Human Phenomena in the Bible
How Human Are Humans?
By
Patrick Cooke

          Throughout history, the world has witnessed a side of man that shows he is not just higher than the animals, but higher than what his known physical and mental restrictions should allow.   Is mankind endowed with special powers as a race, or are just a chosen few blessed?  Do these incredible powers come from an outside source or do they lay dormant within?
          Science tells us man is a physical being, but a higher animal than the creatures he supposedly evolved from, just a couple of rungs up some imaginary ladder.  The church tells us man is just fire-fodder, with the opportunity to escape that fate if he conforms to a set of standards dictated by that particular church.  Education is stuck somewhere in between, teaching what comes out of the debate between the church and science.
          History shows us that mankind seems to be something completely removed from the orthodox view.  The Bible describes mankind as having a place in the scheme of things mostly ignored by the world's  mainstream, but recognized by the facts.  Consider the ramifications of these biblical edicts :

Man is a Mirror Image of the Gods
          Why is man so different from the other life forms on the planet?  Why is he so far up that imaginary ladder?   And, how can certain people exhibit such extraordinary powers that are never seen in other animals? 
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
          Man looks like and acts like the Elohiym or, at least, that's how it started.

Man Can Become Eternal
          Is this brief life span of just a few decades the whole of each person's life? Is there a real proverbial fountain of youth?
Genesis 3:22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
          Man is so much like the Elohiym that if allowed to partake of a particular substance, he would indeed become eternal.
Genesis 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
          The Elohiym had to physically prevent mankind from becoming eternal.

How Close to the Gods?
          Are humans just lucky, evolutionary mutants or, worse yet, hapless animals being used as pawns in some higher spiritual game, destined for the most part, to fry in some eternal oven after the game is over?  Or, is the true nature of man higher than his own imagination takes him?  Is mankind's real power and destiny suppressed by every form of conditioning society can employ to bury it?
John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 
          As the human Jesus says,  in the past he has told men that they are gods.
Psalms 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.  7  But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
          As the God of Moses and as the Christ, Yhovah makes clear the true nature of mankind.  Humans are gods. 

Can Humans Possess Supernatural Powers?
Matthew 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
          Is Jesus saying that if a person realizes that they have just an infinitesimal level of belief in their own internal power, they are capable of incredible feats of psychokenesis?
Luke 17:6  And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
          Here he is referring to a smaller object, but he is still talking about psychokenesis.  And in the verse above, the phase "and nothing shall be impossible unto you" shows that there is no limit to the powers of mankind

Was There Evidence of This Power?

          Possessed or empowered?  Is the standard dogma of the church, that all people exhibiting unusual powers are possessed by demons, accurate?  It is the declaration of the Bible that some of those people have high spiritual power.  Is the lack of such supernatural power taking place actually a sign that the church is not a true church? Here is what was going on in the original church community after their power was unleashed:

Acts 2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 

Acts 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. 

Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. 

Acts 8:6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 

Acts 8:3 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 

Acts 14:3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 

Acts 15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 

Acts 19:11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 

Romans 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 

I Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;  9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;  10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

1 Corinthians 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 

2 Corinthians 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. 

Galations 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 

Hebrews 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

A Serious Question: 
 Do we see this kind of supernatural activity in the modern mainstream church?
If not, why not?

 Is the Modern Church the True Church?
          It is clear that not all supernatural phenomenon is evil.  The words, miracle and miracles, appear 36 times in the Bible, 33 times they refer to good miracles.  Three times they refer to miracles being performed by one man, the Anti-Christ.   The word wonder appears 55 times, 51 times they refer to good wonders, 2 times to the Anti-Christ, 2 times to false christs and prophets.  It would seem that the good supernatural phenomenon far outweighs the bad by a hefty margin.  So why is this generally given the label of evil by the church, even though it was totally accepted by the first church?  Could it be that the modern church rejects the reality of the Church Jesus inspired as they do the communal nature of that same church?  Branding all super natural events as evil is no different than branding the socialistic lifestyle of the early church as communist atheism.  Both were embraced by the first church, both are condemned by the modern church.  Add to this the differences in the law, church structure, prejudice, finances and the very purpose for existence, and the validity of the modern church comes up very short.  One begins to wonder, considering the glaring opposites, what forces brought the modern church into being?