Death. Death is, of course, part of life on this blue sphere. Yet the existential reality of our own death is something most of us try to avoid thinking about. But sooner or later thinking about it cannot be avoided. Time does not allow that. At 70, believe me, you can't avoid thinking about the time you may have left on this earth. But long before now I thought about it, even as a child. And I imagine that many of you did too.
One thing I have learned over the decades God has given me to live is that throughout history humankind has been trapped in the inexorable march of time. Time becomes the ultimate thief as it carries its victims to meet their ultimate enemy: death. However much we try to ignore it or hide from it, cover it up or delay it, mock it or claim we don't think about it, death awaits.
Death awaits us because time truly waits for no one. We think about time as being the past, the present and the future. But when we think about time more deeply we realize that "the present" eludes us. While we march ever onward through time toward death, we live only in the fleeting present. Yet, "the present" is a most elusive concept to grasp. Even as you read these words they are past the moment you process them. The thought that you are having right now, having thought it, is past.
There is something inevitable, inexorable, and ultimately disconcerting, in that. The truth of the ever fleeting present is that we can't slow it down or speed it up and if we stop to think about it, it is already over. And, when we realize that truth, when we look at where we are "at present" in our individual life journeys, most of us have those times when we shudder and say, "My God, where has my life gone?" Or, "Is this all there is?"
In those dark moments of personal awareness of our own inevitable mortality, we can too often allow our present to be paralyzed by the remembrance of our frivolous use of time past, and of the inevitability of the death that awaits us in the future. In such times we are what I call "bound by death," paralyzed by the human condition itself.
In his 1933 masterpiece "Man's Fate," (La Condition Humaine), French novelist, Andre Malraux, wrote about the human condition from the point of view of a protagonist who was paralyzed in just that way. At the end of the book, having seen his friends, his loves, and his noble humanistic causes all wiped out, Malraux' hero speaks the bitter lament of a man without hope, hope in humanity, or in God.
"You know the phrase, 'It takes nine months to make a man, and a single day to kill him.' Listen: it does not take nine months, it takes fifty years of sacrifice, of will, of, of...many things! And when this man is complete, when there is nothing left in him of childhood, nor of adolescence, when he is really a man -- he is good for nothing but to die...."
Here is a man who has given his life to a cause he believed in, an important human vision, only to see those he loves blown into what he can only assume to be oblivion. His present is frozen; frozen by a past made meaningless by the reality of the present. The only future he can see is one that leads to death. In him there is no hope, nothing to cling to, nothing to motivate him to create a future for himself. He tried that once, and it destroyed him.
No one has written more profoundly about the reality of death and the relentless human desire to ignore, postpone, and deny death than the great Canadian cultural anthropologist and sociologist, Ernest Becker. He published his greatest book, "The Denial of Death" in 1973 when he, at age 49, was himself dying of cancer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for that work in 1974, two months after he died.
Becker argued that our entire outlook on life is tinted by our constant attempts to deny one inevitable fact of our existence: that we die. He came to believe that the human psyche needs a belief system in order to deal with the very idea of death. Otherwise, he argued, humans could not function in the world. However, he ultimately rejected the value of such belief systems because he said that reliance on a belief system makes it impossible to attain genuine self knowledge and awareness.
Having said that the reliance on belief systems to deal with death precludes true self awareness he strove to find meaning elsewhere. A strong ethical humanist, he felt that humanity must find the answer to the denial of death within the heroism of humans and thus free itself of the burden of the fear, and the denial, of death.
Yet, in the end, he could find nothing that even selfless heroism could do to alter the fear and denial of death other than to offer a final bow to the inevitable. He wrote, "The most that any one of us can seem to do is to fashion something, an object of ourselves, and drop it into the confusion, make an offering of it, so to speak, to the life force."
Many people then and now find that good enough. Some believe that we can pass the best of each of us, our knowledge, our writings, our ethics, our philosophies, our loves, on to our children, our wider families, and even the world. Some feel that, in doing that they have achieved true self knowledge. In other words, some variation of Becker's idea appeals to a lot of people.
Becker's ideas reflect the views on death of one influential ethical humanist. However, the vast majority of people on the planet have belief systems that allow them to face death with greater optimism than did Becker.
And those believers do not feel that they have forsaken self knowledge or self awareness by having faith. In fact, they would argue that their belief system is part and parcel of their self knowledge, and that true self discovery requires belief.
The vast majority of faith systems in the world today deal with death not by denying it but by asserting that death is not final, that there is some form of afterlife, offered to us by God, or gods, a life force, a higher power, or an ultimate source of life.
The shape of that afterlife and the nature of that higher power varies widely among religions. But all those who believe in an afterlife believe that death is not the end, but is a portal through which we pass.
As a Christian theologian I am somewhat versed in how death is viewed in other faiths. However I am no expert in that and will not write about it here.
What I can tell you is how orthodox Christianity views death and how that faith, my faith, deals with it. So what follows is a brief explanation of the Christian way of dealing with death.
