A matter of LIFE and DEATH

The meaning of Life and of Death

The words "Life" and "Death" have two meanings. There is the physical meaning that pertains to the body, to the very fact that we are moving, thinking human beings, and there is a spiritual meaning that is often overlooked, yes, even by fellow Christians.

I have been asking other Christians what do they understand to be the Scriptural meaning of Life and Death. I do not think that I have as yet had a satisfactory answer to my question. You see Christians skirt around the meaning of Life and Death because they want to accuse Catholics of such crimes (in their minds) as Necromancy or 'praying to the dead'. I do not know how many times that I have heard the chant that the dead know nothing, or that the saints cannot hear our prayers because they are dead.

How can we live a moral life in Christ if we do not understand the literal Scriptural meaning of Life and Death?What has this got to do with issues related to Euthanasia, Abortion and other associated matters? Everything. I contend that people who truly understand the meaning of life, as it is taught by Jesus Christ, could not possibly accept the proposals of the culture of death and the destruction that comes in the wake of "death".

In Scripture life has two meanings for their is our physical existence as it is recorded in the Scripture. In fact the Scripture is a testimony to the physical existence of Jesus Christ, whom we claim to be the Son of God, and who is also Son of Man. Yet, life, that is "Eternal Life" has a deeper meaning than mere physical existence because eternal life is final state for the soul after physical death. A person who walks with God has life, and will be led on to Eternal Life through constant nourishment from God's Grace.

It is the same with death, for there is the physical separation of the soul from the flesh, but there is also a spiritual death that separates a soul from God. When a soul is not being nourished because of that spiritual separation then it begins to slowly die as a result of sin.

The Woman at the Well

How does this relate to Terri? It is like this, when Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, the woman had a soul that was dying because of the lack of nourishment as a result of her many sins, known only to Jesus. Before that meeting her soul was parched through lack of nourishment that had resulted because the woman had been living with different men (and perhaps going as far as preventing any children from being born). When Jesus began speaking to the woman, she understood him as meaning the water that could be drawn from the well. However, what Jesus promised was far greater than the water in the well. He was making a promise to this woman of being able to receive the Living Water through Him.

Now, here is the parallel to Terri Schiavo, and the things that are being denied to her by the man who claims to be her husband. By requesting to pull out the feeding and nourishment tube from Terri, Michael is specifically attempting to kill his wife through the sanction of the state, by the refusal to allow her anything to eat or drink. At the present time Terri is being fed through a tube. It has been reported that this is for the convenience of the staff. Yet it is more than that because Michael Schiavo refuses to allow his wife to be fed via the mouth. In other words, from the physical point of view, Michael Schiavo is determined to cause the withdrawl of water and nourishment from Terri.

From the psychological point of view, Michael Schiavo has also been causing Terri's separation from her family by banning, at various times, the members of the Schindler family, plus he has caused Terri to be withdrawn from the world in general because of the lack of stimulus via his instruction to deprive her of all human dignity. It gets worse when it is realised that Michael Schiavo is also denying Terri the opportunity to be nourished by the Holy Spirit through reception of the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus promised that we would be allowed to draw water from the well of salvation, yet this poor woman is being denied what rightfully belongs to her - LIFE - Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual.

The death that Michael Schiavo is trying to enforce upon his wife is not just that of a physical death that promises to be painful, but he is also enforcing a psychological death in order to force her to withdraw from the world per the exit protocol of L. Ron Hubbard, and a death in the spirit because of his determination to deny her the spiritual nourishment of the Eucharist.

Are the actions of Michael Schiavo, as endorsed by Judge Greer and also of his attorneys, George Felos and Deborah Bushnell, a glimpse into the future? What does the future hold for Christian believers if the culture of death is allowed to gain the ascendancy?

What is happening in Christian circles is that the preachers who state that the saints are dead and that they cannot hear our prayers, are in fact unwittingly participating in the culture of death. There is a subtlety about such a teaching that has escaped most Christians who have bought into that kind of statement. If the saints are "dead" then Jesus is a liar and He is not the Messiah after all. It would mean that for around 2000 years we have been duped into believing in the Resurrection of the dead, as well as the promise of Eternal Life - because if the saints are dead and cannot hear our prayers then there is no point in being a Christian at all. That is the reality for those who buy the argument of psuedo-Christianity. The subtlety comes about because once you accept such statements as "the saints are dead and they are of no help to you" then the outcome is that psuedo-Christians are also easily swayed into accepting the ideas of the culture of death.

The Hypnotic influence of repetition

The media has a very strong influence over public opinion and we see the consequences of this influence in the debates over both abortion on demand and euthanasia. Ever since the 1960s the media has been seeking to influence public opinion on these issues and to bring about their acceptance in the public psyche. To a certain extent the media has been successful in their goal since the surveys that have been taken have shown a distinct trend towards acceptance of the very things that lead to the culture of death.

Why has this happened? I believe that the reason for a more widespread acceptance of these things that are morally wrong, is that the media has indulged in a campaign that has had the effect hypnotic suggestion. In other words, if the idea is repeated often enough it will become more and more acceptable over time. This is precisely what happened in the debate over abortion on demand, and the same thing is happening with the issue of euthanasia.

In Terri Schiavo's case, it is the husband and his lawyers who have been successfully manipulating the media so that they are presenting a story that this woman is in a persistant vegetative state, and that she allegedly told her husband that she did not want to remain in that state. Schiavo has hired a team of lawyers who have an interest in pushing for the legalisation of euthanasia. If one pays attention to the language employed by Michael Schiavo and his lawyers, they are more or less implying that Terri is already dead. For example Michael, in an interview stated that:

"The reality is that Terri left us 13 years ago and none of us can bring her back."

Then if one studies the wording of George Felos there is a gruesome similarity in the language employed:

"There's no evidence of cerebral activity. She's not brain dead but she has no conciousness, no awareness and she never will."

and "no conciousness, no thought."

The chilling aspect of this case is the fact that Michael Schiavo has been able to prevent his wife receiving a proper assessment of her condition via the new imaging techniques that are available today, and also through a variety of cognitive tests that are needed to determine her true status. What is even more chilling are the parallels between the treatment meted out to Terri by Michael Schiavo, and the recommendations of L. Ron Hubbard for those who are considered to be non-persons by virtue of the fact that they are not able to earn an income. In terms of scientology Terri is not authentically alive.

In the meantime George Felos and Michael Schiavo continue their cover up for the real reason why they are fighting so hard to get court approval for the removal of the feeding tube. Instead of announcing the results of new tests and therapies, Schiavo is only interested in the date that has been given to him and that allows him to remove the feeding tubes. Terri has been abused because of the fact that she has been locked away in the hospice with guards present to ensure that she is not fed by mouth.

So why are there so many who are willing to believe the lies of Schiavo and his lawyers? Are their arguments compelling? You be the judge.