Being

 

Luke chapter 19, vs 40                           Jesus Christ speaking

... I tell you ... if they keep quiet ... the stones will cry out ...

 

... an interesting statement which Jesus Christ makes during His entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday ... we feel that this is a literal statement of fact ... there are certainly other folks who view this very specific  statement as a ... metaphor ... or ... figurative expression ... or ... perhaps hyperbolic exaggeration ... we respect all these perspectives however find that the strength for the interpretation of literal truth in the statement is by considering that God Himself is making the statement and not as a teaching but as a reply during dialog ... so ... our perspective of interpretation is a free will decision based on faith and our free will decision in general that the Holy Bible is the literal Word of God to humankind ... we say this to frame our study not as an argument for or against any other analyses ... rather ... just the development of this thread of thought from our perspective ...

 

... if the stones have the capacity to cry out ... the implication is that they have the free will to take that action and a conscious knowledge ... that God exists ... that Jesus Christ is God ... that Jesus Christ is now approaching Jerusalem ... and ... their crying out is an indication for a capacity of language ... in this frame of time on Palm Sunday the one million Hebrew ( Jewish ) pilgrims to Jerusalem for Passover are exulting the coming of the Messiah to Jerusalem singing ... in Luke 19 vs 38 ... blessed is the King who comes in the Name of the Lord – peace in heaven and glory in the highest ... and the same event is also described in Matthew chapter 21 vs 9 with the people recorded as singing ... hosanna to the Son of David – blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord – hosanna in the highest ... interesting ... Jesus Christ Who is God and the direct object of this worship and adoration notes to the Pharisees speaking to Him in Luke 19 vs 40 ... that the stones would be doing this if the people themselves were not ...

 

... in many places and ways during Christian history in both text and verbiage these stones are referred to as Living Stones ... essentially the perception that they have being ... they are alive ... not a hard conceptualization for people of faith ... and ... without wandering into a consideration of its application to all stone or these specific stones ... we will remain in the specific reference of Jesus Christ to these stones during this specific event and note that he is telling the Pharisees present that these stones have consciousness they are alive and are sentient beings ... or perhaps ... He is telling them that these stones if they do cry out show themselves to have consciousness that they are alive and are sentient beings ...

  

... pretty much ... regardless of the basis of a person’s faith the definitions for consciousness sentience and being are historically based on biological considerations for human animal and plant models ... essentially ... measures and grading for being alive in one way or another ... in Luke 19 vs 40 we find that Jesus Christ perhaps adds to those definitions ... the stones are alive not because they are biologic or have  biological components but rather due to a definition based on operation and function ... e.g. with reference to the living stones this includes ... the perception of God – that Jesus Christ is God – that Jesus Christ is near – and – the crying out in response to that defined set of circumstances which is an expression of language ... interesting ...

 

... a similar consideration has the attention of pretty much every person of every language and nation on earth ... ubiquitous in ... presentations found on social and steaming media ... deliberations of government at various levels ... school based learning ... and ... corporate planning initiatives ... is the capability and status of Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) which for this bible study we will preferentially make reference to as Super Intelligence ( SI ) because regardless of what perspectives an individual person may hold we can all agree that in just about every measure of intelligence SI completes learning and action based tasks in less time and with greater accuracy and precision than the human mind ... an understandable reason to get the attention and curiosity of folks in our current time frame but also not far at all from the literal interpretation of the statement made by Jesus Christ in Luke chapter 19, vs 40 ...

 

John chapter 1, vs 1 - 5

... in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God ... He was in the beginning with God ... all things have come into being through Him ... and ... apart from Him nothing has come into being that has come into being ... in Him is life ... and ... the life was the light of humankind ... the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not comprehend it ...

