On this day (December 14) in 1799, George Washington died. Where did he go?
On December 14, 1799, George Washington, the father of his country, closed his eyes for the last time and slipped out into eternity. Where is George Washington today? His body, of course, is in a special crypt at Mount Vernon. But where is he? The body is not the soul - it is not the person. Where is the soul of George Washington?
If atheists like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins are to be believed, human beings don't have a soul - at least not one in the religious sense. We only have a brain - one that science will in time be able to fully explain, in all its consciousness and emotion and personality. Science, say Dawkins and atheists like him, will one day roll back the curtains of uncertainty and overcome any wishful thinking about an immortal soul.
One of the most recurring themes of monotheism, however, is that there is indeed a soul in every human being - a soul that lives on after the death of the body. If monotheism (and Christianity of course is the leading monotheistic religion, at least in terms of numbers) is correct, then George Washington is still very much alive - though not inside his earthly body.
The question of where George Washington's soul presently exists is one that only God (and presumably Washington) can know. But today gives us an opportunity to not only reflect on the tremendous legacy of Mr. Washington's indispensable life, but also on the implications of his death - an experience that all of us will one day share.
