Are we really conscious?

[Overs]

When life started, it was organic connections in temperate water, protein from plants, and the sun giving energy so the organic connections would happen. And life used the proteins from plants, to build a body to move around it.

But, is the mind built that way, that we percieve to be alive, only to make children? We have a soul, and we have a feeling of "self", but is it just a construct of the mind? I can see people have souls, and reflect over things, but how can something go from being dead sort of, like the universe, to actually be alive?

 

[Unqualified]

Creation By God. You’re mixing up the soul with consciousness. At best that’s all we could have from this kind of life forming. But so many forms and numbers and different tissues and kinds only point to intelligent deign for a smart scientist and God for the masses because of the Bible.

we have group consciousness to contend with. Lots of people in the same reality. It’s as plain as the nose on your face, so obvious. To call it anything else is to deny its reality. Eastern religions may call in samsara and that fine for some. Look at the details of this ‘illusion’. The mind is not that great to invent it all. A sick mind can invent a parallel reality but uses the same floors, chairs, clothes, cold, hot. Fear, anger. Just parts are different.

Amd what of Jesus the savior of the world. His reality, his words, his God. You doubt because you have no foundation based in reality.

 

[Mark Quayle]

When life started, it was organic connections in temperate water, protein from plants, and the sun giving energy so the organic connections would happen. And life used the proteins from plants, to build a body to move around it.

But, is the mind built that way, that we percieve to be alive, only to make children? We have a soul, and we have a feeling of "self", but is it just a construct of the mind? I can see people have souls, and reflect over things, but how can something go from being dead sort of, like the universe, to actually be alive?

Creation By God. You’re mixing up the soul with consciousness. At best that’s all we could have from this kind of life forming. But so many forms and numbers and different tissues and kinds only point to intelligent deign for a smart scientist and God for the masses because of the Bible.

we have group consciousness to contend with. Lots of people in the same reality. It’s as plain as the nose on your face, so obvious. To call it anything else is to deny its reality. Eastern religions may call in samsara and that fine for some. Look at the details of this ‘illusion’. The mind is not that great to invent it all. A sick mind can invent a parallel reality but uses the same floors, chairs, clothes, cold, hot. Fear, anger. Just parts are different.

Amd what of Jesus the savior of the world. His reality, his words, his God. You doubt because you have no foundation based in reality.

We are supposedly above the animals, either because of intelligence, self-awareness and ability to make specific communication that needn't be contextual, and ability abstract thought, for self-assessment, for pursuing logical trails and for producing art, or for (the strange word): Sentience.

Consider the possibility of an uncaused causer that began everything else, subject to nothing else, and having 'invented' (I say for lack of a more appropriate word) even the reality in which all other things and principles operate, to include time and cause-and-effect and so on, and to include what we think of as 'fact itself'. Such an uncaused causer would be First Cause, and not just exist but be the very source of existence. By comparison our sentience would be pretty much a joke compared to that of this uncaused causer.

To me, every other supposed cause for existence is itself subject to causes from outside itself, so it is not self-existent. Admittedly, I have not shown more than assertion there, and made some rather large logical leaps. But it is something to consider. No other cause for existence quite makes sense to me.

So, that is existence. Now, life is another thing; but if the uncaused causer made everything else, then giving its effects life would not be any difficulty, but would probably be beyond us to figure out how life came about, or just what life is, for that matter. But we can make poetic statements. Beyond attributing to First Cause, I think will impossible to prove by science.

 

[eleos1954]

When life started, it was organic connections in temperate water, protein from plants, and the sun giving energy so the organic connections would happen. And life used the proteins from plants, to build a body to move around it.

But, is the mind built that way, that we perceive to be alive, only to make children? We have a soul, and we have a feeling of "self", but is it just a construct of the mind? I can see people have souls, and reflect over things, but how can something go from being dead sort of, like the universe, to actually be alive?

The biblical take on things ...

We don't have a "soul" ... we are a soul ... a soul is the complete human being.

The use of the word “soul” is speaking to someone’s complete identity. The Bible uses these terms as a way of closely identifying with an individual—it’s not referring to a separate entity, life force, or energy.

God formed man out of the dust of the earth (physical form) and then breathed life into it (became a living being - a soul). He gave the ability to pro-create (reproduce) to all his creations ... explained through biblically as "seeds". In order for something to come from "seed" it must have originally come from "parent seed(s)" a parent seed means any seed sown to produce a new generation, Seed formation begins with the combination of a male and female gamete (fully formed originally): a process known as fertilization. We see this throughout nature ... this is the evidence of God.

Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."

God created everything with the ability to reproduce (male/female) ... after it's own kind (with variations yet kindred of those kinds included in their original physical make up) ... including us.