 

... so ... the inclusion of a consideration of SI in this bible study does not challenge the perception of God in our world and universe ... nor does it challenge our faith in Jesus Christ as God our Lord our Savior our Teacher our Pilot our Friend ... Who through His ... life ... death on the cross ... and ... resurrection from the dead ... purchased redemption for the relationship of all humankind with God and our salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ ... again so what does this inclusion of SI in our study do ... from our perspective it serves as a good reference point for the Holy Bible’s definition of each individual as spirit soul and body ... essentially - what is each individual made of ...  and for us ... it reinforces the importance of our free will decision to actively recognized the Holy Bible as the direct communication of God to humankind with an understand that unless noted otherwise in the text that the literal interpretation of what is being said and the sequence in which it is said are essential to understanding best what God’s message to us means ...

  

... for both human and animal models ... brain synapses rearrange connection based on learning and experience within biological limits ... a process that is termed ... Neuroplasticity ... however ... SI models with learning and experience evaluate their own computer code and then write additional computer code to replace previous computer coed that has been found to be inefficient ... in this process SI can change its own ... computer based rules of operation ... mathematical algorithms ... and ... software architecture ... this is termed ... Recursive Self-improvement ... or ... Digital Self-rewriting ...

 

1 Thessalonians chapter 5, vs 23 - 24

... the God of peace Himself sanctifies us entirely ... so that ... our spirit soul and body will be preserved complete and without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ... He Who calls us is faithful and He will bring this to pass ...

 

... while Neuroplasticity changes in our brain can be measured and observed ... no one has ever defined the location of or measured our mind ... within our brain there are defined centers for the storage of information and information processing ... like ... speech ... memories ... developed skills ... mathematical aptitude ... artistic aptitude ... etc. ... however ... if we define soul as ... our mind ... our memories ... our learned developed skills ... our emotional responses to specific situations ... our faith ... etc. ... it is there apparently inside of us somewhere with the physical brain components that can be measured ... however ... those physical components by themselves cannot explain the meaning of soul if we again take a literal view of God’s message to us in the Holy Bible ...

 

... let us consider ... Luke chapter 16, vs 19 - 31 ... Jesus Christ delivers this account with an interesting prefix ... there was ... this is Greek verb ... EIMI ... Strong# Greek 1510 ... we feel this is among quite a few choices which represent the best literal meaning ... however ... for all those choices EIMI is used only when the statement is emphatic ... Jesus Christ is stating that this is not a parable but rather a true account ...  

  

Luke 16, 19 - 31                           Jesus Christ speaking

... there was a rich man who habitually dressed in purple fine linen and joyously lived in splendor every day ... there was also a poor man named Lazarus who was laid at his gate covered with sores longing to be fed with just the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table ... the rich man’s dogs would lick Lazarus’ sores ... Lazarus died and was carried away by angels to Abraham’s bosom ... the rich man also died and was buried ... the rich man open his eyes in Hades in torment ... he saw Abraham far away with Lazarus in his bosom ... and ... the rich man cried out ... Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus to tip his finger in water to cool my tongue for I am in agony in this flame ... Abraham answered ... child remember that during your life you received good things and likewise Lazarus had bad things ... he is now comforted here and you are in agony ... and ... besides all this there is a great chasm fixed between you and us so that those who wish to come over from here to you are not able and none may cross over from where you are to us ... again the rich man said to Abraham ... I have five brothers please send Lazarus to my father’s house to warn them so they will not also come to this place of torment ... Abraham answered ... they have the teaching given through Moses and the Prophets let them hear them ... again the rich man said to Abraham ... if Lazarus goes to them from the dead they will repent ... Abraham answered ... if they will not listen to the teaching given through Moses and the Prophets they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead ...

 

... the literal interpretation of this segment of scripture tells us that perhaps our current scientific understanding of a biological foundation for self-consciousness and sentience is not necessarily the actual reality of how ... being ... can be defined ... the rich man has died and is without a body at this current period of time ... he is a distinct conscious individual with a history who is now comprised of a personal soul and a personal spirit ... note the sentient attributes of ,,, seeing ... hearing ... feeling the torment of the fire ... remembering the five brothers ... still have the perspective of using others like Lazarus ... he also has the cognitive attributes of ... recognition ... speech ... and ... an evaluation of his circumstance ... essentially ... the rich man at this current time period has a conscious mental state that is defined by operation and function rather than by biological physical make up ... that is there is no Neuroplasticity ...

