“Your soul is dead.”

That’s what someone told a good friend of mine at a party last weekend. And it wasn’t just a clever way to break the ice, either. This guy really meant it. 

Ouch.

It came after a quick interrogation about my pal’s religious beliefs. Upon being asked, my friend said he believed in heaven, but admitted he didn’t go to church often, and that he wasn’t exactly sure who God was, or what God was. He added that he worked hard to respect others, and tried be an honest person. Some of the questions were tough: Why do you think we are here? Who is God? Is there an afterlife? Is there a Hell? Who goes where? Where will you go, and why? Name all 10 Commandments?

I’m not sure we’re even supposed to know the answers to a few of them yet (he batted .400 on the commandments questions).

The whole thing only went on for about five minutes, anyway. But in that time, this person was able to figure out, remarkably, that my buddy’s soul was dead. Apparently, it died because he doesn’t have the correct faith in God – meaning, he doesn’t worship the way this person thinks he should.

“Are you sure it’s dead? It feels fine.”

“Yep, she’s a goner.”

“How can you tell?”