Cryonics and Religion

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Cryonics has gained much notoriety recently, thanks in large part to Phil Donahue, Larry King, and others. And while the Alcor staff has done an excellent job of addressing the scientific, legal, political and ethical issues that have been expressed, there remains a vital problem that has been largely ignored both recently and in the past, allowing that a large part of the mentally minded individuals should object to the practice of cryonics without investigating the above aspects at all. That problem is the supposed incompatibility of cryonics and religion, specifically Christianity.

Statements like: “The cryonists intend to resurrect the dead, claiming the power that only God possesses,” “The desire to prolong life on Earth contradicts what is taught in the Bible” and “The souls of those in Cryonic suspension are trapped in hell. ” limbo between heaven and earth. “have been accepted as maxims among Christians (although the latter is more often imagined than declared) Are these statements, and others similar, just? More important, are they biblical? that the ideas behind cryonics are fully compatible with the biblical view of life and, moreover, that the desired results of cryonics coincide with many specific mandates of the Bible.

Crionic: Extending life or resurrecting the dead?

An important objection that many Christians have regarding cryonics depends on the misconception of death today. Because the cryonics suspension can not be carried out until after legal death, cryonics is often considered hidden. Many Christians consider Alcor as a group of “witch doctors” to resurrect the dead when, in fact, only God has that power. However, clearly presenting the true definition of “death” can often solve this problem.

As medicine has progressed, the accepted definition of death has changed. “Death” meant something quite different for doctors in New Testament times than it does for physicians today. One of the biggest obstacles that Alcor has had to overcome is the inadequacy of the current definition of death. Although it is changing, it is still not accurate in the sense that it is still function-based. Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that the current legal definitions of life and death are erroneous, misconceptions persist. Because Christianity teaches that the soul leaves the body at the moment of death, this problem plays an important role in shaping the Christian view of cryonics.

Science, particularly neurology, has shown that man is an information being. Memory and personality, and therefore identity, are contained in the brain. They do not leave the body when the breathing ceases, nor the cessation of circulation, nor the cessation of brain activity. This has been demonstrated repeatedly by patients at the operating table and victims of drowning in frozen lakes, all legally dead, who have recovered with total retention of memory, personality, identity, etc. Until the critical identity structure in the brain is broken, any declaration of death is purely arbitrary.

“It is this knowledge, that anyone who retains the brain structure of critical identity is not dead, which gives the cryonists the hope that they will succeed.” It is also this knowledge that must put an end to the first important Christian objection: the belief that the cryonists hope to “resurrect the dead.” Patients in suspension can not be defined as “dead” if the term is to preserve any of its meanings. While these patients are certainly damaged, they are not dead. They are patients who wait for treatment, but they are not dead because they are not unrecoverable. Cryonics is a legitimate attempt on the part of rational men to take today’s “terminal” patients to the lifesaving technology of the future. Radical medicine, yes.

The sanctity of life

Since cryonics must be classified with another medicine that saves lives, a correct Christian view of medicine must now be established. If it can be shown that the advancement of medicine is in accordance with the will of God, if God is interested in improving and extending life on Earth, then it necessarily follows that cryonics is in accordance with the will of God. A popular Christian objection to cryonics holds that God is not concerned with man’s earthly physical condition, which is concerned only with the soul and spirit of man.

The Bible has a lot to say about human life. God created man in his own image. He breathed in the man the “breath of life”. Before the fall of man, immortality was his natural state. After his fall, death came as part of the curse. It has been argued, by no less respected Christian thinkers than CS Lewis and Henry Morris, that death is not a normal part of life, but rather an interference with the normal process of life. It seems that all death can be attributed to illness or accident. Life, then, is the norm, not disease and death.

Much of the Bible deals with the alleviation of illness and death. Most of the miracles attributed to the prophets, to Christ, to the first Christians and to the Christians throughout the centuries have involved the healing of the sick and the resurrection of the dead. In fact, Christ commanded his disciples to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead …” (Matthew 10: 8). Although Christians should not think about the day, let the day take care of itself and seek first the kingdom of God, many of the tasks assigned to the Church, however, have to do with the relief of earthly problems and of men, so that they may then open their hearts to the truth of the gospel.

The book of Job offers a lot of information about the meaning of life on Earth. While in the deepest pit of human depravity and despair, Job still opted for life. His wife and friends (representing worldly philosophies) begged him to curse God and die. “Job chose to praise God and live, and to live He did it.” God rewarded Job’s faithfulness with many rewards, one of which was long life.

Job is by no means the only biblical example of fidelity rewarded with longevity. God promised the children of Israel: “And you shall serve the Lord your God … and I will remove the disease from among you … the number of your days I will fulfill.” (Ex 23: 25,26)

A truly biblical perspective of earthly experience must necessarily conclude that God is concerned to rectify the condition of man in the soul, spirit and body. The notion that God does not care about life on earth, specifically physical life, is not biblical. In this context, medicine, including cryonics, is not only approved by God, but also commanded by God.

¿Limbo?

