The Re-discovery Of The Soul

A few days ago I began to read a brand new medical science study about death called Erasing Death: The Science That Is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life and Death by Dr. Sam Parnia and Josh Young (February, 2013). They tell us some very interesting things about changing views of physical death . . . and human life. For instance, up to this point many scientists have concluded that human consciousness, the mind, subjective experience, the person or simply the soul, arises from the activity of the brain. However, all the brain-based theories "do not answer the fundamental question of how thoughts and consciousness or human experience may arise from the activity of neurons."

The authors go on to make a most important point about how thoughts, feelings, emotions and what makes us into who we are arises.

This limitation of all the theories has led to the suggestion that human consciousness or the soul may in fact be an irreducible scientific entity in its own right, similar to many of the concepts in physics such as mass and gravity, which are also irreducible entities. —Kindle location 2785 

They go on to speak about the views of Nobel Prize winner Sir John Eccles, considered by many to be one of the greatest neuroscientists in the world.  The whole of Eccles' philosophical thought has been brought together in a book entitled Facing Reality published by Springer in the Heidelberg Science Library (1970).

Eccles' "view was that the mind, consciousness, or soul itself played an active role in selecting and integrating brain cell activity and molded it into a unified whole. . . He thought of the brain as an "instrument that provides the conscious self or person with the lines of communication from and to the external world" and that "does this by receiving information through the immense sensory system of the millions of nerve fibre that fire impulses to the brain, where it is processed into coded patterns of information that we read out from moment to moment in deriving all our experiences—or perceptions, thoughts, ideas and memories. . . 

Therefore, in (Eccles') view, the brain is an instrument that relays information to and from both the internal and external worlds, but consciousness  or the soul is a separate and subtle scientific entity that interacts directly with it. Furthermore, as the human soul or consciousness is a separate yet entirely real entity that determines the true reality of a person, it continues to exist after death. Therefore, when one dies, one is left with the same level of knowledge, understanding and perception as on earth. This is why people with actual-death or near-death experiences may interpret what they see based on their own level of education and thought. Thus, the level of perception of reality that exists after death is directly proportional to that acquired on earth. —Kindle location 2811-12

The authors describe how modern medical  technology is able to restore human life many hours after brain and heart activity has ceased. These new discoveries suggest that medical doctors must be very cautious about declaring a person dead ! This information also has some far reaching implications for the so-called harvesting of organs from people who have died.

If this question interests you as much as it does me, I can only urge you to read the book. In my next posts I will explore further what the Bible says about the soul and suggest that theologians and medical scientists must carry on with an even more extensive dialog about human existence as both body and soul.

New Approach To Funding Cancer Research

My grandfather died from cancer when I was a child. My brother-in-law was taken from this life by cancer only a few years ago. In my work as a pastor over the years I comforted and prayed with hundreds of individuals and family members as they struggled to face illness and death caused by cancer.

My High School Journalism featured an article today from Padre Press - Marcos de Niza High School of Tempe, AZ - Supporters of Life: 

There are few times in a person’s life more traumatic than the day they will hear the words, “You have cancer.”

For those who have gone through the trauma of a cancer diagnosis, the biggest fundraising event of the American Cancer Society is putting their efforts to give hope to their families and themselves. 

The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is an overnight relay-style event where teams of people camp out around a track, walk and provide food, games and family-friendly entertainment for the entire community.
“Relay For Life is a nation-wide event to raise money for the American cancer association. It goes to support the fight against cancer,” said senior Isabelle Chea.

We are all grateful for the work of the American Cancer Society. They need our support and our prayers. But there are other organizations at work on helping us to discover ways to stamp out cancer.

Global Cures, Inc. is one such. GlobalCures is a non-profit medical research organization with a mission to help patients find their best treatment options today, share their clinical outcomes and fund promising therapies. I've been invited to meet the founder and CEO of this organization today at a private presentation on the latest advances in cancer research.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on laboratory research, where enormous progress has been made in recent years. However, for the most part, only those basic science discoveries with high potential for financial reward have led to drugs for human use leaving behind many untapped opportunities.

Among these financially unrewarding promising therapies (“Fiscal Orphans”), are many FDA approved drugs which are immediately available for use for diseases other than what they were approved for. In addition, many generally regarded as safe (GRAS) substances like flax oil or nutraceuticals such as vitamin C have been studied in humans but have rarely undergone rigorous clinical trials and therefore are typically not recommended by physicians as treatment options.

GlobalCures believes that we now have a unique opportunity - indeed a responsibility - to research further and develop such therapies. They have adopted a non-profit drug development model, so that the criteria used in evaluating the potential of a therapy will focus solely on scientific merit and not on financial reward.

Vikas P. Sukhatme, MD, PhD, is the CEO and founder of GlobalCures. Dr. Sukhatme received a PhD in physics from MIT and an MD from Harvard Medical School. He is a physician engaged in both basic science and patient-oriented research at Harvard, where he is the Victor J. Aresty Professor of Medicine. He is also the Chief Academic Officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, a teaching hospital of Harvard U. His primary interest is in cancer research but his research has spanned such diverse areas as toxemia of pregnancy and sepsis.

You may contact GlobalCures at webmaster@global-cures.org or GlobalCures,Inc., 36 Skyview Circle, Newton, MA. 02459

This is important information for all families. I'll share more in future postings.