Explanation: This verse explains that through observing the natural world, people can clearly see evidence of God's power and divine nature, even without direct revelation through scripture ... it's there and everywhere!!!

Our identity is formed through a combination of factors including our life experiences, relationships with others, personal values, beliefs, cultural background, family dynamics, and our own self-perception, which develops throughout our lives, starting in childhood and continuing to evolve through adolescence and adulthood; essentially, it's a process of discovering and integrating various aspects of ourselves to create a sense of "who we are."

So yes, everything in nature has a natural created component to "drive" to reproduce.

According to the Bible, God created man to be in His image, allowing for a relationship with Him, to love and be loved by Him, and to share in His goodness by exercising dominion over creation; essentially, to have a personal connection with a being capable of understanding and appreciating Him, driven by God's love for humanity.

God very nature is family ... “Because God is love, he treasures relationships. His very nature is relational and he identifies himself in family terms: Mankind is an extension of the family of God. Ephesians 2:19. You and I have been adopted into God's family and have become God's children (Romans 8:16).

Of course if your base belief is strictly on evolution theory ... then there are all kinds of theories that can be put forth about many things ... MANY

Recent neuro scientific evidence can be interpreted in a way that suggests consciousness is a product of the organization of energetic activity in the brain. The nature of energy itself, though, remains largely mysterious, science does not fully understand how it contributes to brain function or consciousness. Unexplainable through science ... yet it is undenyably there.

 

[eleos1954]

The biblical take on things ...

We don't have a "soul" ... we are a soul ... a soul is the complete human being.

The use of the word “soul” is speaking to someone’s complete identity. The Bible uses these terms as a way of closely identifying with an individual—it’s not referring to a separate entity, life force, or energy.

God formed man out of the dust of the earth (physical form) and then breathed life into it (became a living being - a soul). He gave the ability to pro-create (reproduce) to all his creations ... explained through biblically as "seeds". In order for something to come from "seed" it must have originally come from "parent seed(s)" a parent seed means any seed sown to produce a new generation, Seed formation begins with the combination of a male and female gamete (fully formed originally): a process known as fertilization. We see this throughout nature ... this is the evidence of God.

Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."

God created everything with the ability to reproduce (male/female) ... after it's own kind (with variations yet kindred of those kinds included in their original physical make up) ... including us.

Explanation: This verse explains that through observing the natural world, people can clearly see evidence of God's power and divine nature, even without direct revelation through scripture ... it's there and everywhere!!!

Our identity is formed through a combination of factors including our life experiences, relationships with others, personal values, beliefs, cultural background, family dynamics, and our own self-perception, which develops throughout our lives, starting in childhood and continuing to evolve through adolescence and adulthood; essentially, it's a process of discovering and integrating various aspects of ourselves to create a sense of "who we are."

So yes, everything in nature has a natural created component to "drive" to reproduce.

According to the Bible, God created man to be in His image, allowing for a relationship with Him, to love and be loved by Him, and to share in His goodness by exercising dominion over creation; essentially, to have a personal connection with a being capable of understanding and appreciating Him, driven by God's love for humanity.

God very nature is family ... “Because God is love, he treasures relationships. His very nature is relational and he identifies himself in family terms: Mankind is an extension of the family of God. Ephesians 2:19. You and I have been adopted into God's family and have become God's children (Romans 8:16).

Of course if your base belief is strictly on evolution theory ... then there are all kinds of theories that can be put forth about many things ... MANY

Recent neuro scientific evidence can be interpreted in a way that suggests consciousness is a product of the organization of energetic activity in the brain. The nature of energy itself, though, remains largely mysterious, science does not fully understand how it contributes to brain function or consciousness. Unexplainable through science ... yet it is undeniably there. The Bible puts forth and explanation .... relationship/love ... non material. Science can not explain the non material ... according to the current understanding of science, it cannot directly explain "non-material" phenomena, as science is primarily focused on studying the physical world and its measurable aspects, meaning anything considered "non-material" falls outside its typical scope of investigation.

 

[timf]

There is a record of a conversation Einstein had with a Bengali poet back in the 1920s. Einstein said that he thought there was a parallel universe to this one. The poet said that he thought existence was a projection of our own mind. Since wisdom is from God, those without that connection are left to their own speculations. Often such musings are unsettling even to the point of despair.

Einstein was later to have said that he believed in the God of Spinoza who made himself known through the harmony of nature. Spinoza was a 17th century philosopher who tried to describe God in terms of geometry. It seems like Einstein was able to see n the universe that which spoke of order, but he may have fallen short of acknowledging a creator.

The universe was either created or created itself. We have body and soul. We did have a spiritual connection with God in the Garden of Eden. We can have that spiritual connection regenerated if we trust in the gospel that Jesus died for our sins and rose again.