Two evenings ago there was a documentary on TV called The Science of the Soul. It explored the mysterious essence of being human which goes beyond the mechanics of our bodies and the synapses of our brains. This is what religious folk call the soul.
The doc makers spoke with scientists and physicians, who aren't inclined to use that term "soul" but are intrigued by that intangible and immeasurable essence. Where are we when we are under anaesthetic? Can we give any credence to "out of body" experiences? Why do the brains of people in supposed vegetative states respond to the same stimuli as those who are conscious? Is there some state between consciousness and unconsciousness which could be called the soul?
Some of the scientists are fascinated by this even though they don't believe in an afterlife or an eternal soul.
I have been at the bedsides of enough people who died to want to hear what these scientific types have to say. There is a sense in those moments of something, some life-force departing in death.
What do you think about this? Do you have a soul?
I have no doubt there is a soul. It is strange isn't it? That when you are with someone who is dying the soul is touchable.
ReplyDeleteI was watching a talk given by a skeptic on TV on the weekend. I noticed he kept coming back to the idea that God and soul were things we just imagined out of a sense of comfort. His demeanor seemed rather mechanical to me. It seemed to me that believing in a soul adds something, another branch of self awareness that I personally would be lost without. To not believe in a soul would leave me without a compass. I wouldn't know where I was. If the soul only exists because we believe in it, why not believe in it.
Well, I figure I have a soul too. I'm glad there are two of us!
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