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The Battle for the Soul The Battle for the Soul Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd i 2/14/2011 7:43:55 AM Books by Robert Crawford Can We Ever Kill? Journey into Apartheid Making Sense of the Study of Religion A Portrait of the Ulster Protestants The Saga of God Incarnate The God/Man/World Triangle What Is Religion? Is God a Scientist? A Dialogue between Science and Religion Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd ii 2/14/2011 7:43:55 AM The Battle for the Soul A Comparative Analysis in an Age of Doubt Robert Crawford Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd iii 2/14/2011 7:43:56 AM THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL Copyright © Robert Crawford, 2011. All rights reserved. First published in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–0–230–60944–0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Crawford, Robert G. (Robert George), 1927– The battle for the soul : a comparative analysis in an age of doubt / Robert Crawford. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978–0–230–60944–0 1. Soul. 2. Resurrection. 3. Future life. 4. Religions. 5. Religion and science. 6. Science—History—21st century. 7. Technology—History—21st century. I. Title. BL290.C73 2011 202Ј.2—dc22 2010036206 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: March 2011 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd iv 2/14/2011 7:43:56 AM To the memory of John Girvan with whom I shared many hours of study and fellowship during our undergraduate years. Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd v 2/14/2011 7:43:56 AM Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd vi 2/14/2011 7:43:56 AM Contents Introduction ix 1 The Jewish Soul 1 2 The Christian Experience of the Soul 25 3 The Soul and the Development of Christian Belief 45 4 The Muslim Claim 59 5 The Hindu and the Immortal Soul 79 6 The Buddhist Denial of the Soul 97 7 The Sikh Path 121 8 The Philosopher and the Soul 139 9 Can We Avoid the Dualism of Body and Soul? 151 10 Did Darwin Kill the Soul? 165 11 After Darwin 179 12 The Darwinians 193 13 The Way Forward 207 Notes 231 Index 247 Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd vii 2/14/2011 7:43:56 AM Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd viii 2/14/2011 7:43:56 AM Introduction When Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus was performed in London in 1594 it produced a shock reaction in many quar- ters. The shock was not only because Faustus was depicted as wanting to acquire power and the control of nature through magic but that he was willing to sell his soul to get it. One wonders what the reaction of the audience would be today. Is the soul still regarded as precious? Surveys of public opinion are not totally reliable but those carried out by the BBC in the “Soul of Britain” series in 2000 do give an idea of the views of many. Respondents were asked: “Do you consider yourself solely to be a biological organism that ceases to exist at death?” 52 per cent replied “No,” but 31 per cent answered “Yes,” and 17 per cent said that they did not know. Further questions revealed a range of opinion regarding belief in the soul, God, and life after death. Many of these respondents did not belong to any traditional religion though they realized the importance of the issues.1 How are we to define the soul? The dictionary states that it is the spiritual part of a person regarded as the centre of per- sonality, intellect, will, emotions, and believed by many to sur- vive bodily death. It is the essential part of something; thus we speak of “the soul of the nation,” and if we meet a person who displays little feeling we say, “You have no soul.” Mr. Gordon Brown, prior to his becoming Prime Minister of Britain, promised that he would bring the soul back to the - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright party, which meant that he would get rid of sleaze, policy fail- ures, and inculcate duty, honesty, hard work, family values, and respect for others. In the event the promise was marred by the glaring example of greed in his party and others. Misuse of expenses resulted in loss of confidence in the leaders of the 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd ix 2/14/2011 7:43:56 AM x Introduction nation and they were called to search their souls. Many people believe that Brown’s failure to keep his promise was one of the reasons that lost him the election in 2010. The soul is the centre of the moral and intellectual life, the personification or pattern of a person. It is interchangeable with mind, and demands duty, responsibility, sensitivity, and care for others. After death it is expected to receive a new body suitable for life in different conditions. Some people try not to think about death but are forced to as they stand beside the grave of their loved ones. Is it the final end or is there something more? Is the soul immortal or will the body be resurrected without the soul surviving? What about the reincarnation of the soul? Will we have a second chance of earthly life before a final judg- ment? Is there such a place as purgatory or some intermediate state where we will be purified in order to live the higher life? What can we say about heaven and hell? An attempt is made in this book to answer some of these questions. It argues that there is life after death and that both soul and the resurrection of the body are linked. The claim is disputed that we must choose between the survival of the soul and the bodily resurrection and contends that there is need for both. Death is seen not as something final but the gateway to a new life that will be more wonderful than we can ever imagine. Materialists, of course, have always denied any spiritual part of our nature saying that it is wishful thinking. Their position has been taken seriously in Christian circles and some theolo- gians now think that the best defense of life after death is to dispense with the soul and stress the resurrection of the body. But it is hardly likely that materialists will be impressed with such a resurrection belief since it requires, as far as they are concerned, an unbelievable miracle. How, if we dispense with the soul, is our identity to be preserved in the after life? In order Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromso - PalgraveConnect - 2011-04-20 - PalgraveConnect Tromso i - licensed to Universitetsbiblioteket www.palgraveconnect.com material from Copyright to answer this question it is necessary, as we proceed, to seek a clear definition of the term and understand its relation with mind and spirit. Philosophers today are occupied with the task of understand- ing mind and consciousness. J. R. Searle says that it is no abstract problem, as shown by the passionate response to his writing and 10.1057/9780230118331 - The Battle for the Soul, Robert Crawford 9780230609440_01_prexii.indd x 2/14/2011 7:43:56 AM Introduction xi lectures.
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