I would like to mention two things. I was reading the following a few days ago, and it simply defines death:
John 21:18-19 (KJV): 18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. 23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
Death is when our bodies die, we cease to breathe,
Nope.
First of all, there is no definition of death in that passage.
Second, death is defined as....
Wages.
"the wages of sin is death"
It's what you earn for sinning.
What happens when one sins?
He becomes separated from God.
He doesn't become unconscious. He doesn't fall asleep.
The natural consequence of sin is separation from God.
and contrary to what you claim, I believe that we are no longer conscious.
"I believe"
Sorry, but the Bible contradicts your beliefs, and since the Bible is God's word...
Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.” - Romans 3:4 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans3:4&version=NKJV
The second thing I would like to briefly consider is the Rich Man and Lazarus. Again I suggest that this may have been already discussed in this long thread. The following are a few of the problems that I have in accepting that Jesus is relating actual events and you may like to comment on each of the following:
1.The term “Abraham’s bosom”. Is this heaven or some other place?
Two things to consider:
1) The Rich Man and Lazarus is not a parable. Jesus does not name any of the individuals in ANY of the parables that he told, except for this story. Also, even parables are not based on made up worlds, they are based on reality, which means that even if the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus WERE a parable, it would not mean that Hell is not real.
2) Abraham's Bosom was (past tense) a compartment of Hell reserved for the righteous dead who were awaiting the death of the High Priest. Post Christ's resurrection, as per Ephesians 4, Abraham's Bosom is no longer in Hell, but those who were there are now in Heaven.
2.Can those in hell see those in heaven?
No.
3.Is Jesus talking about the immortal souls of the Rich Man and Lazarus?
A soul is a person.
4.Do immortal souls have tongues and fingers?
Not when they don't have a form to dwell in.
5.Would a few drops of water on the Rich Man’s tongue cool his tongue?
Drops of water is a figure of speech which means relief from pain.
Why do I say this?
Because pain is not physical, and therefore a person does not require a physical body to experience it. Pain is simply awareness. Those in Hell do not have physical bodies, as their bodies are still on earth