BODY/SOUL DUALISM IN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT AND THE MORALITY OF CREMATION

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The purpose of this work is to outline an orthodox Christian understanding of the relation of the body and soul, compare this to other views within Christianity, and apply what has been researched to a specific subject dealing with the body, namely cremation. This work will defend a view of the body and soul similar to what is commonly referred to as Thomistic substance dualism. The primary tenet of this type of dualism is that ontologically human beings are a duality of a body and soul. What separates the Christian belief of dualism from other forms is that it affirms the goodness of both the body and the soul. Christianity also differs from other positions in that it affirms that although the body and soul are separated by death, they will again be united at redemption. The modern way in which the relevance of the body is discarded exemplifies that the contemporary West is one such example of this duality of the body and soul being downplayed. This book will analyze the roots of why cremation has seldom been considered to be a topic of ethical relevance in the modern context, and will provide one Christian response to cremation.