Bodies and Spirits

Out-of-body experiences explained away? This page examines the case of a woman who can induce that condition at will:

Astral Travel

A fascinating article, but one feature of it irks me, pronouncements such as these: “This is not an astral trip, like those described by mystics. There's no paranormal activity of any kind,” and the assumption that the experience is best described as “a type of hallucination.” Not that I necessarily believe this woman’s ability proves the existence of astral travel. On the other hand, neither does the fact that the scans show activity in the part of the brain that senses the body’s movement and “makes you feel where your body is in relation to the world” prove that astral travel does NOT take place. Nor does the fact that the same perceptions can be induced by drugs. The purely materialistic interpretation is an assumption brought to the facts, not a conclusion legitimately derived from the facts.

In the Judeo-Christian world-view, body, mind, and soul form a unity. It would be no surprise at all to find evidence of the spirit’s activity in the synapses of the brain. Rather, we’d be surprised NOT to find such evidence. See C. S. Lewis’s essay on “Transposition” for a lucid discussion of the physical manifestations of emotional and spiritual experiences. The text isn’t available online as far as I can tell, being under copyright; however, here’s a pretty good summary with extensive quotes (note especially the paragraph using grief and tears as an example):

Transposition

On another topic, speaking of bodies and spirits, next week I’m scheduled to appear on a panel about vampires and zombies. Any thoughts about the current popularity of zombies? I’ve never grokked the appeal of them myself. (I’m representing Team Vampire.) From what I’ve seen of zombie movies, they seem to be a subset of post-apocalyptic fiction and probably satisfy the same audience expectations. Anyone have favorite zombie books or movies?

Margaret L. Carter

Carter's Crypt