Sunday, March 27, 2005

The "soul" of Terri Schiavo and the Book of John (Podhoretz)

It's Easter Sunday perhaps a few words on the soul and "The Schiavo Stakes" are in order. Let us turn to the Book of John (Podhoretz):

"Those who want her to live tend to view life as a gift a treasure beyond value that has been bestowed upon us and that we therefore have no right to squander. The giver of the gift cannot be seen by the human eye, and the essence of the gift cannot be seen either.

We usually call that essence the "soul." Our souls define us: They make us who we are in the deepest sense. And they transcend us as well: They are our connection to the divine, to all in the universe that is unseen and unknowable but is still there."

I'm not an expert on Christianity, although I checked with my resident expert. It seems to me that there may be many reasons for Ms. Schiavo to go on living (I'm not privy to all the information that the doctors and courts have had) but the preservation of her soul is not one of them.

To the best of my knowledge (correct me if I'm wrong) there is no religion in which the soul dies with the human body. Presumably her soul will transcend the death of her human body. It will move on to another dimension where it will live on.

This kind of nonsense that Podhoretz spouts simply confuses the issues involved. He goes on to say:

"Most religious people share this set of beliefs, which is why those who have pushed hardest to save Schiavo are devout Christians."

If "most religious people share this set of beliefs," why is that "those who have pushed hardest to save Schiavo are devout Christians" and not most religious people? Could it be that they don't believe that? Not even Christians, if I'm correct.

Come on John. If you're going to pontificate, at least try to make some sense.

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