Author Topic: Soul still in body? (Read 1582 times)

Magdalene · « **on:** December 22, 2007, 11:08:48 PM »

The brain will continue to send electrical signals for 37 hours after your death. Do you think this means that the soul is still present in the body for that many hours - and that is why even after a person has just died, a priest can give last rites to a dead person?

Kephapaulos · « **Reply #1 on:** December 22, 2007, 11:18:50 PM »

I don't know, Magdalene, but I know I'd like to learn more about the human body and soul from what St. Thomas Aquinas says on them.

JoanScholastica · « **Reply #2 on:** December 28, 2007, 04:12:13 PM »

Quote from: Magdalene

The brain will continue to send electrical signals for 37 hours after your death. Do you think this means that the soul is still present in the body for that many hours - and that is why even after a person has just died, a priest can give last rites to a dead person?

Yup, I guess that's true... I heard about it when we're talking about Extreme Unction... The SSPX priest advised to call the priest even if the person is dead already... but just within hours of the person's death.

Though I'm not so sure if 37 hours after is still permissible...

Catholic Samurai · « **Reply #3 on:** December 28, 2007, 09:22:23 PM »

What if the persons head was cut off? Stange question but I was just wondering.
:confused1:

Magdalene · « **Reply #4 on:** December 30, 2007, 02:38:01 AM »

Quote from: Catholic Samurai

What if the persons head was cut off? Stange question but I was just wondering.
:confused1:

There are still brain signals even after a person is decapitated. In fact, not only brain signals but consciousness for a few seconds after the decapitation is sometimes possible - enough time I think to even repent of your sins. I know that a person is still conscious because the following testimony is taken from a U.S. Army veteran who had been stationed in Korea. In 1989, the taxi he and a friend were riding in collided with a truck. The Army veteran was pinned in the wreckage. The friend was decapitated. Here's what happened [WARNING: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART]:

My friend's head came to rest face up, and (from my angle) upside-down. As I watched, his mouth opened and closed no less than two times. The facial expressions he displayed were first of shock or confusion, followed by terror or grief. I cannot exaggerate and say that he was looking all around, but he did display ocular movement in that his eyes moved from me, to his body, and back to me. He had direct eye contact with me when his eyes took on a hazy, absent expression . . . and he was dead.

JoanScholastica · « **Reply #5 on:** January 01, 2008, 07:53:07 PM »

Quote

My friend's head came to rest face up, and (from my angle) upside-down. As I watched, his mouth opened and closed no less than two times. The facial expressions he displayed were first of shock or confusion, followed by terror or grief. I cannot exaggerate and say that he was looking all around, but he did display ocular movement in that his eyes moved from me, to his body, and back to me. He had direct eye contact with me when his eyes took on a hazy, absent expression . . . and he was dead.

That's so scary I would have died looking at!!! :surprised:

Magdalene · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2008, 12:34:47 AM »

Quote from: MlleDeRodat

Quote from: Magdalene
The brain will continue to send electrical signals for 37 hours after your death. Do you think this means that the soul is still present in the body for that many hours - and that is why even after a person has just died, a priest can give last rites to a dead person?

I wasn't aware of these facts Magdalene, where did you get this evidence ?? Interesting question. :reporter:

I wonder at which point the soul leaves the body.

I saw a video about interesting facts about the Body on Youtube.

Magdalene · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2008, 12:41:53 AM »

Quote from: Artisan

I'm sure this doesn't have anything to do with the soul leaving the human body, but in animals decapitation does not stop an animal from moving about.

My mother used to tell us kids that on the farm when they cut off a chicken's head, the chicken's body still ran around in circles for quite a few minutes.

The friend's head was not doing involuntary muscle spasms after decapitation. The testimony of the veteran says that the eyes showed the emotions of shock and then grief. Also, the the eyes moved from his friend to his body and then back to his friend (this made the decapitated man see his own decpatitated body and realize what had just happened to him -hense the changing from shock to grief in his expression). If it was just muscle spasms like how a chicken reacts when it is decapitated, the eyes would having been moving around in all directions and not landing specifically on the friend and then on his own body and then back to his friend. The decapitated man was obviously still aware for a few seconds after his head had been cut off.