Christianity and Cryonics....What does God want?

Answer 1

Christianity and Cryonics: Questions and Answers
Cryonics, like heart surgery, is a scientific approach to extending human life that does not violate any religious beliefs or their principles. The morality of cryonics is based upon the sanctity of human life, and the ethical imperative of continuing care of unconscious patients for whom there is still hope. The following questions and answers show that cryonics is strongly consistent with Christianity.

What is Cryonics?

Cryonics is the science of cryopreserving and caring for terminal patients after contemporary medicine can no longer treat them effectively. Patients placed into cryopreservation have the potential of being cured and returned to health with the advanced techniques of future medicine. The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is a non-profit organization that offers cryopreservation to its members. The scientific basis for cryonics lies in the fields of cryobiology, neurobiology, and an area of technology still in its infancy called nanotechnology.

Today's cryonics patients must be cryopreserved with imperfect methods after they are pronounced legally "dead" by a physician. The pronouncement of legal death and the use of imperfect preservation methods leads to confusion about both the workability of cryonics and its morality. Cryonics is often equated with "raising the dead" or trying to avoid a spiritual afterlife or God's judgement.

Does Cryonics involve raising the dead?

No. Cryonics cannot provide life after death. Cryonics is just another kind of life-saving technology, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

We believe that today's medical criteria for "death" are flawed and inappropriate by the standards of future medicine. For example, when an otherwise healthy man "dies" of a heart attack, his brain (which is the seat of his memories, personality, and identity) is still intact. By placing him into cryopreservation immediately after physicians determine they cannot restart his heart, we can preserve his brain until it is possible to cure him. Indeed, even today many heart attack victims are successfully resuscitated despite the fact that only 50 years ago they would have been given up as dead.

As this example illustrates, criteria for pronouncing "death" have changed as medicine has advanced. At the time of the New Testament, physicians could not resuscitate people after heartbeat and breathing ceased. But today's physicians can often resuscitate people after cessation of breathing and circulation; sometimes even after an hour or more without heartbeat, breathing, or brain-wave activity (as in cases of cold-water drowning). They know that a person's memory, personality, and identity remain within the brain even after the person stops functioning. This has been demonstrated repeatedly by the recovery of patients chilled to just-above freezing on the operating table as well as cold-water drowning victims, all clinically dead, who have recovered with complete retention of mental functions.

It is only after the brain structures critical to identity are destroyed that real death occurs. Since current cryopreservation techniques have been shown to preserve the critical brain structures (synapses) where neurobiologists believe memory is stored, it is reasonable to presume that cryonics patients could potentially be resuscitated by tomorrow's life saving technologies.

Why should Christians, who know their eternal home is Heaven, desire to remain alive physically on Earth?

The Bible says that God created man in his own image by breathing into him the breath of life. Before man's fall, immortality was his natural state. After man's fall, death became a part of his curse. It has been argued by respected Christian thinkers such as C.S. Lewis and Henry Morris that death is not a normal part of life, but is instead interference in the normal process of living.

Much of the Bible concerns itself with the relief of sickness and death. Most of the miracles of the Prophets, Jesus Christ, and the Christians throughout the ages, have involved healing the sick.

The Book of Job offers insight into the significance of life on Earth. Job opted for life even though he was mired in the deepest pit of human depravity and despair. His wife and friends pleaded with him to curse God and die, but Job chose instead to praise God and live, and live he did, for one of God's rewards for Job's faithfulness was long life.

Job is not the only biblical figure whose faith in God was rewarded with longevity. God promised the children of Israel, "And ye shall serve the Lord your God ...and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee...the number of thy days will I fulfill" (Exodus, 23:25,26). God is concerned with rectifying man's condition in soul, spirit, and body. The notion that God is not concerned with physical life on Earth is against the teachings of the Bible. In this context, modern medicine, including experimental procedures such as cryonics, is not only condoned by God, but even commanded by God.

What happens to the souls of people in cryopreservation?

If the premise that patients cryopreserved today are not dead is accepted, then the soul of a cryonics patient is in the same condition as the soul of a frozen human embryo or the soul of a person who is in a coma or unconscious.

Is cryonics mentioned in the Bible?

Not per se. However, the story of Elisha restoring life to a Shunamite boy (II Kings, 4:18-37) has features in common with both cryonics and modern resuscitation technology.

The boy's mother approached Elisha and said that her son was dead. Elisha sent his servant to lay a staff upon the child's face. When the servant did this, the Bible says that nothing happened and that there was no sign of life. The servant returned and told Elisha that the boy was still dead. When Elisha arrived, he saw that the boy indeed showed no signs of life. "He went in, therefore...and lay upon the child and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and he stretched himself out upon the child; and the flesh of the child (became) warm ...the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes."

