Great chain of being

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The Great Chain of Being or Scala Nature is a medieval model of the universe and life. It outlines the percieved heirarchy of all things from the Christian god at the top down to percieved base minerals like dust.

An important distinction is that between the unchangeable spirit and the changing or mutable earthly-form. In the middle of these two is the human form which contains both elements of spirit and mutable flesh. Spirit through the adherance to absolute morals is considered the path to righteouness and the primal desires of the flesh are seen to drag one away from heaven.

The concept of a Great Chain of Being rests on the existance of a Christian god and exists purely as a result of people trying to explain the role of the Christian god. It adds no compelling reason to further believe in a god.