the basis that you were not going to die and had all the time in the world before you. Quite different from our present perspective where we know that we shall face death and our time (and thus thought) is limited by this fact.

God Bless…

I dunno, even if I had all the time in the World/Universe/ETERNITY, my dreams do not correspond with the ardour of my desires. But maybe that’s just me personally. Don’t get me wrong- there’s much to love and revell in- but to reach a journey’s end (which I hope beyond all hope I shall- a sort of ‘eternal finale’) something must occur (that I do not know the nature of) that both transcends all earthly imagination (powerful though it might be, with the power to dream of many worlds and realities…) and fullfills all loves/hopes and hobbies within us now!

I don’t mean to speak in a blandly metaphysical way…what I’m reffering to isn’t some ghostly half/reality…I mean something very real, very physical and the product of all our wishes; but wish fullfillment as done by God aka waaaaay better than we could begin to understand or picture yet. Remember, He made ALL your pleasures. There is none He does not understand even better than any being on this planet.

Thanks for the interesting talk! This turning out to be a fun site…