The importance of this biblical story lies in Elisha's (God's) intent in restoring the boy to life. Certainly, any miracle in the Bible serves to establish the authority of God, His prophets and His word, but there is even more to this story. The Shunamite woman came and begged Elisha to restore her boy to life. She didn't want God to prove Himself by providing a miracle, she simply wanted her son alive. God accomplished both.

God has answered the request of people to live longer on Earth through miraculous means many times. Why, if there is nothing to be gained from living on Earth, would God honor this request so many times? Obviously, there is much good in life on Earth, and the desire to live longer is good in God's eyes.

Is life extension something of which God simply approves, or is it something that Christians should actively pursue?

The apostle Paul wrestled with a similar question, and revealed the Christian's entire purpose for earthly existence in the process.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul compares the desire to die and go to Heaven with the need to stay on Earth. No Christian would argue that Heaven is not a completely moral goal for every believer. However, Paul reveals, in plain language, why Heaven is an end that can wait. "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain... For I am in a strait betwixt the two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for the furtherance and joy of faith" (Philippians, 1:21-25, emphasis added).

Were personal salvation the end of God's plans, no Christian would need to remain on Earth after salvation. God would just take each new Christian into Heaven the way He took Enoch and Elijah. But God has much more in His plans for each Christian. Though the believer may want to go to Heaven as soon as possible, it is more needful for others that he stay here on Earth.

As was first suggested by John Warwick Montgomery in 1968, the Apostle's words in Philippians 1:24 "should become the sedes doctinae for orthodox Christian cryonics." They provide more than enough reason for Christians to desire cryonics.

Has any minister given a sermon about the morality of cryonics?

Yes. The Reverend Kay Glaesner, former pastor of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, gave a moving sermon on cryonics and life extension in general. He said the following:

"Christianity and the Church have always been interested in the extension of human life... that he (man/woman) might be more fruitful in bearing God's witness and doing God's work. We have in our hospitals at this very moment electronic stimulators, inhalation techniques, blood transfusions, and many other mechanical medications. These represent only a few of the prosthetics which are used and fostered by our medical sciences and are approved by the Christian Church.... It follows, therefore, that cryogenics (cryonics) can certainly be approved and substantiated by the Christian Church....

"I am all in favor of extending life. Day by day I pray that God will direct us how to use the techniques, medical sciences, healing, and miracles since He is the Physician of all physicians... life could be extended a year, one hundred years, or a thousand years, but there is still no doubt in the minds of thinking people that such (life extension)... is but a small span on the totality of God's plan. No art or craft of man will evade or nullify the judgement of God.

"The Church of Christ does not retard science...In this world of ours there are greater things, greater potentials, about 90 percent of which are still in the dark. When we discover new planets in orbit, or new dimensions in the galaxies, or new prosthetics for assisting or extending life, this only proves to us how wonderful, great, unsearchable, and inscrutable is the mind of almighty God."

Despite popular myths Cryonic freezing damage is not final see the following....

Scientist Declarations
The following are just a few of the supportive scientist declarations provided to Alcor in 1988 and 1989 in connection with legal proceedings brought against the Riverside County Coroner's Office and California Department of Heath Services. Note that these opinions predate the use of vitrification in cryonics, and are based on the more crude freezing methods used by Alcor during that time.


Arthur C. Clarke:

Sir Arthur C. Clarke is a famous author and futurist. In 1945 he proposed the network of geosynchronous space satellites (Clarke Belt) that world communications now depend on. He has no stated personal interest in cryonics.


Ralph C. Merkle, PhD:
"I believe -- based purely on technical considerations -- that a cryonically suspended patient has a reasonable chance of being restored to health at some time in the future. I think it might be decades or centuries before the needed technology is developed, but this is a matter of small consequence to a patient suspended at liquid nitrogen temperature.... I base my optimism on the assumption that radically new and powerful technologies will be developed to manipulate atomic structures."

Dr. Ralph Merkle is a computer scientist, co-inventor of public key cryptography, and and expert on molecular nanotechnology. He has testified before the United States Congress on the subject of nanotechnology.


Hans P. Moravec, PhD:
"Cryonic suspension is the preservation, at extremely low temperatures, of a deceased person in the expectation that future scientific advances will eventually allow the repair of the conditions that caused death, as well as damage incurred in the preservation process, and thus permit the person to be restored to life.

"The speculative scientific literature contains a number of suggestions for how this repair might be effected. These include extensions of conventional medicine and microsurgery, enhancements of existing human cell repair mechanisms, the cloning of new body parts from single cells, introduction of micro-organisms genetically engineered to do microscopic repairs at the cell level, the use of ultra-miniature robots in a similar fashion, and methods for reading out the essential contents of a brain into a working computer model, creating, in effect, an artificial brain, analogous to an artificial heart....

"This is an age of unprecedentedly rapid progress in all scientific fields, and each year things become possible that were inconceivable in past ages. It requires only a moderately liberal extrapolation of present technical trends to admit the future possibility of reversing the effects of a particular disease, or aging, and of death, as currently defined."

