Spiritual death
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2008-06-09T19:10:53Z
Zerokitsune
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/* Psychology */
{{unreferenced|date=May 2008}}
In [[Christian theology]], '''Spiritual Death''' is defined as a spiritual separation from [[Elohim|God]], usually brought on by [[sin]]. Christians believe that both spiritual death and [[death|physical death]] (defined in this context to be the separation of the body and the soul) were brought into the world through the [[The Fall of Man]].
Some Christians believe that whereas a man only suffers physical death once, he can suffer spiritual death every time he sins. Others believe that once made alive through Christ, a believer is no longer subject to spiritual death (although he loses a state of fellowship with God when he sins, and must [[Confession|confess]] to regain this state of fellowship).
Some Christian religions define [[Hell]] as the ultimate spiritual death; being completely removed from the presence of God both physically and spiritually. This is also called the '''Second Death'''.
Followers of [[Ascended Master]] movements such as the [[Theosophical Society]], [[I AM Foundation]], and [[Elizabeth Clare Prophet]] have a different definition of the '''second death''': The final extinguishing of the identity of a soul deemed by God to be beyond redemption. In this theology, people are believed to continue to reincarnate for many lifetimes on Earth with one of two final outcomes: 1) Reunion with God in the ritual of the [[Ascension of Jesus Christ|Ascension]], like [[Jesus]], or 2) Final judgment at the "court of the sacred fire," where the soul would be destroyed forever.
The [[Unification Church]] teaches that spiritual death is the state of separation from God, but that it is not ever irreversible.
== Famous Quotes ==
In his famous [[anti-war]] address "[http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence]," delivered 4 April 1967 at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at [[Riverside Church]] in [[New York City]], [[Dr. Martin Luther King]] observed that "[a] nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching '''spiritual death'''."
Second Death is also the title of a small press comic book first published in the UK Spring 2006.
== Psychology ==
In his essay, "[http://tedeboy.tripod.com/drmichaelwfox/id33.html A Vision: The Kingdom of Universal Compassion]" [http://tedeboy.tripod.com/drmichaelwfox/ Dr. Michael W. Fox] equates [[spiritual death]] with a psychiatric illness called [[Dissociation (psychology) | Dissociation]]:
<blockquote>By contemporary standards of materialism, consumerism, and competitive individualism, the partially and often totally dissociated, who live only for themselves and for and through their children and other possessions, may be seen as being better off, more successful than those who are community-associated, and who live for each other, especially the rural peasantry and tribal peoples. But by the egalitarian and democratic standards of a more compassionate and cooperative society, dissociation means '''spiritual death'''.</blockquote>
[[Category:Christian theology]]
[[Category:Psychology]]