I have not been feeling well for several months now and I have needed something to pass my time. Most people would probably watch television but I don't happen to have cable. I decided to look through Netflix for something on instant streaming when I came across a very interesting TV show called Drop Dead Diva. This is an interesting show where a model named Deb gets in a car crash, is sent to heaven, and then accidentally sent back into the body of an overweight lawyer named Jane. I was not sure how enjoyable this television show would be but it did get me thinking about counseling and people.
In the very first episode when Deb wakes up in Jane's body, she is very confused. She tells her guardian angel that even though she is in Jane's body, she only has Deb's memories. The guardian angel (named Fred) then tells her that memories stay with the soul. In Dr. Corsini's class we have talked about the soul and what the Bible has to say about it. Biblically speaking, the soul is the immaterial part of a human that can be saved. Biblically speaking the spirit of a person is where the thinking occurs and is the life breath of the individual.
The longer I watched this show and thought about life, the more I realized that media portrays a lot of untruthful things about heaven and the afterlife. Although we may be given new bodies in heaven, we will never be reassigned to already existing bodies on earth. This brought me to realize then when I work and counsel teen girls that I should ask what type of shows they watch. This could lead to some of the false beliefs that they deal with.
Biblically speaking, the soul in Drop Dead Diva would have never been able to placed in another persons body except the heavenly body that he or she is given. If we do have memories in heaven then they would come from our spirit, not our souls. It is all a little confusing but our memories seem to be immaterial aspects of us. What would happen if some would had brain injury and damaged the part in their head that allowed to them to store memories? If they can no longer remember their memories then have they lost an immaterial aspect of themselves through a material accident? This is just some of the questions that keep me up at night. I would be interested as to what you think.
The idea of memories and "the minds eye" are such a fascinating thing when you actually take the time to think about them. Another question is that since we are able to visually see past events in our minds, are we somehow channeling our immaterial self or our soul? I would think that even if we lose our memories because of an accident, they still exists immaterially. After all when we simply forget events in the past we still continue to remember other ones. Also look at people with Dissociative Identity Disorder who are unable to remember events because they are placed in the subconscious. Those memories still exist even if the ability to remember them is gone.
ReplyDeleteI know that you noted how many television shows and movies have skewed theology, but it's interesting to me that this show portrays memory as part of the soul. Although many aspects of the show are not true, such as the woman returning to earth in another body, it's interesting that the show addresses the immaterial man and that memory is part of the immaterial man.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the biggest problems with television and other media is not that they do not contain truth but that they do not contain only truth. Most media contains at least some truth mixed with lots of deception, such as this show. While reincarnation is not biblical or accurate, the immaterial man is a true part of our humanity.
I'm glad that you have called attention to the many faulty beliefs steaming from the media. As you mentioned many times viewers don't even bother checking facts in movies that deal with huge issues like heaven, death, and spirits. I love Drop Dead Diva, but your right it is very faulty in its theology. Great job questioning what we watch!
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