It is contrasted with the term natural, which presumes that some events occur according to natural laws, and others occur to a separate set of laws which we cannot perceive, because they are caused by forces external to nature.
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed. Our wee little space programs are the first step in expanding our awareness to the entire rest of material existence. If Christianity is right, there is another side or angle to that part of the material realm, too -- maybe several. But we actually have to go out there and live in it and feel its pull on us to know what it is.
And it would still be known only to those who are paying close attention and know what to look for. Just like on earth. The Holy Spirit isn't all there is to the unseen. The Scriptures testify to the existence of other spirit-beings, such as angels and demons. They live in the unseen realms the ancients usually called 'heaven' and 'hell', which are more accurately described as being "in" or "out" of God's direct presence. Christianity does not demand that you believe in angels, demons, heaven or hell, especially not the way it's portrayed by popular culture.
We could exchange comments endlessly about the many different interpretations of the Bible's portrayals of the supernatural. Yet, the Bible's authors are trying to describe the indescribable. At its core, Christianity is not really about the specific design of the cosmos. It is about a relationship with God, and about God re-creating a single world where the unseen is finally free to be seen for what it really is. Poets and songwriters instinctively know this.
God gave the Bible's many authors these insights and experiences to reveal real things about the different angles of a reality that right now includes both the seen and unseen. Thus we had best pay attention. More: You can also find ' supernatural ' in the dictionary , through means which are not at all supernatural. More than ever before, ' spiritual ' has become the word of choice for vague, foggy, and shrouded things with no rules, no substance, and really no definition.
Anything that bears any amount of mystery is said to be 'spiritual'. Some people even lump the paranormal in with it. To them, ghosts and magic and ESP and vampires are somehow part of 'spirituality'. Web searches on 'spiritual' are less flaky but still cover a very wide range. The top ten include spiritual advisors, awakenings, poems, and healing. It's not just the world at large that loves using the term: many Christians speak way too glibly of ' spiritual ' gifts , and disciplines , and worship, and fruits , and even ' spiritual ' warfare.
They seek the spiritual meaning of words, but words don't work that way. To Christians, ' spiritual ; refers to that which causes this world of 'stuff' or material to come alive, to move, to change or resist change, or to take action even when the action taken is to choose not to take action. The spiritual realm is supernatural, an aspect of what underlies all that happens in the material world , including ourselves, including everyone else around us.
The 'material' world is where the spiritual realm applies itself. This stuffly world is the meat and life-blood of the spiritual realm, and the spiritual is the life-force and thrust of the realm of substance. Thus, the two worlds are different angles of the same reality , not different or separate realities. The Kingdom that Jesus spoke of works in the same way: it came years ago when Jesus was born, it is here now through those who follow Him, and is coming in the future in its full form.
Of or pertaining to the moral feelings or states of the soul, as distinguished from the external actions; reaching and affecting the spirits. Of or pertaining to the soul or its affections as influenced by the Spirit; controlled and inspired by the divine Spirit; proceeding from the Holy Spirit; pure; holy; divine; heavenly-minded; -- opposed to carnal.
Not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things; ecclesiastical; as, the spiritual functions of the clergy; lords spiritual and temporal; a spiritual corporation. A spiritual function, office, or affair. See Spirituality, 2.
0コメント