Nature and value of human life: Religious and secuar ideas

Christain Nature:

Created by God

Genesis 1:26 - Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

Must be perfect by nature

Mathew 5:48 - "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect"

Sinners by nature

Mary Angelou's Poem 'I am a Christian' "When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou. I'm just a simple sinner who recieved God's good grace somehow"

Redeemable

Ephesians 1:7-8 - "In him we have redemption though his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's Grace"

Dualism: Dualism is the concept that our mind is more than just our brain. This concept entails that our mind has a non-material.

he movie The Matrix displays this kind of dualism brilliantly. In the film, the Matrix is the world that we all experience, but it is not real. “The Matrix is everywhere,” says the character Morpheus. “It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.”

The Matrix gives a visible portrait of an evil world that is a lie and in conflict with the true and good world. One must choose the truth and be given special knowledge of how to travel from the Matrix to the real world. This is not a reflection of the Christian worldview, but a classically Gnostic worldview. The Gnostics (heavily influenced by Plato) believed that the visible world was evil. They believed that achieving a secret knowledge would allow them to achieve gnosis; a superior, spiritual state.

- See more at: http://provoketive.com/2012/08/22/the-dangers-of-dualistic-christianity/#sthash.8X0oOFJO.dpuf I personally think that next to Christianity, Dualism is the manliest and most sensible creed on the market. But it has a catch in it.” -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity - See more at: http://provoketive.com/2012/08/22/the-dangers-of-dualistic-christianity/#sthash.8X0oOFJO.dpuf

"I personally think that next to Christianity, Dualism is the manliest and most sensible creed on the market" C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity

The matrix quotes on Dualism

Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us, even now in this room. You can see it when you look out your window, or you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go…