Physical Death

[pom2014]

When do you believe physical death occurs?

Cessation of brain activity or total cessation of all biological functions?

 

[aspen]

Death occurs when the soul separates into spirit and body. You can remain alive even with total organ failure.

 

[evan]

Although Aspen is exactly right, I believe the physical manifestation of death is the cessation of brain activity, which would then be the point where the "soul separates into spirit and body".

 

[Born_Again]

Well what about when brain activity has ceased and they are in a coma... and occasionally they come out of the coma.... My vote is for total shut down of body, brain and organs. But I if I had to pick one, I would say at organ failure.

BA

 

[pom2014]

Although Aspen is exactly right, I believe the physical manifestation of death is the cessation of brain activity, which would then be the point where the "soul separates into spirit and body".

So the soul and the brain are linked?

Well what about when brain activity has ceased and they are in a coma... and occasionally they come out of the coma.... My vote is for total shut down of body, brain and organs. But I if I had to pick one, I would say at organ failure.

BA

which organs need to not be presently functioning to call death, as the skin is an organ and yet will carry on a little longer even after failure of the brain and heart.

So what needs to fail to call officially pronounced dead?

 

[Forsakenone]

When do you believe physical death occurs?

Cessation of brain activity or total cessation of all biological functions?

Interesting question since the answer one gives for defining when the life of the flesh ends should be establish the same precept by which life of the flesh begins.

Now in the NT, specifically James 2:26 it is written, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, ..." While in the OT, in Leviticus 17:11 it is written, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood:..." However, the meaning of "spirit" in the OT and NT is basically represented as follows:
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SPIRIT: pneuma (pnyoo'-mah); from NT:4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze;
by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle,
mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit:
KJV - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare NT:5590.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
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SPIRIT: OT:7307 ruwach (roo'-akh); from OT:7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation;
figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being
(including its expression and functions):
KJV - air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit ([-ual]), tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y).
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
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While in Genesis 2 it is interpreted by many that the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into the man and he became a living soul. However, even Jesus admonished Nicodemus who as a master of Israel did not know that man was formed from not only the three states of matter being Solid, Liquid and Gas. Hence the dust being Solid, and the air being Gas, Jesus said marvel not that ye must born of water (Liquid). In fact if you look at 1 John 5:8, it indicates that there are three that bear witness in earth (or flesh), the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. And understanding that even formed of all three states of matter, Liquid, Solid and Gas, that the animation of the flesh, or life force resulted from a separate and distinct source, a living soul, thus, man must be born of Spirit.

SOUL OT:5315 nephesh (neh'-fesh); from OT:5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):
KJV - any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thyself-), them (your)- selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

And in such, one will find that in addition to the three states of matter, Solid, Liquid and Gas, that science now holds a fourth state of matter, the ionized particle or plasma which is credited for electrically charged neurons which provided the stimuli necessary for the animation of the physical body of flesh in all living creatures. Interestingly, when making the determination of death is relative to the specific facts at a given time, a hundred years ago if a person stopped breathing death would have been assumed yet today, there are a number of conditions which in times past would have left one as dead but now can be medically resuscitated.

So in light of the advances in modern medical sciences, I wouldn't write in stone the lack of ionic activity by the brain as being definitively death of the flesh. But since at this time the condition is currently irreversible, then I would agree with the others that the lack of brain activity, or in cases where the autonic loss of both respiratory and circulatory functions.

Well what about when brain activity has ceased and they are in a coma... and occasionally they come out of the coma...

I would have to respectfully disagree with that, people in a coma have brain activity.

 

[evan]

Not sure what you mean by "linked" but my point was that, between brain activity and organ failure, I'd say lack of brain activity would indicate actual death. Organs can be kept going through external means, brain activity can't. As for a coma, there is still brain activity.

So the soul and the brain are linked?

 

[StanJ]

Well what about when brain activity has ceased and they are in a coma... and occasionally they come out of the coma.... My vote is for total shut down of body, brain and organs. But I if I had to pick one, I would say at organ failure.

BA

I'm pretty sure that has never happened. There is brain activity when people are in comas, but I agree that lack of brain activity is probably the best indicator of death.

 

[aspen]

Maybe we better start using grave bells again until we come to a consensus .....

 

[BlackManINC]

When do you believe physical death occurs?

Cessation of brain activity or total cessation of all biological functions?

When does physical death occur? I think a bullet to the head would erase any doubt that it is the brain that is the gateway to the soul. The brain is the mediator, and it is through this mediator that the body is bound to the soul and vice versa. So if you lose the mediator, then you lose your life, because neither can function without the other. We're not like the angels in heaven where they were designed as pure spirit beings, we are of the earth, and this fact of life will not change when we are translated into our new incorruptible, glorified bodies. All this talk about "organ failure" being an indication of physical death means nothing in itself considering that the brain is in fact an organ.

 

[ewq1938]

When does physical death occur? I think a bullet to the head would erase any doubt that it is the brain that is the gateway to the soul. The brain is the mediator, and it is through this mediator that the body is bound to the soul and vice versa. So if you lose the mediator, then you lose your life, because neither can function without the other. We're not like the angels in heaven where they were designed as pure spirit beings, we are of the earth, and this fact of life will not change when we are translated into our new incorruptible, glorified bodies. All this talk about "organ failure" being an indication of physical death means nothing in itself considering that the brain is in fact an organ.

Yes the brain would be like the processor of a computer. If it "dies" then the computer cannot "live" despite the rest of it's parts being fully functional.