If we have souls, what are they made of?

Exclusive: Drew Zahn reviews faith themes in Tom Cruise's 'Oblivion'

n studying worldviews, it's helpful to break down thoughts into a series of key questions: "What's the nature of truth and how can we know it?" "Who is God?" "What's the nature of mankind?" and so forth.

The answers to those questions fundamentally shape a person's beliefs in other broad categories as well, including politics, economics, ethics and more.

Science fiction films, like this weekend's Tom Cruise movie, "Oblivion," will often dabble heavily in the fundamentals of worldview, pondering the "big" questions by playing with gods, aliens and men.

"Oblivion" is no exception, delving heavily into the "nature of mankind" question, toying with what makes us human, if we have a soul and how we are created.

But science fiction, like modern art, doesn't necessarily answer the questions … rather leaves the audience to ponder what the point of the exercise was. Sometimes "the point" is simply to ask.

My wife and I debated "Oblivion" after seeing it together: Does it have a humanistic slant, suggesting humanity is self-contained and needs no god for definition, or is it rather the opposite, suggesting the imprint of God is indeed what makes us human? I'm not sure I have it figure out yet.

As a film, "Oblivion" was just a bit of a disappointment. Not that it wasn't visually interesting or entertaining, just that the story had some major obstacles to overcome, and I'm not sure it succeeded.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/if-we-have-souls-what-are-they-made-of/