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

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 [email protected].]