 |
| Outdated materialistic view of fertilization of the egg (ovum) by a sperm cell |
What Is the Person? Science
The person or a human being is made up of two main parts, a body and a mind. The body is matter, and consciousness, the mind, is non-matter.
Every person has two lineages, a physical lineage of the physical body -- our parents and all the forefathers and ancestors up until the lake in Africa where the first human being was born, and everything that preceded that lake, up to the amoeba, symbiosis with mitochondria, the formation of the first RNA segment in the primordial soup.
The second lineage is the lineag of consciousness, of awareness. Our present consciousness, our present mind, our present awareness, is a continuation of the previous mind moment. The first mnd moment in this life (the mind moment that followed its previous mind moment met a fertilized egg (zygote), which is the beginning of the gross physical body. So not only do we have countless fathers in the physical lineage, but we also have countless mothers who raised and cared for us in our various bodies and our many and changing mind moments in our countless previous lives. That's how it is.
The person or a human being is made up of two main parts, a body and a mind. The body is matter, and consciousness, the mind, is non-matter.
Every person has two lineages, a physical lineage of the physical body -- our parents and all the forefathers and ancestors up until the lake in Africa where the first human being was born, and everything that preceded that lake, up to the amoeba, symbiosis with mitochondria, the formation of the first RNA segment in the primordial soup.
The second lineage is the lineag of consciousness, of awareness. Our present consciousness, our present mind, our present awareness, is a continuation of the previous mind moment. The first mnd moment in this life (the mind moment that followed its previous mind moment met a fertilized egg (zygote), which is the beginning of the gross physical body. So not only do we have countless fathers in the physical lineage, but we also have countless mothers who raised and cared for us in our various bodies and our many and changing mind moments in our countless previous lives. That's how it is.
 |
| Super-subtle mind (body-mind), 'spirit,' meets fertilized ovum (Image: Dirk Laureyssen) |
A model that accords more closely with reality as it is: Meeting of the mind ('spirit' in the model, the most subtle or very subtle or super-subtle mind or body-mind) with the fertilized ovum (sperm + egg).
Dirk Laureyssen's website: http://www.mu6.com/life.html
Dirk Laureyssen details the fertilization process in the video on karma. Recommended.
Dirk Laureyssen's website: http://www.mu6.com/life.html
Dirk Laureyssen details the fertilization process in the video on karma. Recommended.
The Religious View of the Person Is Closer to Reality As It Is Than the Pseudo-Scientific Materialistic View
Now
we can understand that the religious model of “mother, father and
holy spirit” – with all the variations in the different religions
and the many terms – is closer to reality as it is than the
pseudo-scientific materialistic model of biology as it is taught
today.
In
the Old Testament we find:
“Then
the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the soul of life; and man became a living soul.”
(Genesis 2: 7) According to the Old Testament, all human beings were
created in the image of God; every person has a godly soul, a living
spirit, is a living sentient being. The biblical view is more in
agreement with reality as it is than the materialistic model. In
other words, with regard to the understanding of what a person is,
the religious view is more realistic, more scientific, than the
materialistic view.
Contradiction Between the Religious (Jewish) View of the Nature of Existence and the Scientific View of Reality As It Is
From
a scientific perspective, every being originates in a way that is
similar to the above model:
being
= body + mind. Animals are also sentient beings. They also have a
mind and the basic nature of the animal's mind is no different from
the mind of a human being. Animals have the exact same potential to
realize the nature of their mind in some future lifetime.
As far as the mental ability to realize the nature of the mind in this lifetime, in this present body, there is an enormous difference between human beings and animals. There is a huge difference between the intellectual capacity or cognitive ability of animals and humans. The essential, true or basic nature of the mind, and the innate potential of each and every mind, are the same for humans and all other beings. While in the limited condition of the animal body, an animal does not have the possibility to improve or transform its mind
It
is a mistake to deduce that because of the marked difference in our
cognitive/intellectual capacity and the cognitive or intellectual
capacity of animals, that there is also a difference in the basic
nature of the mind. There is no realistic basis for such an
assertion. An animal's mind can take rebirth as a human being and the
mind of a human being can take rebirth as an animal. What kind of
rebirth we have depends on what we think and do in this lifetime.
At
the literal level of interpretation, the Bible (Old Testament)
relates the lineage, ancestry or history of the Twelve Tribes, the
Children of Israel. After the Story of Creation, the Bible does not
start with Abraham, but with Adam (Man). We are, first and foremost,
human beings, children of Adam.
From
there, the Bible moves on to Noah – we are a nation or a people as
all people, we are all members of one human family, we are all
brothers and sisters. Then we come to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the
Twelve Sons (and two daughters)....
The
Dalai Lama usually introduces himself in the biblical sequence.
When
he talks about himself, he opens with, “I am one of 7 billion human
beings.” Therefore, the first priority he dedicates his life to is
cultivating and promoting secular science based basic human values,
values that every person needs in order to be happy in life.
“Kindness
(courtesy, treating others with respect, self discipline) precedes
the Torah.” At least six of the Ten Commandments deal with
universal basic human values. “Love your neighbor as thyself, where
neighbor is any and all people, is a great priniciple of the Torah”.
“What is hateful unto you, do not do to your neighbor is the
(essence) of the whole Torah” – the whole Torah in a nutshell
(“on one foot”).
The
broadest view, the view that encompasses “all beings,” “all our
rebirths,” “all the three times” and helps us to “find the
similarities” between all of us, is an excellent habit of mind.
Every way of looking at things that decreases a strong view of “self
and other”, of “me vs. you” is an excellent way of seeing that
increases peace within ourselves and peace in the world.
The
human being or the person can also be divided into three main parts.
For the division into three, some say: person = body + mind + name
(label) and some prefer: body + mind + speech.
The original Hebrew post is titled "Jewish Identity Chapter 11: Adam" and has a P.S.: If the title “Jewish Identity” bothers you, you can change it yourself to “Human Identity” or “Secular Identity” or to any other identity that suits you. There's no point in getting upset over nothing.
Chapter 1: Altruism in Judaism
Chapter 2: Einstein and Universal Responsibility
Chapter 3: I and Thou -- and We
Chapter 4: Jewish Renewal
Chapter 5: Universal Ethics
Chapter 6: Reincarnation
Chapter 7: Compassion -- Hebrew only -- a translation of this page on Chabad.org
Chapter 8: Rabbi "I'll Be Walking" and Mindfulness of Speech
Chapter 9: Meditation
Chapter 10: The Heart
Chapter 11: Adam -- Hebrew only -- this post
