jc: Ah, so it is your theory the negative tendencies will not be restored. The mechanism of purification you are proposing is that God will remember all aspects about the personality, but will reinstate the personality after a period of annihilation without its negative side.
No, not theory, fact:
"For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive." -1 Corinthians 15:22
Christ "gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from the present wicked system of things." -Galatians 1:4
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life." -John 3:16
"For if by the trespass of the one man [Adam] death ruled as king through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of the undeserved kindness and of the free gift of righteousness . .. through the one person, Jesus Christ!" -Romans 5:17 (Bracket mine.)
"For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23
"Just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned . . . so too through one act of justification [Christ's ransom sacrifice] the result to men of all sorts is their being declared righteous for life. For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one person [Christ Jesus] many will be made righteous." -Romans 5:12, 18, 19 (Brackets mine.)
mm: No, not theory, fact:
jc: I said “theory” because the ideas are not part of accepted Christian doctrine, but have been generated by mm in response to my challenge to find a solid teaching about the soul in the Bible. To answer this it is not valid to point back to the Bible, instead it must be shown other Christians are interpreting the Bible this way. Otherwise mm stands alone.
mm: "For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive." -1 Corinthians 15:22
jc: mm is interpreting “will be made alive,” as in God supplying new “life force” at the mass resurrection. However to be “made alive” is a poetic expression that can have many interpretations, including the one I’ve listed, that the Holy Spirit enters human minds. The souls are dead in themselves, but God breathes life into them, through the Holy Spirit. It’s a process happening right now, as Christians are attesting though they don’t see the extent of it or quite recognize why it is necessary. You can’t quote poetry to make an explicit metaphysical point. Instead there’d need to be a book of “spiritual anatomy,” that has not been written on Earth, and surely wouldn’t be accepted today were it written.
mm: Christ "gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from the present wicked system of things." -Galatians 1:4
jc: The point of contention is not over a “rescue,” but interpreting a “rescue” as God annihilating the essence of people when they die, keeping their memories in His Mind to be restored later. Nonetheless I’d also disagree with Paul’s interpretation of Jesus’ intent.
mm: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life." -John 3:16
jc: Why hasn’t mm said exactly how he expects this scripture to apply to his private theory? We’re left to do that for ourselves, since evidently he didn’t think it important enough for elucidation. In this case he’d be interpreting “everlasting life” in a particular way, which is that God revokes the “life energy” while storing the memories. Were it told to every new convert that God will steal their minds and life energy, none would remain! I guess they are only temporarily destroyed, at the death of this body, to be restored later.
mm: "For if by the trespass of the one man [Adam] death ruled as king through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of the undeserved kindness and of the free gift of righteousness . .. through the one person, Jesus Christ!" -Romans 5:17 (Bracket mine.)
jc: mm is merely hammering away with scripture here, hoping some of it “sticks,” while not demonstrating the wherewithal to demonstrate how this is supposed to apply to his argument. It seems this regal poetry casts a kind of spell over his mind, making him feel falsely empowered. He says, “I have seen the scripture, it is mighty.” I say this is poetry.
I’d again disagree with Paul’s interpretation of the life of Jesus, but this is outside the current point, whether mm has spun a theory or is relating facts. Possibly (we don’t know because he isn’t saying), mm is arguing through these scriptures that God intends to restore men in a purified condition, but we haven’t yet accepted his notion of annihilation so he’s skipping a crucial step. Nowhere in the Bible is it explicitly said God intends to store humans in His Mind while revoking their “life energy.” There are more questions if this is accepted, such as whether negative tendencies are restored, but it is not accepted.
mm: "For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23
jc: Again, mm should really be fleshing out his ideas, explaining to us how this scripture is thought to apply. Insofar as we can tell he selected these scriptures at random, since no explanations are given as he expects everything to be as self-evident to others, as it is to him. In any case “everlasting life” is not a sufficient phrase, to argue that God would restore humans in a purified condition after storing them in His Mind. Humans are alive already, in an impure condition. The quality of the life is not related, merely its duration.
mm: "Just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned . . . so too through one act of justification [Christ's ransom sacrifice] the result to men of all sorts is their being declared righteous for life. For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one person [Christ Jesus] many will be made righteous." -Romans 5:12, 18, 19 (Brackets mine.)
jc: This scripture comes closer to applying to the argument, though again mm refuses to offer explanations, letting the words of others speak for him, perhaps having nothing to add. However to be “made righteous” is a poetic expression, not an explicit mechanism. We must first accept mm’s theory God will store humans in His Mind. If we did that, then this verse might confirm they’d be restored with negative tendencies removed. What if I accept the theory? It grows humorous, particularly if I can verify it doesn’t apply to me. Such a statement as God storing all men in His Mind, correlates with the Holy Spirit’s entrance into human minds. Yet, I must protest that God is not storing their evil, the presence of which is one of the greatest pieces of evidence we’re dealing with created souls making their own (bad and negative) choices. Evil does not truly enter God’s Mind.
There are further problems with the scripture here, as I reject most of what Paul believed. Here I could point out that if Jesus WAS Lord or God, there is no question of obedience. God does not obey Himself. This is a deep flaw in Christianity, including the depiction of the Holy Spirit saying that It was “well pleased” with the Incarnation. Jesus is the Father.