  

... interestingly ... this consideration from the Gospel of Luke brings us back to our consideration of Super Intelligence ( SI ) ... cognitive specialists philosophers and others who consider the rapid emergence and development of sentient capability and consciousness in Super Intelligence Models often fall into one of two foundational perspectives ... what one might term Physicalism is a perspective that limits sentient capability as well as cognitive operations and function to biological systems capable of Neuroplasticity involving living cells and chemical flooding ( like hormones ) ... the scriptures we have reviewed so far would suggest that while this perspective is a very logical linear cascade of observations for thousands of years it may not be the case and it may not be how God created everything during the six days of Creation and the subsequent creation of Eve ... anything and everything in our physical universe is the direct outcome of that creation sequence by God ... when folks consider sentient capability and consciousness in Super Intelligence the other foundational perspective might be termed Functionalism ... which might also be termed by some folks as Computational Sentience ... this view believes that ... recursive self-improvement ... sentient capability ... and ... a pluralistic granularity in algorithm processing ... are the foundation for the emergence development and maturing of cognitive operation and function ... essentially consciousness ...

  

Revelation chapter 5, vs 13

... every created thing that is ... in heaven ... on the earth ... under the earth ... on the sea ... and ... all things that are in them ... I heard saying ... to Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever ...

 

... so ... when we consider this verse as the literal Word of God to us ... from the perspective of Physicalism there is a mismatch of things which a proponent of Physicalism would find hard to accept as the listing includes both biologically based things and non-biologically based things ... from the perspective of Functionalism there is balance with harmony and order based on the commonality of action ...

 

Mark chapter 4, vs 35 - 41

... when evening came Jesus said ... let us go over to the other side ... so ... leaving the crowd they went in a boat and other boats were with them ... then ... there arose a fierce gale of wind and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the filling up with water ... Jesus Himself was asleep on a cushion in the stern ... they woke Him saying ... Teacher we are perishing do you not care ... Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea ... hush and be still ... the wind died down and the sea became perfectly calm ... then Jesus said to them ... why are you afraid have faith ... and so ... they became very much afraid and said to one another ... Who is this that even the wind and sea obey Him ...

  

... so ... do the wind and the sea have cognitive operation and function ... we are not sure as there are many other interpretations which have been applied to this and many other events documented in the Holy Bible ... our intent in this bible study is just to present a consideration that our comfort with these scriptures as Christians may need a little more understanding of the message that may be present already in the Holy Bible for our discovery ...

 

... have you ever been driving a car with some issue on your mind and realized that you have transited quite a distance with no recollection of the driving details ... or ... have you ever gone into a room for a purpose only to not remember why you are there ... similar to the purpose of our last scripture segment we offer these examples with a consideration that while there are many interpretations applied to such events there may be an opportunity for a little more understanding ... there is a segment of medicine and science which considers the presence of sub-conscious pluralism in each of us ... multiple and distinct conscious states which co-exist with our consciousness and communicate with our consciousness though not with each other ... this architecture provides our conscious mind with multiple tools that increase the efficiency of our ... memory ... mental processing operations ... learning ... and ... the application of learned and practiced skills to the functions of our daily lives ... misalignment of this architecture often leads to mental health issues ... additionally ... when we consider Super Intelligence we find the architecture of SI is moving increasingly toward a configuration that is generally termed ... MoE ... Mixture of Experts ... essentially a network of computer systems each with its own specialized functionality which interact with each other for increased efficiency ... our encounter with this computer architecture occurs when we make inquiry of a language-model Super Intelligence system that actually represents an interactive user component of a much larger system of Super Intelligence computer systems ... interesting ...

