By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

As of this writing, the body of baseball legend Ted Williams lies frozen in an Arizona laboratory because at least a portion of his family doesn't seem to get it. This week's episode of the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" television series profiled a young man in Norway who is keeping his dead grandfather's body frozen in Colorado; he doesn't get it, either.

The science of cryonics may have some very practical applications that could potentially help the living. But any scientist who thinks that preserving a dead body for years could lead to renewed life for the person who once occupied that body is sadly mistaken.

Williams' own family is now fighting over whether he should remain frozen, as some of his survivors claim he wished to be cremated and have his ashes scattered over the ocean off the coast of Florida, an act that would reflect his love of fishing and the sea. His will seems to verify the cremation claim, although the executor of his estate says that the Hall of Fame slugger changed his mind late in life and wanted to pursue the option of freezing.

There is also the claim that Williams' son, who has handled many of his business affairs, has considered selling his famous father's DNA in future years. That has a strange similarity to the situation of the Norwegian man, who plans to someday not only revive his grandfather, but clone him so that a healthy heart can be harvested to keep him ticking indefinitely.

These are two examples of mankind's twisted desire to thwart the natural progression of life and death, while duplicating the miracle of human reproduction merely for spare parts. Only a person of supreme arrogance would think such a proposition has a chance of success.

The philosophy behind cloning and cryonics is totally incompatible with any world view that includes God. If a human being could could be reproduced at will in a test tube, individual life would become irrelevant, and the creators of this new "life" would be able to thumb their noses at the very notion of mankind's need to rely on a higher power. Of course, many people already possess that attitude.

I cannot see the logic in believing that everything about us, and the world around us, just came about by accident with no intelligent plan put in place by a greater intelligence that ours. There is just too much evidence out there to the contrary.

Considering the state of the world today, it is interesting to think of anyone clinging to the thread of a possibility that his or her life on this planet could be extended indefinitely through science. It demonstrates a conviction that this life is the be-all and end-all of existence, which is a sad thought indeed.

In contrast, how comforting to place one's faith and hope in Someone much bigger than yourself, knowing that you don't have to depend upon a future Dr. Frankenstein to extend your mere existence. How delightful to know that something far greater can await you after your tenure in that decaying shell of skin and bones is completed, because your never-dying soul's journey will have only begun.

There are those who consider such a philosophy fantastically foolish, choosing instead to follow a humanistic or atheistic path. To those folks, I offer the following scenario: If you're right and I'm wrong, then I'm no worse off than you are when death comes calling. But if I'm right and you're wrong, you might be in a bit of trouble.

So if you're keeping a freezer cold for my remains, don't bother. I won't be needing it. For that matter, neither does anyone else.

[Monroe Roark can be reached at mroark@TheCitizenNews.com.]

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