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Article: Souls, bodies and embryos: what has Athens to do with Jerusalem?
- Article from:
- Quadrant
- Article date:
- September 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Quadrant Magazine Company, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Quid ergo Athenae et Hierosolymis? Quid academiae et ecclesiae?
--Tertullian, De Praescriptione Haereticorum VII
WHENEVER DISCUSSION turns to the moral status of the human fetus or embryo, someone is bound to mention the soul, and may even use the somewhat recondite term ensoulment, referring to the "introduction" of the soul into the body. Does mention of the soul add anything to the discussion?
It is worth noting that talk of the soul is not always--indeed, not usually--introduced by those participants who are religious. Sometimes the soul is mentioned for no better purpose than to jeer. But the soul is certainly a theological and ...