Does Our Spirit Carry On?

     I recently read a novel called Bewilderment by Richard Powers. The author, a professor at Stanford University, has an impressive resume, so maybe he knows something we don't.

     He has studied both physics and English literature. He has written a dozen books. He was awarded a MacArthur genius fellow, won the National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize, and is, according to Oprah Winfrey, "one of our country's greatest living writers."

     Bewilderment follows the story of Theo Byrne, an astrobiologist at the University of Wisconsin who lost his wife in a car accident and now takes care of his son Robin who is “on the spectrum.” Science comes to the rescue, as the boy takes part in an experimental program that allows him to feel his deceased mother’s emotions. Unfortunately, political pressures intervene and shut down the program, leading the boy to . . . well, I won't give away the story.

     The book is strictly secular. It's ridiculous to think, according to the author, that there's a God who has given us a special place in the universe, who watches over us, planning rewards and punishments for our actions on Earth. The universe is too large, the possibilities for other life -- even intelligent life -- are too great, and it's just an act of narcissism to think there is anything unique or special about us humans.

     Yet a fellow scientist at the university has developed this computer system that captures the emotions of Theo's dead wife, and allows Robin to connect with his mother. The boy begins to feel what his mother feels, to understand how she loves him and what she wants for him. This in turn brings the troubled boy a measure of relief. It calms him down, dissipates his anger, gives him perspective, and offers the boy an almost normal life.

     The story made me realize what some religious conservatives mean when they claim that science is another religion all in itself. After all, science seeks to discover how we got here, why we are here, and what happens to us after we're gone. Isn't that what religion is all about?

     So even in the Powers non-religious world, we're not completely gone when we die. Science has a way to keep us around -- not just in photos and films and recordings, but in our emotional and aspirational essence, so we can communicate with people we've left behind and help guide the lives of our loved ones.

     I guess all of us hope that there is some form of life after death, however murky our view of it may be. No one wants to believe that death is the bitter, final end.

     There are many songs and speeches, prayers and poems to inspire us to believe in some kind of afterlife. You likely have your own favorites. Here is an unlikely one from the rock band Dream Theater called Our Spirit Carries On. It gives me chills every time I hear it. I hope it does something for you, too.