Dr. Hans Moravec, Research Scientist at the Robotics Institute and Computer Science Dept.of Carnegie-Mellon University, is a world-renowned robotics and future technology expert. He has no stated personal interest in cryonics.


James B. Lewis, PhD:
"Cryobiologists are currently hostile to the basic premise of cryonics because they correctly point out that current freezing techniques introduce such substantial damage to brain tissue that retrieval of function upon thawing is impossible. I have no reason to disagree on this point. However, if technology becomes capable of massive manipulation of complex structures on the atomic level, it will be possible to repair freezing-induced damage, and thus to rebuild and then reanimate. The manipulation of individual atoms to make complex structures at the atomic level is not forbidden according to our current understanding of the laws of physics and chemistry.... Cryonics is thus a rational gamble that rational individuals may decide on a personal basis to take or not to take."

Dr. James Lewis is a molecular biologist and nanotechnology expert.

Answer 2

The goal of cryonics is to overcome serious illness by preserving and protecting life. Cryonics is therefore consistent with pro-life principles of both medicine and religion. Hypothermia victims have been revived after more than an hour without breathing, heartbeat, or brain activity. Deep cooling is sometimes used to "turn off" patients for long periods during neurosurgery when the heart must be stopped. Human embryos are routinely cryopreserved and revived. If cryonics works, it will work because it is fundamentally the same as these other forms of "suspended animation" that are already known in medicine. Patients in these states are understood to be in deep coma, not death.

Cryonics patients are theologically equivalent to unconscious patients in a hospital with an uncertain prognosis. Moving essays affirming the morality and worth of cryonics have been written from both Catholic and Protestant perspectives. Members of diverse Christian denominations, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have joined Alcor, in addition to people of other faiths. For further information, please read Christianity and Cryonics and other articles in the Religion Section of the Alcor Library. Alcor welcomes written contributions from all faiths attesting to the life-affirming nature of cryonics.

Answer 3

It is a pointless procedure, because the freezing process creates ice crystals, which some scientists have claimed damage cells and cellular structures so as to render any future repair impossible.

You cannot bring back people who are already completely dead. That is scientifically impossible.

So, why would God want us to waste money on something like this, when it can be used elsewhere? Christianity, and indeed, all religions, teach that we will have eternal, spiritual life in the world to come. This makes cryonics unimportant.

Answer 4

This is nothing new Judaism which Christianity is based on has been preaching this non sense for a long time. I aree 100% theres no way a god of love would do these things and to a normal sane human being they wouldnt ether. Only people who have been indoctrinated and brain washed from birth could believe this. The fact is ALL religions is man made and i know religious fanatics wont like me saying that but its true. The facts are out there proving this but most religions got people so scared of Hell and Satan that everything must be true and from God. If God is anything like what the Bible says we need to rethink what type of God he really is calling ''him loving and fair'' would not be correct. I could say more but i think you get the point, im glad to see some people like you starting to wake up from this mind control program known as Christianity its been going on to for too long.

Answer 5

Why do the pro cryonics people seem so much smarter and well read.
I thought they were fringe or kooky but now I realize that many are doctors or hold PHDs maybe there is something to this. Anyways doesn't God want us to protect life and treat our bodies as temples...I would think he wants us to hang on and do as much good as possible not to give in and in affect to commit suicide. If cryonics works then those who throw stones and reject it are committing suicide and could burn in Hell!

Answer 6

Us to love Him, Jesus, and each other...to treat each other kindly, and with respect.

Also, to respect, and take care of, His creation...Earth.

What is "cryonics"?

EDIT: OK, I see. You are asking what God wants in relation to freezing people to be resuscitated later.

Well, I don't think God wants us taking control of our own destinies; He created us, and we are to live (and die) according to His master plan.

That said, could God use cryogenics to accomplish His plans?

But when it comes down to brass tacks, it doesn't really matter. The dead shall rises first, then we who are alive. If you are a believer, you are going to Paradise no matter what state you are in. If you're not a believer, you are fodder for Satan, no matter what state you are in.

I am opposed to this, and cloning as well. The FDA recently approved the cloning of animals for the purpose of human consumption. When was the question of the morality of cloning abandoned?

Oh well, humankind will be humankind.

Answer 7

I don't believe that what we do with our bodies after death even matters to God. Cultural norms dictate what we do with our dead. Cryonics has no controversy that I can see.

Answer 8

God wants Love.

Answer 9

God does not want cryonics.

God wants your love, an attempt to obey his commandments, repentance from sins which cause those commandments to be broken, and belief that he sent his son to attone for the sins of the world.

No one gets to Heaven but by Him.

Answer 10

God wants someone with a broken and contrite heart willing to obey and serve Him. Creator nurturing His created with truth and righteousness.

Answer 11

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