quantumfaith
Active Member
What does this information tell us about the Calvinists comparison of an unsaved spirit to a dead body? Well, a dead body doesn't function. In fact, a dead body has lost all of its primary functions. It does not act on or interact with the physical environment. It is inanimate, meaning, it does not move. It's like a rock or a lump of coal. It begins to decompose and return to general dust and dirt.
But is a dead spirit just as nonfunctioning? Nope. A dead spirit still functions. In particular, a dead spirit still continues to carry out one of its primary functions: the function of animating the human body.
We know when we see a dead body that the body is dead precisely because the human spirit has left it, just as Psalms 146 states. This means that even a dead spirit still animates a human body. So, and here's the key, unlike a dead body which no longer functions, a dead spirit still does function. And that distinction makes all the difference in the world.
Remember earlier we said that Calvinists confuse the effects of the event with the event itself? Or, in other words, Calvinists confused the effects that death has on the body with the very definition of death in general.
The result is that Calvinists assume that part of what it means to die is to lose functionality. Because the body loses all functionality in death, Calvinists assume a dead spirit has also lost its functionality. Because communicating with God is one of the functions of the human spirit, Calvinists assume a dead spirit cannot communicate with God or reach out to God in any way. Like a dead body has lost all function, according to the Calvinists, the dead spirit has lost the function of communicating with God.
But, as we have demonstrated, a dead spirit has not lost all function as a dead body has. A dead body cannot act on anything. A dead spirit still acts on the body to invigorate it. Thus we have proven that the effects death has are not uniform for all forms of death. In particular, physical death has the effect of causing the body to cease functioning, while spiritual death does not cause the cessation of function.
Or, to put it even more simply. In physical death, the body becomes inactive. But even after spiritual death, the spirit remains active, performing the action of invigorating the body. So, we cannot presume a loss of spiritual function just because the term "death" is being used. And, a little later on, we will examine a more accurate and consistent definition of death.
However, at this point, there is a second important distinction that should be made between a body and a spirit that pertains to the "death" comparison. Specifically, the body is NEVER capable of communication, even when it's alive. That is to say, the body NEVER communicates as an independent conscious unit. When the tongue moves and the mouth speaks, that is the human soul and spirit communicating and using the physical body as a vehicle for communication. Communication is an inherent function of the inner man, not the physical body.
Why are we making this point?
Well, we need to understand the difference between a communicative device and a communicative agent.
What is the difference between a communicative device and a communicative agent? A communicative agent has in it the inherent ability to originate communication, while a communicative device is simply an object through which that agent delivers that communication.
A communicative device, like a megaphone or telephone, does not communicate on its own. It is only an instrument through which something communicates. You don't get a phone call from a telephone. You don't get yelled at by a megaphone. You get a phone call from someone else communicating to you through a telephone. You get yelled at by someone shouting at you through a megaphone.
Similarly, a human body doesn't talk to you. A human body doesn't whisper a secret in your ear or tell you it loves you. A human body is a device through which a human soul or spirit communicates to you. The human soul or spirit is the communicative agent while the body is simply a communicative device through which that agent delivers communication.
When the Calvinists assert that when a human body is dead, it cannot respond or communicate, they are distorting the facts. It is true that a dead body cannot communicate. But it is equally true that a living body cannot originate communication either. A live body is no more capable of originating communication than a dead body because a body, living or dead, is only a communicative device, it lacks the ability to originate communication altogether.
So, for Calvinists to assert that "a dead human spirit cannot communicate because a dead human body cannot communicate" is a gross distortion of the facts. To make this comparison requires the assumption that the spirit and body are alike in their ability to originate communication. Thus, by looking at one you can deduce truths about the other because they are similar in that respect.
But, the ability of a body to communicate bears no relevance to the ability of a spirit to communicate because the body, unlike the soul or spirit, never has the ability to originate communication. They are completely different in that respect. For Calvinists to make this comparison would be the same as saying "just like a dead worm doesn't think, a dead human can't think either." Such a statement assumes that humans and worms are alike in their ability to think. Since a worm, living or dead, can't really think, it bears no relevance for making deductions about a dead human.
The same is true with the body. A body, living or dead, does not possess the ability to originate communication. So, a dead body bears no relevance for making deductions about whether or not a dead spirit can originate communication.
Looking at a dead body's inability to communicate as a point of reference, a Calvinist will assert, "when a human spirit is dead, neither can it respond or communicate." And conversely a Calvinist will say, "only when a human spirit is alive can it communicate" (in the same way that a human body can only communicate when it is alive.)
But this is a false comparison because even when the human body is alive it is able to communicate only because the human spirit is communicating through it. And this is true for both the saved and the unsaved human. This means that the unsaved spirit still retains the function of communication even when that spirit is dead, for a dead spirit originates and delivers communication through its body. Thus, a dead spirit, unlike a body (living or dead) still has the ability to originate communication.
