If a Christian is clinically brain dead, but kept alive by machines is their soul already in heaven?

Question

No jokes about Christians being brain dead already, please; this is a serious question.

kitty down- I said it to save reading silly answers, which are common on this forum.

Thanks for the answers, and thoughts, Tom, Linda J, Robert JW, homeschooler and others I appreciate, but I choose the one that made me smile in times of sadness

Answer 1

Their souls are held in purgatory as it is gripped by the mostly dead body. To break this connection, you need a leaf blower.

Answer 2

Nothing in God's Word seems to address this, that is with the circumstance that you are addressing here. Neither does there seem to be any kind of answer via research, as far as I know. However, if the self-reports of the experience of many who had been already declared clinically dead, but then somehow and sometime later came back to total consciousness and then full biological functioning, means anything, it appears that a large percentage of these self-reports indicated that they were experiencing some kind of transitional state between leaving their bodies and going towards God, even if they remained on life support. Many report that they were able to see from some other part of the room (i.e., much of the time from a corner ceiling in that room) their body from a distance while medical professionals and/or family and friends were present. You may find these experiences written about in many different books, magazine and newspaper articles.

Now, some of these folks did not profess to be a believer in Jesus Christ, but many indeed did. I believe that these self-reports plus what Scripture says about the two states of being for Christians; before and after death, living here on earth and being in the immediate presence of God, such as in Philippians 1:21-23, indicate that there isn't any permanent state; such as a purgatory, limbo, or a soul-sleeping state of being, once the soul separates from the body at death, other than His presence. The Greek words for "falling asleep" in Thessalonians 4: 13-18 describe anthropomorphically one's physical body that's in the grave. So, there's just this fairly brief transitional process that these self-reports indicate which inevitably end in His presence, at least for all believers.

Answer 3

Actually we,humans,don't have souls,we are souls.
Please read Gen.2:7.In most translations it states "...man became a living soul."(In some translations say"being" others say "creature" and still others say "being"
Plato believed that the soul was eternal and that philosophy was infused into the Christian doctrine as more Greek gentiles became Christians.
Please read Ezek.18:4.It clearly states that the soul that sins will die.
This is not a mystery use of the word 'die'
It means to be without life,period.
As more gentiles became Christian they bought some of their pagan beliefs with them.
Think about this:How can a Creator that is described as the essence of love (1 John:4:8) condemn humans to a fiery place of torture for an eternity for sins committed in an amount of time that to him is a flash in the pan?He knows we are dust(Gen.2:7,Gen.3:19,Palsms 103:14)
That equates to a child trying to take it's first steps and falling so a parent breaks both the child's legs.
A lot of stuff that is attributed to Jehovah is really lies Satan has infused to make people afraid of The Creator.

Answer 4

When a person dies their soul leaves their body. That body is just a shell with no soul living in it. While the heart is still pumping the soul still has it's body to live in. When that heart stops then there is no more life in the body for the soul to reside in. So, it leaves. Even when the brain is dead but the heart is alive that soul is living and operates as a human being. Scripture says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Edit: I knew a boy who died at the age of 19. He was born with just a brain stem. He touched the lives of more people than you can imagine.

Answer 5

If souls existed, then it would depend on if the person was going to be revied or not i.e. if sometime in the future they would suddenly wake up or they would just eventally pass on.

Given that the concept of heaven and what happens between death and then, has changed dramatically over the years and 1st century Christians would probably protest against the current thought as would the current christian against theirs.

Answer 6

I would assume that the answer is no. A person can be brain dead, so to speak, but as long as machines keep him/her alive then that person's soul remains with the body. After all life support is removed and the body begins to shut down ( no heart beat, no respiration), then the soul is free.

Answer 7

I'm under the opinion that as long as there is life in the body, the soul is still attached. I know this isn't any real proof, but I stayed by my mother's deathbed as she lie dying of cancer; she had slipped into a comma the night before and we knew her time was near.
They had come in to check her vitals and at that very same time she died. She went from looking like she was asleep to looking like a wax figure. That's about the best way I can explain it. So, for me, that's when I knew she was gone. I hope this helps explain my theory.

Answer 8

In the view of somebody who believes in souls: No. They are still technically alive.

The real question is: If they're being kept alive by machines, are they not stopping the process of life/death or their God's will? It's almost the same as abortion, but it is a forced life instead of a forced death.

Answer 9

I believe that most souls cross over and yes, I think the soul would be gone. Like Terri Schivo's was as well.

Answer 10

Not necessarily. There is a difference between the brain and the spirit. The spirit retains consciouness even if the brain is inoperative.
Read this man's story:

http://www.near-death.com/storm.html