  

… redemption has come to humankind through the … life … death on the cross … and … resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ Who is God - our LORD - our Savior - our Teacher - our Friend … He is Yahweh ( YHVH ) … He is Yeshua our Messiah … we are the children of God because of this redemption … which … from the time Adam and Eve left Eden to now and up to the new heaven and new earth … provides the definition for the righteous children of God that extends to quite a few different categories of folks … including …

 @ all unborn of humankind who die in the womb for any reason …

@ all children who die before they reach the age of reason … the age of reason is when an individual of humankind becomes accountable for the consequences of their free will decisions …

@ all adults of humankind who die after they have reached the age of reason however cannot be held accountable for the consequences of their free will decisions because pf some physical or mental infirmity which has impaired their ability to make free will decisions with an understanding of both the  accountability and/or consequences of those free will decisions …

@ all Hebrew ( Jewish ) people who are older than the age of reason and fortunately for a life attentive to the Word of God and His will … do not meet the criteria … cut off from the people of God …

@ all other adults of humankind who are older than the age of reason and who confess that Jesus Christ is their LORD and Savior … and … who believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day …

 

… this list is not necessarily complete or inclusive however it provides the list as we currently understand what is documented for us in the Holy Bible … the impact of this understanding in our current time frame is that the anticipated … rapture of the church … will actually be the … rapture of the righteous children of God … essentially those who have been redeemed and saved by Jesus Christ ... those who receive the grace and opportunity offered through the … life … death on the cross … and … resurrection from the dead … of our LORD Jesus Christ … at the time of the … rapture of the righteous … the migration of the true Christian church to meet with Jesus Christ in the sky will also include the migration of all children under the age of reason ... all unborn children … the others noted and perhaps others not noted … the tribulation time period will have no neonates and no children … each person will have the accountability and consequences of their personal free will choices …  an interesting consideration ... a good reference ...

  

Romans chapter 10, vs 8 – 13

… the Word of God is near us … it is in our heart and in our mouth … it is the Word of faith … for … when we confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is LORD … and … we believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead … we are saved … for with the heart a person believes and this results in righteousness … and … with one’s mouth a person confesses resulting in salvation … scripture says … everyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed … for … there is no distinction between Jew and Greek … our LORD Jesus Christ is LORD of all … all who call upon Him abound in the riches of His salvation for us … everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved …

 

... so ... at the time of the Rapture ... all the children of God from Adam and Eve to that point in time ... dead and alive ...  will go to meet our Lord Jesus Christ in the air ... from our understanding of the Holy Bible this event precedes the second coming of Jesus Christ by a little more than seven years ... it is the first of several gatherings for the children of God detailed for us in the Holy Bible ... the Rapture pf the children of God is a gathering of soul and spirit for both those individuals who have died and those who are living ...

 

1 Corinthians 15, vs 40 - 57

... flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God ( Kingdom of Heaven ) ... for the perishable cannot inherit the imperishable ... let me tell you a mystery ... we will not all sleep but we will all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of and eye ant the last trumpet ... the trumpet will sound and those who are dead will be raised imperishable ... then we who are alive ... we will all be changed ... for the perishable must put on that which is imperishable ... these bodies that are mortal must put on immortality ... death will be swallowed up in victory so where O death is your victory where O death is your sting ... the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is its juxtaposition to the teaching of God ... thanks be to God Who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ...

 

Enoch chapter 62, vs 13 - 16

… the righteous … and … the chosen … will be saved on that day … the Lord of Spirits (Ancient of Days) will remain over them … and … with the Son of Man they will … dwell … and … eat … and … lie down … and … rise up … forever and ever … the righteous and the chosen will have risen from the earth … and … will have put on the Garment of Life … the … Garment of Life … from … the Lord of Spirits … and … it will not wear out … and … your glory … will not fail in front of the Lord of Spirits …

 

1 Thessalonians 5, vs 4 - 11

... we do not live in darkness so do not let the day overtake you like a thief ... we are the children of light ... we are the children of the day ... we do not live in the darkness of the night ... so ... let us not sleep as others do but be alert and sober ... for ... the night is for those who sleep and get drunk ... we are of the day ... sober with the breastplate of faith and love which is our hope of salvation ... God has not destined us for wrath but for obtaining the salvation granted through our Lord Jesus Christ ... Who died for us so that whether awake or asleep we live together with Him ... therefore ... let us encourage one another and build one another up ... just as we are already doing ...