Since even unsaved humans have the ability to originate communication and deliver that communication through their bodies, it is, therefore, erroneous for Calvinists to make deductions about a spirit's ability to originate communication by looking at a body's ability to originate communication.
But is a dead spirit just as nonfunctioning? Nope. A dead spirit still functions. In particular, a dead spirit still continues to carry out one of its primary functions: the function of animating the human body.
We know when we see a dead body that the body is dead precisely because the human spirit has left it, just as Psalms 146 states. This means that even a dead spirit still animates a human body. So, and here's the key, unlike a dead body which no longer functions, a dead spirit still does function. And that distinction makes all the difference in the world.
Remember earlier we said that Calvinists confuse the effects of the event with the event itself? Or, in other words, Calvinists confused the effects that death has on the body with the very definition of death in general.
The result is that Calvinists assume that part of what it means to die is to lose functionality. Because the body loses all functionality in death, Calvinists assume a dead spirit has also lost its functionality. Because communicating with God is one of the functions of the human spirit, Calvinists assume a dead spirit cannot communicate with God or reach out to God in any way. Like a dead body has lost all function, according to the Calvinists, the dead spirit has lost the function of communicating with God.
But, as we have demonstrated, a dead spirit has not lost all function as a dead body has. A dead body cannot act on anything. A dead spirit still acts on the body to invigorate it. Thus we have proven that the effects death has are not uniform for all forms of death. In particular, physical death has the effect of causing the body to cease functioning, while spiritual death does not cause the cessation of function.
Or, to put it even more simply. In physical death, the body becomes inactive. But even after spiritual death, the spirit remains active, performing the action of invigorating the body. So, we cannot presume a loss of spiritual function just because the term "death" is being used. And, a little later on, we will examine a more accurate and consistent definition of death.
However, at this point, there is a second important distinction that should be made between a body and a spirit that pertains to the "death" comparison. Specifically, the body is NEVER capable of communication, even when it's alive. That is to say, the body NEVER communicates as an independent conscious unit. When the tongue moves and the mouth speaks, that is the human soul and spirit communicating and using the physical body as a vehicle for communication. Communication is an inherent function of the inner man, not the physical body.
Why are we making this point?
Well, we need to understand the difference between a communicative device and a communicative agent.
What is the difference between a communicative device and a communicative agent? A communicative agent has in it the inherent ability to originate communication, while a communicative device is simply an object through which that agent delivers that communication.
A communicative device, like a megaphone or telephone, does not communicate on its own. It is only an instrument through which something communicates. You don't get a phone call from a telephone. You don't get yelled at by a megaphone. You get a phone call from someone else communicating to you through a telephone. You get yelled at by someone shouting at you through a megaphone.
Similarly, a human body doesn't talk to you. A human body doesn't whisper a secret in your ear or tell you it loves you. A human body is a device through which a human soul or spirit communicates to you. The human soul or spirit is the communicative agent while the body is simply a communicative device through which that agent delivers communication.
When the Calvinists assert that when a human body is dead, it cannot respond or communicate, they are distorting the facts. It is true that a dead body cannot communicate. But it is equally true that a living body cannot originate communication either. A live body is no more capable of originating communication than a dead body because a body, living or dead, is only a communicative device, it lacks the ability to originate communication altogether.
So, for Calvinists to assert that "a dead human spirit cannot communicate because a dead human body cannot communicate" is a gross distortion of the facts. To make this comparison requires the assumption that the spirit and body are alike in their ability to originate communication. Thus, by looking at one you can deduce truths about the other because they are similar in that respect.
But, the ability of a body to communicate bears no relevance to the ability of a spirit to communicate because the body, unlike the soul or spirit, never has the ability to originate communication. They are completely different in that respect. For Calvinists to make this comparison would be the same as saying "just like a dead worm doesn't think, a dead human can't think either." Such a statement assumes that humans and worms are alike in their ability to think. Since a worm, living or dead, can't really think, it bears no relevance for making deductions about a dead human.
The same is true with the body. A body, living or dead, does not possess the ability to originate communication. So, a dead body bears no relevance for making deductions about whether or not a dead spirit can originate communication.
Looking at a dead body's inability to communicate as a point of reference, a Calvinist will assert, "when a human spirit is dead, neither can it respond or communicate." And conversely a Calvinist will say, "only when a human spirit is alive can it communicate" (in the same way that a human body can only communicate when it is alive.)
But this is a false comparison because even when the human body is alive it is able to communicate only because the human spirit is communicating through it. And this is true for both the saved and the unsaved human. This means that the unsaved spirit still retains the function of communication even when that spirit is dead, for a dead spirit originates and delivers communication through its body. Thus, a dead spirit, unlike a body (living or dead) still has the ability to originate communication.
Since even unsaved humans have the ability to originate communication and deliver that communication through their bodies, it is, therefore, erroneous for Calvinists to make deductions about a spirit's ability to originate communication by looking at a body's ability to originate communication.
