The chain of being

The medievals had this concept referred to as the "chain of being." It was part and parcel with their delightful tendency to categorize absolutely everything they could get their paws on. The chain of being had God at the top: He alone possessed being in and of Himself; all else is "contingent," or dependent for their existence on God's good pleasure.

Next in the chain come angels, which are pure spirit.

Next comes man. People have both spiritual and physical aspects; they are also in the image of God, which includes several things, but almost certainly reason.

Animals come next. They are physical but with the breath of life.

And living plants are below that, and unliving things below them.

All of this has a point, which I am now coming to. I was on my way to church on Sunday and we were at a stop sign behind a car. It was a Spirit, a Ford I think. It had two bumper stickers: "Little Devil" and "Animal."

I am reasonably sure the car was being driven by a human. The car is physical, not spirit; the human in it was almost certainly neither pure spirit nor lacking spirit.

That car was CONFUSED!