After establishing that cryonics is a life-prolonging medicine, and that such medicine is completely harmonious with God’s plans for man, the next question that is usually addressed involves the condition of the soul of the one who is suspended. If the conclusion is accepted that suspended patients are not dead, then this question is easily answered. The soul of a patient in suspension would be in the same condition as the soul of any man who is in a coma, unconscious or simply asleep.

Unfortunately, many Christians still see patients suspended as dead. But even this is not an obstacle to cryonics in view of the explicit biblical teaching on death and destiny, both temporal and eternal, of the soul. There is much confusion among Christians today on this subject, so it is important to go directly to the Bible for enlightenment.

The parable of Christ on wheat and tares (Matthew 13: 29, 30, 37-43) is especially revealing. After the head of the house sowed the wheat, his servant reported that the tares [herbaceous grass] had begun to grow with the grain. The servant asked: “Do you want us to go pick them up?” The teacher replied, “No, lest while you gather the tares, you should also try the wheat with them, let them both grow together until the time of harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will tell the reapers: let us first gather the weed, and tie them in bundles and burn them, but gather the wheat in my barn. ”

The beauty of this parable is that Christ explains it for us. “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed is the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked, the enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels, and as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the world, the Son of Man will send his angels, and will gather from his kingdom all things that offend and they that do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ”

When will the tares be harvested and the wheat harvested? Not until the end of the world!

When we add to this parable the words of Christ in John 5: 28,29, the doctrine becomes clear. “Do not marvel at this, for the time will come when all those who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good, until the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, even the resurrection of condemnation. ” Jesus taught that both good and evil would come from their graves to receive life or condemnation.

In addition, Peter affirmed: “The Lord knows how to deliver the pious from temptation and to reserve the unjust until the day of punishment” (2 Peter 2: 9), providing us with the key word in this subject: reserved. It is clear that the souls of the dead do not go anywhere until the end of the world, and that it is God himself who has reserved them.

The exact state of the soul from the moment of death to the end of the world can be determined by applying a little science to the teachings of Paul in 2 Corinthians 5. Paul taught that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Father, and vice versa . In light of the above biblical passages, it must be assumed that the individual soul does not experience any time between death and judgment. The body exists in time and space, but the soul does not. For the soul, there is no time lapse after death, and, therefore, there is no limbo to endure.

Whether it is believed that suspension patients are completely dead, or simply in a state of sleep, the fate of the soul is not an obstacle to cryonics.

The purpose of the Christian

Finally, since cryonics does not violate the biblical principle, and because it actually fulfills part of God’s purposes on Earth, the discerning Christian must now raise the very important question: is the extension of life something that Christians should actively follow? The apostle Paul struggled with a question similar in principle to this, revealing the whole purpose of the Christian for earthly existence in the process.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul compares the desire to die and go to heaven with the need to remain on Earth. No Christian would argue that heaven is not a completely moral goal for every believer, but Paul reveals, in simple language, why heaven is an end that can wait. “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain … Because I am in a strait between two, with the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is much better: however, remaining in the flesh is more necessary for  you  And having this confidence, I know that I will fulfill them and continue with all of you for  the advancement and joy of the faith . ” (Phil.1: 21,23,24) (Emphasis mine.)

Here lies the purpose of the Christian life: the ministry to others. If personal salvation were the end of God’s plans for the individual, no Christian would have to remain on Earth after salvation. God would simply take each new Christian to heaven as he did with Enoch and Elijah. But God has more, much more, in his plans for every Christian. Although the believer may want to go to heaven as soon as possible, and rightly so, it is more necessary for others to stay on Earth.

As John Warwick Montgomery suggested for the first time in 1968, the words of the apostle in Philippians 1:24 “should become the headquarters doctrinae of orthodox Christian cryonics.” They provide more than enough reasons for the Christian to want a cryonic suspension.

It is appropriate to conclude with a quote from the Rev. Kay Glaesner, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of San Juan.

“Christianity and the church have always been interested in the extension of human life … that he (man / woman) can be more fruitful in bearing the testimony of God and doing the work of God.

“We have electronic stimulators, inhalation techniques, blood transfusions and many other mechanical medications in our hospitals right now, representing only some of the prostheses that are used and promoted by our medical sciences and approved by the Christian church. Therefore, it can be deduced that the cryogenic [church] can certainly be approved and founded by the Christian church, provided that the same criteria are used (adequate scientific and legal guarantees).

“I am in favor of extending life, day by day, I pray that God will direct us how to use techniques, medical sciences, healing and miracles, since he is the doctor of all doctors … Life could extend for a year. ” One hundred years, or a thousand years, but there is still no doubt in the minds of people who think that such … is but a small lapse in the totality of God’s plan. No art or craft of man will evade or nullify the idea. judgment of God. We will be resurrected either in the body, in the grave or in the frozen coffin.

“… the church of Christ does not retard science … In our world there are bigger things, greater potentials in 90 percent of what we are still in darkness, when we discover new planets in orbit or new dimensions in galaxies, or new prostheses to help or extend life, this only shows us how wonderful, great, inscrutable and inscrutable is the mind of Almighty God. “