Human beings are seen as living organisms whose structure consists of two legs, a pair of arms, one head, a pair of eyes, ears, on such features. From this definition, human beings are identical. These features make one person similar to another. However, according to my definition, a human being is a living organism that has the ability to think and act rationally. From a scientific point of view, human beings are differentiated from other beings in the world by their ability to think rationally. This ability gives people superiority over other beings in the world. The core defining element of a human being is the heart. As indicated in chapter seven, the heart is the cradle of all emotions and the human will. However, emotions such as love and anger cannot be the only factors that define a human being. This is because many animals show such feelings. For instance, animals show love to their young ones and cannot be said to be humans. For this reason, it would not be correct to define human beings by their ability to show emotions. According to Sire (2015), the biblical concept of the heart is elaborated further, and this suits the definition of a human being. This concept includes emotions, spirituality, desire, will, and notions of wisdom and intellect. These elements of the heart offer a concise definition of a human being as an organism with emotions and ability to think rationally and act morally. From William Henley’s poem provided in chapter seven, he indicates that he is the captain of his soul and a master of his fate. This implies that the heart controls the actions and hence defining his being.
In understanding a human being, therefore, the concept of the heart is important. It is the heart that makes an organism a human being. This implies that human beings must possess the emotions as well as the ability to think critically. Although people could be identical physically or biologically, their uniqueness arises from the fact that their hearts are different. Different people show varying degrees of emotions, their will, desires, and wisdom differ. It follows that human beings are differentiated by their hearts. This fact can be used to explain why some people are criminals and terrorists. The people who do not act morally are still human beings since the concept of the heart is still applicable to them. However, they use these elements such as love emotions and intellect slightly or not at all. Therefore, a human being can be defined as an organism with emotions and ability to think rationally.
What Happens to a Person After Death?
In explaining what happens to a person after death, the resurrection concept is applied. In this case, it is believed that all people who will be dead at the end of human history will resurrect. For this reason, after human beings die, they stay dead until the time of resurrection. The concept of resurrection as taught in Christianity applies well since all human beings are unique. It is believed that people were made in the image of God and hence they are unique. As discussed earlier, humans are differentiated by their hearts, which define them. For this reason, one individual cannot fit into another. This, therefore, postulates that at the end of human history, each person will be resurrected fitting in its original body. The notion of reincarnation, in this case, would not be applicable. Reincarnation implies that after the death of a person, the individual returns as another being in a different body which may occur many times, perhaps for all eternity. This implies that human beings are similar and entirely identical. For one thing, to fit in another, the two must be similar. Since people are different, there is no way the reincarnation can be possible.
As indicated by Sire (2015) in chapter seven, both reincarnation and resurrection cannot be true at the same time. Therefore, one postulate eliminates the possibility of the other. As it was mentioned earlier, human beings are differentiated by the fact that their hearts are different. They show varying degrees of emotions, and their notions of wisdom and intellect are also different. This implies that two people cannot be the same and hence the concept of reincarnation is nullified. In understanding the concept of resurrection, we consider the definition of human beings which takes into account the idea of the heart. Physically and biologically, people may be similar which would validate the concept of reincarnation. However, since human beings are organisms with hearts, which signify their humanity, then they can be viewed as different and unique beings. For this reason, reincarnation may be impossible as one person would not fit in an entirely different being. This makes resurrection at the end of the human history a possible explanation of what happens to a person after death. Therefore, after death, a person remains dead until the resurrection.
References
Sire, J. W. (2015). Naming the Elephant (2). Downers Grove, US: InterVarsity Press. Retrieved from http://0-www.ebrary.com.sierraapp.apu.edu.apu.idm.oclc.org
