This blog contains responses to blog prompts, & thoughts on spiritual or religious themes |
Disclaimer: Any views, about religion or sacred scriptures, expressed in this blog are my own and not the official views of the Baha'i Faith or any other religion. If you wish to know more about the Baha'i Faith, please check one of these websites: The Baha'i Faith: The Official Website of the Worldwide Baha'i Community or Baha'is of the United States . "The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind and of the fundamental oneness of religion. War shall cease between nations, and by the will of God the Most Great Peace shall come; the world will be seen as a new world, and all men will live as brothers." Abdu'l-Baha1 Other Blogs and Journals Content Rating 18+ "Writing in Snow" "The Snowflake Chronicles" "Snow Melt" "More Snow Melt" "Welcome to My Life" "Melting Snow" "Memories of Snow" "Dreams of Snow " "Poem Experiments" "Devotional Poetry" Other Journals Content Rating ASR "Bicentenary Poems and Prose" "Treasures lie hidden beneath the throne of God; the key to those treasures if the tongue of poets." The Bab "O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants, and reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy commandments and abide in Thy law. Help them, O God, in their endeavor, and grant them strength to serve Thee. O God! Leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the light of Thy knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy love. Verily, Thou art their Helper and their Lord." Bahá’u’lláh2 Footnotes |
Istiqlál (Independence), 1 ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur) 176 B.E. - Friday, May 17, 2019
PROMPT: A lot of medical research today focuses on developing cures to ageing. Presumably, with the right breakthrough, humans could live forever. How do you feel about this? Write an entry describing the advantages and disadvantages of extremely long life using facts and opinions to support your answer. I don't think the humans were created to live forever on the material plane. Humans are dual natured creatures with physical bodies, which are part of the material creation, and souls, that are part of the spiritual world. The body and soul become partners at sometime after conception and before birth. While much of medical research appears to be the developing a cure for aging, I don't see this as the goal; true it may be the goal for many researcher, but not for all of them. Old age, in and of itself, is not a disease, but a results of the living on the physical body being born and living material plane. Thee are certain disease and bad habits that result in problems in the human body as it ages. These can be alleviated or eliminated by the discoveries of medical science. However, that does not mean that the human body will continue to live eternally, because eventually the body and soul will separate. At that time the body will begin decomposing and the soul will ascend into the spiritual realm. "The rational soul—the human spirit—did not descend into this body or subsist through it to begin with, that it should require some substance to depend upon after the constituent parts of the body have decomposed. On the contrary, the rational soul is the substance upon which the body depends. The rational soul is endowed from the beginning with individuality; it does not acquire it through the intermediary of the body. At most, what can be said is that the individuality and identity of the rational soul may be strengthened in this world, and that the soul may either progress and attain to the degrees of perfection or remain in the lowest abyss of ignorance and be veiled from and deprived of beholding the signs of God." 'Abdu'l-Baha3 Medical research helps people live longer and more rewarding lives on the material plane. These longer lives help our souls develop the spiritual attributes they need to thrive in the spiritual realm. Medical researchers are discovering the bad habit human beings have developed that interfere with us thriving on the material plane. Over the past century, medical science has made some progress in extending human life4. We will make more progress in the coming decades; however, on question remains: Can medical science reverse or stop the aging of our cells?5 Is there a limit to how long we can extend the life of our cells? Yes, I think there is a limit. I don't think we have encountered that limit yet. Footnotes |