The concept of the 'Vanishing Soul' in Francis of Assisi's time and in the context of the church today

Diskussionsbeitrag / Streitschrift aus dem Jahr 2017 im Fachbereich Theologie - Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft, , Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: In this write-up, our aim is two-fold: on the one hand, pointing out the existing divergent views of the human person in Francis' time, based on his writings, to present his view of the human person, and on the other, to explore its relevance, giving a Franciscan response to the discussion about the 'Vanishing Soul' in the context of the Church of our time. Francis of Assisi viewed the human person always in relation to the Triune God. From his writings, we come to know that he considered the human person as an Image of the Son of God, a view in a stark contrast to many contemporary moderate and absolute dualistic views. These perspectives, borrowing from the pagan sources, held to the belief of the human person as a so-called 'Vanishing Body'. As in Francis' time, today there are different views of the human person which treat body and soul separately and/or as one and the same reality, thus paving the way for the monistic concept of the human person and the acceptance of the theory of the so-called 'Vanishing Soul'. Today, the approaches of neuroscience and physicalists challenge the traditional religious and Christian way of understanding and speaking of the soul and consider them in general as promoters and supporters of dualistic views of what a human person is.

Arokiam John is a Franciscan-priest belonging to the Order of Friars Minor. He is a member of St. Francis of Assisi Mission Foundation, North East India (which is dependent on the Franciscan Province of Saint Thomas the Apostle, India). He has served as the Master of Franciscan Postulancy from 2008-2010 at Assisi Sadan, Umred (Nagpur). In 2010 when the postulancy was shifted to Punitha Anthoniar Illam, Madurai, he has served both as the Master of Postulancy and the Guardian up to 2013. He has organized Inter-religious dialogue at Madurai to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Spirit of Assisi. He has a Bachelor degree in Arts (with specialization in English) from Bangalore University. He also has a Master's degree in Formation (2007-2008) and a Licentiate in Spiritual Theology with specialization in Franciscan Spirituality (2013-2015) - both from the Pontifical Antonianum University / Pontificia Università Antonianum (PUA), Rome. He has a doctorate in Theology with specialization in Mariology from Marianum, the Pontifical Theological Faculty in Rome. On 3rd December 2021, he successfully defended his thesis titled Mary in the Writings of Francis of Assisi and Thomas of Celano: Sources, Differences and Continuity and he has secured Summa Cum Laude with the publication of his doctoral thesis. He is a member of the editorial board of the Franciscan Journal - TAU, (Bangalore, INDIA), a Journal of search into the life, personality and charism of Saint Francis of Assisi and tradition of the Franciscan movement up to the present day. He is one of the founding members of the Asia Oceania Marian Academy (AOMA), which is approved by the Pontifical International Marian Academy (PAMI). In 2021, he served as the first Editor of AOMA NEWS (the Newsletter of AOMA). Besides several articles, he has authored the e-booklet and printed booklet: The concept of the 'Vanishing Soul' in Francis of Assisi's time and in the context of the Church today, GRIN Verlag, München, 2017. He has also authored ebook and printed book titled From Francis of Assisi to Pope Francis: Franciscan Spirituality Today, Media House, Delhi, 2019. His recent ebook and printed book are titled: Sparking the Joy of Truth. Global Compact on Education: Francis of Assisi - Mary of Nazareth - Pope Francis, Media House, Delhi, 2020. Currently, he is an invited professor in the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Antonianum University, Rome.