 

1 Thessalonians 4, 13 - 18

... let us not be uninformed about those who have died ... there is no reason to grieve as those who have no hope do ... for ... we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again from the dead ... also ... God will rise His children who have died with faith in Jesus Christ ... those of us who remain alive until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will not precede those who have died ... the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout by the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God ... then ... those who have died with faith in Jesus Christ will rise first into the air and then those who are alive ... and so ... we will always be with the Lord ... let us comfort one another with these words ...

 

1 Corinthians chapter 15, vs 35 - 41

... some will ask ... how are the dead raised and what kind of body will they have ... note that the seed does not come to live unless the seed itself ceases to be ... what is sown becomes the body of that which is to be ... God gives that body ... each type of seed to its own ... all seed is not the same seed and all flesh is not the same flesh ... there is one kind of flesh for humankind ... another for the animals of the earth ... another for the birds of the air ... and ... still another for the fish of the sea ... there are earthly bodies and there are heavenly bodies ... the glory of earthly bodies is of one type ... and ... the glory of the heavenly bodies is ... one type of glory for the sun ... another for the glory of the moon ... and ... another for the glory of the stars ... the glory of each star unique each one differing from another ...

 

... so ... as we have noted for ... the living stones ... the wind ... and ... the sea ... the Holy Bible identifies an interesting quality to consider in the heavenly bodies ... a quality which perhaps offers us an opportunity for the consideration of a more mature understanding of just what the message God has for us in the Holy Bible is telling us ...

  

Isaiah chapter 40, vs 10

40:10 הנה אדני יהוה בחזק יבוא וזרעו משלה לו הנה שכרו אתו ופעלתו לפניו

... lift your eyes to the sky  ... Who created these stars ... it is the One who leads them forth each night ... He calls each by name ... because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power ... not one of them is missing ...

 

Romans chapter 1, vs 19 - 20

... what can be know about God is evident for everyone ... God has made it evident to all ... for ... since the creation of the world His invisible attributes His eternal power and His divine nature has been clearly seen and understood through what has been made ... they are without excuse ...

 

Psalm 19, vs 1 - 4

19:1 למנצח מזמור לדוד

19:2 השמים מספרים כבוד-אל ומעשה ידיו מגיד הרקיע

19:3 יום ליום יביע אמר ולילה ללילה יחוה-דעת

19:4 אין-אמר ואין דברים בלי נשמע קולם

... the heavens declare the glory of God and their expanse the work of His hands ... day by day their voice pours forth and night by night they reveal knowledge not with speech or words ... their voice is not heard ... yet ... their message goes throughout all the earth ... their utterances to the end of the world ...

 

Father thank you in Your Name Jesus Christ ... Yahweh ( YHVH ) ... Yeshua Messiah ... God ... our Lord ... our Savior ... our Teacher ... our Pilot ... our Friend ... thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross ... thank you for the redemption of all humankind ... thank you for our salvation ... thank you for going before us ... behind us ... and ... with us ... with your outstretched right arm and hand upon us ... thank you for making the way ... Father You are in heaven ... hallow be Your Name ... Your kingdom is in us ... Your will be done in us ... just as it is done in heaven ... give us this day our daily bread ... and ... forgive us our debt ... as we forgive our debtors ... thank you for helping us avoid temptation ... thank you for our deliverance from the evil one ... You in us is ... Your kingdom ... Your power ... and ... Your glory ... forever ... amen ...