The Soul

[Geolibertarian]

So the soul leaves the body when you die, right? First, what state of the body is defined as “death”? What if someone were dead for 4 hours? The soul could leave the body then the person revived? Does that revived person have a soul or he or she a zombie?

 

[Blade_and_Blood]

It really depends on your own views. Near-Death experiences always make people really think about their number being called: “Why didn’t I leave?” “Did God want me to stay to fulfill an unfinished purpose?” “How long was I out?”

Yeah, these types of things are so thought-provoking. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer your question, but I hope your own thoughts and opinions help you out along the way.

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood

 

[delberto]

As an expert in this field let me explain-
if you have no brain activity and your heart has stopped and your brain stem has stopped. You have no vital stats of any description then i would say its a good bet that your dead.
Your soul would leave your body then, but only after hanging about a bit to see if you were able to be revived.

 

[Padilla7921]

So the soul leaves the body when you die, right? First, what state of the body is defined as “death”? What if someone were dead for 4 hours? The soul could leave the body then the person revived? Does that revived person have a soul or he or she a zombie?

Coincidentally enough, I talked to my friend about this subject using a similar example just mere hours ago.

When my mother worked at a VA hospital in New York, she had a patient die. The patient was pronounced dead, the family had come to see him, all that stuff. The whole ordeal took a few hours (I believe it was 2-4 hours, but probably less), so this guy was dead for a few hours (no heartbeat, no brainwaves, no nothing that constitutes a living person).

Well, as my mom was bringing him down to the morgue in the elevator, the guy sits up and asks what in the world is going on. Now, you could imagine the mess that caused.

But, that begs me to ask: What is life? What is death? Simply put, life (in finite, physical, human terms) can be defined as your existence in the physical realm. Death, then, is a state in which you no longer exist in the physical realm.

I do believe that when the body dies (as in “dead as a doornail” dead), the soul leaves the body. Like in the story I just told you, a person was clearly dead (and therefore no longer existing in the physical realm), but for some reason, came back to life (and began existing in the physical realm again). Since this person (who was once dead) is alive again, he exists again. If he exists, he must have a soul at his essence. So, yeah, he has a soul.

 

[LilyM]

Coincidentally enough, I talked to my friend about this subject using a similar example just mere hours ago.

When my mother worked at a VA hospital in New York, she had a patient die. The patient was pronounced dead, the family had come to see him, all that stuff. The whole ordeal took a few hours (I believe it was 2-4 hours, but probably less), so this guy was dead for a few hours (no heartbeat, no brainwaves, no nothing that constitutes a living person).

Well, as my mom was bringing him down to the morgue in the elevator, the guy sits up and asks what in the world is going on. Now, you could imagine the mess that caused.

But, that begs me to ask: What is life? What is death? Simply put, life (in finite, physical, human terms) can be defined as your existence in the physical realm. Death, then, is a state in which you no longer exist in the physical realm.

I do believe that when the body dies (as in “dead as a doornail” dead), the soul leaves the body. Like in the story I just told you, a person was clearly dead (and therefore no longer existing in the physical realm), but for some reason, came back to life (and began existing in the physical realm again). Since this person (who was once dead) is alive again, he exists again. If he exists, he must have a soul at his essence. So, yeah, he has a soul.

This person clearly was NOT dead, however much there may have been no SIGNS of life perceptible to the doctors and machines. There’s a reason why they’re called signs of life - they’re just indicators, not an absolute standard.

He was in a state of suspended animation - similar to a coma or something. Again, not dead, but appearing to human examination and machines to be so.

Besides which, both doctors and machines, good as they are, are fallible and can make mistakes, including mistakes as to pronouncing on someone’s death - obviously, this person’s case was an example.

 

[tee]

It’s odd, how I come across soul and body a couple of times already today.

I don’t know what exactly the church teaches on these soul and death thing, but as I see it is when we live we have a soul, and a dead person has no soul. The time the soul enters and leaves the body is something we don’t know ONLY GOD KNOWS.

So, when you die it doesn’t mean your soul leaves right away, it is only our body or your heart that stops. Your soul might still lingering around, may be because it’s too heavy with sins to float off. ( just kidding)

 

[Padilla7921]

This person clearly was NOT dead, however much there may have been no SIGNS of life perceptible to the doctors and machines. There’s a reason why they’re called signs of life - they’re just indicators, not an absolute standard.

How, then, do you define death? It’s entirely possible that this person could have died, but then came back to life a short time later.

He was in a state of suspended animation - similar to a coma or something.

No, it is not similar to a coma. A coma is a state of cognitive unawareness, where the body remains vitally functional but the conscious mind does not.

Again, not dead, but appearing to human examination and machines to be so. … Besides which, both doctors and machines, good as they are, are fallible and can make mistakes, including mistakes as to pronouncing on someone’s death - obviously, this person’s case was an example.

When a person dies and his/her body shows signs of death (lack of brain or heart function) and shows postmortem indicators (severe discoloration, rigor mortis, etc), it’s pretty safe to say that the person is, in fact, dead. For instance, when the heart stops pumping, blood stops moving, which causes a myriad of internal problems, including, but not limited to, internal organ failure (which then leads to other problems) and clotting.

People and machines may be infallible, but proclaiming someone’s death isn’t done by simply looking at the body and checking a box. There are factors involved that we analyze to determine a person’s death after a certain period of time. So, no, this person’s case was not an example.