It is a common misconception that life is mere matter that happened to appear by chance. The world's "wisest" people are convinced that life developed from dust by some magical chemical reaction and has since then evolved by its own accord. These people base themselves upon the assumption that dust and chemical processes also appeared by chance, and thus it is mere chance that formed their theories, for they are not thinking reasonably. Nothing about life is unreasonable, nor can life be seen as a random occurrence. Life can't develop on its own just as the world could not have formed on its own.

For example, say molecules of dust happened to appear out of nowhere, and the universe began to take on a form. Then suddenly, these molecules of dust developed into planets and suns, and pieces of dust suddenly turned into life. Meaning, molecules of dust suddenly arranged themselves in the right order to form the structure of the first cell--the first form of organic life. But we all know that statues are not life...it would have to be more than a form, it would to be alive. Could you imagine a computer appearing out of nowhere? And even a computer is not alive. If you could imagine life appearing out of nowhere, then you're living in your dreams. And what if a piece of dust suddenly came to life? How would it multiply and how would it survive? How would it function and what would be its design? Clearly life is not a product of chance, for life is more Ordered than anything we see and can observe.

And life is more than dust! Life is more than can be seen and observed. Life is beyond this world, for it contains a new order unto itself and a new "world" of choice and possibilities that are its own. The world is the domain of G-d. It is Controlled by G-d and by His laws of nature. But life is a world in itself, for life is beyond G-d... Life was Built upon the laws of nature and Placed within the world, but life is not G-d, nor is it Controlled by G-d, therefore life is more than dust and is a world of possibilities in itself.

Yet there are different forms of life. You must agree that single-celled organisms are different from multi-celled organisms. Insects are different from plants, animals are different from bacteria, and birds, lizards, mammals, fish, and people are all different from each other and one another. And the world is teeming with different forms of life. Clearly they are not all the same form of life; certainly not in form, and even in spirit they are different.

What is a Spirit?

The spirit of man is of the Breath of G-d; therefore man was Created in the "Image" of G-d. But the spirits of the other forms of life are not of G-d, although they were Created by G-d. Yet what is a "spirit" anyhow?

In its simplest "form," a spirit is like a very complex computer program. But it can't exactly be a program, otherwise it would not be life--for objects that operate on programs are not technically alive. However, the simplest form of life--the single-celled organisms--appear to operate more for functionality than as an independent form of life. For example, bacteria live together as colonies. Fungus grow together like plants. Cells function together to form humans, mammals, and other forms of life, and even the sperm of males do not live for themselves nor do they multiply for themselves. It is true that many single-celled organisms are nearly independent, but for the sake of convenience, they can be viewed as robots (even though they're not robots), as it seems they have little intelligent (or conscious) control of themselves.

The next step of life, involves a spirit that controls many cells, uniting them as one. This is like a government that unites people as one nation. It may be, that like people united in nationality, each cell is conscious of itself and yet it works for the benefit of the body, meaning cells are much more than robots, but again, for the sake of convenience, I wouldn't give cells too much credit unless there's evidence to prove they're more complex. Furthermore, in all practicality, cells in a body are controlled by the spirit of that body, and not by their own spirit, which makes them an inferior form of life.

But again, what is a spirit? If a spirit is not a program, can it be inscribed in matter? You might ask if DNA has anything to do with a spirit, asking, "Does a bodies' genetic material control the life of a body?" Clearly genetics affects the form and function of a body, but is genetics the basis of spirits? And genetics contains the design for the nucleus of cells and the brains of organisms. But is a brain the basis for the spirit of life?

In a way, yes, as the brain is the link between the spirit and the body, but the brain itself is not the spirit of life, just as dust is not the Source of life. The nucleus of a cell converts the code of genetic material to practical action, while the brain does the same in some regards. And the nucleus of a cell responds to internal and external stimulus. The brain does the same, and it also serves as the central nervous system, turning the senses into sensations, recording memories, processing and converting data, controling bodily functions and internal mechanisms, and maintaining the body in many different ways. The brain is the center of a body's internal intelligence (as is the nucleus for a cell), however, the brain is not the source of a body's intelligence. Furthermore, the brain is the source of consciousness, as it processes the body's sensations, but the brain is not conscious of anything, just as the organs are not conscious forms of life, and just as dust is not alive. The brain is the body's central processor, but it is not alive, and it is certainly not the spirit of life.

