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Saturday, April 05, 2008

Is Biblical "flesh" spiritual?

When the Bible talks about "flesh" it means, oddly enough, just that. Our "meat." It's not some spiritual geegaw. The devil does not have claws sunk into it. Our flesh certainly moves us toward sin, but only ascetics thing flesh itself is evil. The five senses have no moral boundaries. If it tastes good, we want it. If it sounds good, we want it, if it looks good, we want it, if it feels good... well, you get the idea.

"Want" is okay. "Must have" not so much. "Five-sense-satisfaction instead of God" real bad.

God does not call us to eschew our senses, but to balance them. The ascetics on a mountain-top refusing all pleasant sensation are not hearing from God (a brief fast is good, an extended asceticism is a deprivation of what God happily gives us).

When we over-spiritualize the wisdom of the Bible we miss simple truths. I asked my class last Sunday what "flesh" is. They didn't know. They thought it was sin. Or a symbol of evil. Each of them thought when the Bible says "flesh" it has some other spiritual meaning.

We are flesh. Our glorified bodies will be of flesh. People have been, and eternally will be flesh. Our danger lay in choosing flesh over spirit.

6 comments:

B.L.S. said...

No, biblical flesh is not spiriual. and yes you are right about everything on that post. God is wanting us to choose him over our fleshy wants.

B.L.S. said...

No, biblical flesh is not spiriual. and yes you are right about everything on that post. God is wanting us to choose him over our fleshy wants.

sherlock said...

maybe you should put "maybe" in front of a few sentences... You know like "maybe our glorified bodies will be flesh"... you know... just in case your... wrong...

sherlock said...

Because frankly I think your wrong about that last part. Sorry.

I'll just go write on my own blog now.

Rob said...

Were Adam and Eve spirits? Were they not flesh? While it's error to believe we will go back to the garden (since the Jerusalem is a city) we will not be substantially different "stuff." Jesus in glorified state was flesh "see my hands? Place your hand in my side..." that's flesh, baby.

What, per se, do you think we will be?

Anonymous said...

Sherloc you got a lotta guts... takin on an almost 50 yearold. well, maybe he's not that old...