April 2021
post-easter thought experiment
06 - 04/21 /11:25
Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar proposed this thought experiment:
Imagine a friend suffering a severe disease. Medicine can do no more for him. The doctors inform his widowed mother and us, so we gather for the final scene. The ventilator is removed; our friend grows weaker from lack of breath and whispers his final farewells. We hear the death-rattle. He expires and takes on the pallor of death. We bury our dead friend and leave for our homes, saddened and a bit disoriented.
Two nights later, at our dinner gathering, our dead friend suddenly joins us. It’s like he just returned from a brief but very important journey. He greets us by name. Weirdly, physical barriers like doors mean nothing to him.
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Imagine a friend suffering a severe disease. Medicine can do no more for him. The doctors inform his widowed mother and us, so we gather for the final scene. The ventilator is removed; our friend grows weaker from lack of breath and whispers his final farewells. We hear the death-rattle. He expires and takes on the pallor of death. We bury our dead friend and leave for our homes, saddened and a bit disoriented.
Two nights later, at our dinner gathering, our dead friend suddenly joins us. It’s like he just returned from a brief but very important journey. He greets us by name. Weirdly, physical barriers like doors mean nothing to him.
Read More…