You might find this hard to grasp, but the spirit of life is not material. The spirit cannot be seen, it cannot be heard, it cannot be touched, tasted, or smelled--the spirit of life cannot be measured in any way, shape, or form, for the spirit of life can only be known, as it is experienced by those who live--as it is the source of life, as was Created by the Source of life. The spirit of life is what animates matter, bringing material to life. And living beings are not alive, unless they contain the spirit of life. It is only because of the spirit of life that they are alive, for they are the spirit, animated within dust.

That said, I cannot describe spirits in a material way. But the spirit of life is "affected" by genetics as it manifests itself differently in different forms of life. This is because different forms of life have a different "type" of spirit. And according to the difference in genetics they have different behaviors, senses, abilities, functions, etc.. When the spirit of life enters a different form of life, the life form reacts and lives differently than others. This is true between species and even between creatures of the same species. For every living being is different, although all life contains the spirit of life. For the spirit interacts with the body, and living beings become a mix of material and spirit--and this is the essence of life.

This leads people to assume there is no spirit, but this is a foolish assumption. If you built a material object exactly identical to the material structure of a living organism, would this object come to life? No! Just as robots are not alive, objects don't come to life. This is apparent in practice and it is apparent in distinction. It is true that a robot can be created to appear alive and even seem to have emotions and the ability to make conscious decisions, but the difference between animated objects and living beings, is that life can express emotions, it can make conscious decisions, and it is in fact, alive.

This is true for most multi-celled organisms, but plants are different, as of course, there is a difference between all forms of life. However, plants are completely different in that they don't appear to be animated, as they don't really move--they only grow and move their "limbs" very, very slowly. Furthermore, the structure of a plant does not resemble other forms of life in the least, except perhaps, fungus, that grow in colonies. But a plant is a multi-celled organism; it is not a colony of cells, it is a life form in itself. So you might ask, "Does a plant have a spirit?" I say it does. A plant has many important decisions to make and it seems that plants are conscious of their surroundings. Plants decide when to grow, how much to grow, and in which direction to grow. They decide when to give off their fruit and reproduce, they position their "limbs" in the optimal directions with regards to the sun, and they shed leaves whenever necessary. You could say this is a sort of systemic reaction, and plants are like robots, however plants do have a very limited form of consciousness which puts them above the single-celled organisms. Plants have a spirit that guides all the cells contained within them, and thus plants are more complex than their single-celled counterparts.

And what of humans? Certainly, like the animals, people contain the spirit of life. But people are not animals, for their spirit is of the Breath of G-d. This means, the Spirit of G-d Animates man. When life is Animated in the womb, from the seed, and in the egg, it is Animated by G-d, as the spirit of life enters into it (the organic matter). However, when human life is Animated in the womb, you might say it is first only Animated by the spirit of life, but as it develops, it becomes Animated by the Spirit of G-d, from the Breath of G-d, as G-d Breathes life into the dust--making it a person and not an animal. This is not a symbolic distinction; it is very specific. Man was and is Created in the "Image" of G-d, as man is of the Breath of G-d, from the Spirit of G-d; man is like G-d. Man was not simply Created By G-d, like the other forms of life; unlike the animals, man is part G-d. Of course, like the animals, man is also part dust--a part of man that defines him all too often, as the Breath of G-d has long been lost within dust, dust is what it has "become," and dust has led the path of man.

What is death?

Having said what life is, I will now discuss death. Just as life is the animation of matter, death is the de-animation of matter--the return to dust. Objects come to life when the spirit of life enters a being, and beings die when the spirit of life leaves them. But when do beings die? They die when their bodies cease to function. Either the spirit of life leaves a being and thus it ceases to function, or the body ceases to function and thus the spirit of life is removed from it. But which is the case, and what is the cause of death? Living beings die because their flesh can no longer be animated, and thus the spirit of life ceases to animate them. Life ends, when bodies cease to function, because a spirit cannot operate a disfunctioning body.

But what happens to a spirit when it leaves a body? The spirit of life depends upon dust to function, just as a nation cannot exist when its people die. When a body ceases to function, the spirit too ceases to exist, as far as we're concerned. Therefore, when creatures die, they exist no longer, and only dust remains. However, people are more than the spirit of life, for they are of the Breath of G-d. You might say that since G-d Created life, and thus He Created the spirit of life, then the spirit returns to G-d...but this is not so. Since the spirits of creatures are their own, they do not belong to G-d, as they are not a part of G-d. However, the spirits of people are from G-d, and they are a part of G-d; therefore the spirit of man does return to G-d, while the spirits of other forms of life do not.