Life Before Earth

[jbp131]

I am trying to understand if our spirits existed before we were born in physical bodies on earth? I have heard we have always been spirits and we were sent (or chose) to come to earth to be tested. This idea is unsettling to me maybe due to my lack of understanding on it. Can anyone share what you know? I haven't been able to find any concrete scripture on the subject.

Thanks you.

[Canuckster1127]

Where did you hear that we were existed before being born into our physical bodies on earth? That sounds like a Mormon teaching.

[Danieltwotwenty]

Jeremiah 1:5 suggests that God knew us before we are born because he is all knowing, but we didn't actually exist yet. I can't find any other references to life before birth other than this.

Dan

[Stu]

I am trying to understand if our spirits existed before we were born in physical bodies on earth? I have heard we have always been spirits and we were sent (or chose) to come to earth to be tested. This idea is unsettling to me maybe due to my lack of understanding on it. Can anyone share what you know? I haven't been able to find any concrete scripture on the subject.

Thanks you.

I've also heard this line of thinking before, however as far as I understand it is not a part of Christian or Biblical teachings.

Let's speculate along that line of thinking.
Think about it -- we (the physical part) are the combined product of our mother and father. Now if our spirits existed prior to us being born here on earth, that would mean that there has to be an extremely high (billions) number of souls existing in order to inhabit the babies body as soon as it is born.

If that were not the case then at some point babies would be (and continue to be) born without consciousness.

[ajerome]

I am a physics educator and a devout Christian. I honestly believe that sincere science and the absolute truths of religion will someday merge. Because of my work in both areas, I have been using both to speculate on what seems to be missing between them.

I believe that there will never be objective proof of God's existence. In other words, no other person will ever be able to prove to you that God exists. There are a few reasons for this:

Firstly, God wants a personal relationship with you. To develop this relationship, one must approach God directly and sincerely. God is powerful enough to prove his own existence without any question.

Secondly, the first law of the universe (in my opinion) is free will. God will not violate the free will of any individual. This means we must approach God personally to know His presence and to learn His will. We develop a relationship with God as we align our free will to God's will.

Thirdly: (In response to your original comment) We have always existed. We have accepted God's offer to guide us toward our ultimate destiny: Maximum Joy. This acceptance results in our seeking to become a member of God's family.

This current phase of our existence is a test, but not in way you might think. It is us testing ourselves to reveal the true orientation of our hearts. All thoughts, words, and actions rise from the status of our hearts. For example, we often sense discontent in our hearts. These sensations rise to our minds as we reflect on how we feel. In an effort to resolve feelings of discontent, our thoughts become words and actions. This phase of our existence (earth life) reveals to us the status of our hearts. These revelations of heart status are the results of our test.

As we use our free will to develop a relationship with God, we can feel His love, and He purified our hearts so that we can express his love to others.

[Canuckster1127]

Welcome ajerome to the board and thank you for weighing in.

I'm curious, as you describe yourself as a Christian, what the basis is for your third assertion? That seems decidedly outside of what most orthodox christians would believe in this area. Do you have a scriptural foundation for that belief or does it find it's source elsewhere?

[ajerome]

I am a Mormon Christian. We seem to be the only Christian religion to acknowledge that mankind existed before birth, even tho' (I think) we all sense that to be true.

There are places in the Bible that speak of the nature of light. (eg. John 12;36) If light is light, and if photons = light = energy. And, if energy can neither be created nor destroyed. And, if E = MC squared, meaning light can become matter. For me, the famous 2 slit experiment of the nature of light means light has intelligence, or in other words light = intelligence. Then, light is the basic building block of all matter, including intelligent matter, or intelligent life.

[KBCid]

Mormonism posits that it is more correct than the bible;

The eighth article of faith in Mormonism states, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly." Also, Mormons frequently claim that many “plain and precious truths” have been removed from the Bible. http://carm.org/mormonism-and-the-corru ... -the-bible

Such assertions invite me to question their validity and ask "based on what"

What better way to decieve people than to align with something the people respect and then add additional meaning to the old words. you should carefully research the origins of Mormonism and see exactly how it came about. I must say it has opened my eyes quite wide.

[Juspal]

I've often wondered the same thing. There are a few things that I'm not 100% clear on because 1) I'm not a scientist and 2) I'm not a bible scholar. But here goes anyway.......I've heard some opinions that eternal doesn't mean "time without end," but rather "without time." Still pondering that but it brings up interesting thoughts. Also, science is saying that time is not a necessity for physics to remain true. Put these together and I'm thinking that God is in a place where time doesn't exist. Obviously I can't understand what this REALLY means, but if it's true then yes, God has always known us because we only experience time in the physical world. If anyone or anything has ever existed, exists presently, or will exist, then God already knows that person or thing. Forgive me for not being able to explain my explanation better.

[KBCid]

Did we exist prior to life here? a very hard question to weigh in on. Maybe we should refer to that moment when man was formed. It is written that the flesh came from the arrangement of earths matter into a physical structure. But, this was not a living being.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God transfered life into man right? It would seem that life originates from God himself. I would also throw some logic in here. If all beings owe their existence to God then It would seem only right that God can cause life to begin without having been in a separate existence prior to here.

[Silvertusk]

We were known before we were born but existed from the point of conception.

[PaulSacramento]

If our spirit existed before creation than it is Eternal.

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

We were known before we were born but existed from the point of conception.

We ''existed from the point of conception'' would agree with numerous Bible passages, including this one:

Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. (Isa 42:5)

It is clear from the above passage that we didn't exist before our parents conceived us.

I am a Mormon Christian. We seem to be the only Christian religion to acknowledge that mankind existed before birth, even tho' (I think) we all sense that to be true.

And may I remind each one of you that Mormonism isn't Christianity. Mormonism is polytheism posing as Christianity.

FL

[1over137]

There are places in the Bible that speak of the nature of light. (eg. John 12;36) If light is light, and if photons = light = energy. And, if energy can neither be created nor destroyed. And, if E = MC squared, meaning light can become matter. For me, the famous 2 slit experiment of the nature of light means light has intelligence, or in other words light = intelligence. Then, light is the basic building block of all matter, including intelligent matter, or intelligent life.

Hi ajerome. Do you still visit the G&S forum?
Somehow, I am not following your lines of reasoning. Could you please slowly explain me what you wrote?