If you are a Christian there are fundamental things that you believe about death and how it can be overcome, i.e., essential beliefs about life and death that distinguish a Christian faith perspective.
The Christian hope for eternal life is grounded in the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, whom Christians confess as Lord and Savior. This belief is not based only upon the truth of his teachings or on his high ethical standards, as important as those are to other aspects of the faith. Rather it is based on the belief that Jesus is the Son of God, who, in total trust and obedience to the will of the Father, died upon the cross for the sins of all humanity.
And Christians believe that God raised him from the dead, in loving response to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Christians believe that in so doing God broke once and for all the bonds of death for all who believe in Jesus, the Christ.
Before Jesus was raised there was hope for a general resurrection of the dead. Martha reflected that hope after her brother, Lazarus, died. And Jesus told her "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" Martha replied, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God ...."
However, the raising of Lazarus was not a resurrection. It was a resuscitation. Lazarus was raised from his tomb, but he would one day die. Christians believe, therefore, that the raising of Jesus was the first resurrection. St. Paul confirms this by calling Jesus' resurrection the "first fruits" from the dead, and reiterates that those who believe in the Christ shall not die but shall be resurrected as he has been.
This is important to Christians because a lone resurrection would have little to no meaning for us. As Hans Kung has said, "An isolated resurrection in itself would have little point, unless it were a resurrection FOR US. Jesus' resurrection is the ground of hope in the resurrection for ALL who believe in him."
This, then, is what Christians call Resurrection Faith. It is this faith that we too shall be raised which grounds Christian hope.
Ultimately, belief that Jesus was raised is precisely that: Belief. And many good men and women, like Ernest Becker, do not make that "leap of faith" that defines a Christian.
Such a trust in God, cannot be found in books, in science, or in study. It comes from the heart. It is essentially intuitive. Once one has faith, of course, one can seek further understanding through study. As St. Anselm advised, religion is "Faith seeking Understanding."
One cannot study his or her way to faith in the Risen Christ. One can read about the Resurrection and decide whether one believes it to be true, but there will not be any "proof" of it.
The resurrection is not a "provable" event, notwithstanding the number of devout Christians who try, year after year, to "prove" the truth of the resurrection using various kinds of "arguments" which are not proofs at all, but are really only different ways of stating the faith.
Notwithstanding the lack of "scientific evidence," of which there is next to none about any event in ancient history which we nonetheless accept as "true," I, and other Christians, believe that the resurrection is true. I believe it because of the testimony of the Gospel writers, and of the other witnesses, such as St. Paul, who said that they saw the Risen Christ. In other words, I trust that testimony, that kerygma, (proclamation), of the faith.
Christians also believe it because we feel Christ is working in our lives today, and in the lives of those we trust and love. We believe it because the Church itself has been created as the Living Body of the Living Christ. And we continue to testify to the living presence of Christ in the Word and Sacraments of our worship, especially in the sharing of the bread and wine, the symbolic body and blood of our Savior.
We also believe that the resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate divine revelation of God to us. It is through this unique revelation of the power and glory of God that we are freed in the present to have the hope of eternal life, even in the face of the fact that we shall surely die, because we believe that death is not the end of our lives.
This hope is born out of our trust in God's righteousness, in God's goodness, and, most of all, in God's love for us. For believers death is but a narrow gate, a passageway through which we pass into the closer presence of Christ.
For those who trust that God raised Jesus, the fleeting present in which we all live can be a freeing moment. There is still the inevitability of death, but, as St. Paul says, "Death has lost its sting."
And, because of Christian hope, the present can take on new meaning, can become something more than a time for remembering the mistakes of the past, or living in paralyzing fear of the future. Instead it can become a time of worship, thanksgiving, praise and service in the name of the One who has overcome death for us.
When Thomas refused to believe that Christ was risen Jesus appeared before him and invited him to put out his hand and touch his wounded side, saying "Do not doubt, but believe." Thomas did not put his hand in Jesus' side. Instead Thomas believed and answered him saying simply, "My Lord and my God!"
More telling for Christians is what Jesus said next to Thomas, which is often overlooked, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
There are many ways in which people deal with the inevitability of death. Each person must decide just how they will face the reality of their own death. I have found a way of dealing with death that gives me hope. For me faith is the best of the alternatives. Through my faith I find hope, and the promise of eternal life.
God bless you all,
Monte
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I am reminded of Meriwether Lewis's reflections on his 31st birthday. Camped on the headwaters of the Missouri River, having led the Corps of Discovery for over a year to places never before seen by men of European ancestry, he nevertheless wrote in his journal: "I (have) as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the happiness of the human race, or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence, and now sorely feel the want of that information which those hours would have given me had they been judiciously expended."
That having been said, I compliment you once again on your ability to express your faith in such a clear, effective way. I'm not much for churchin', but yours is one I would be honored to attend.
Age does have a way of illuminating the closer possibility of death, in relation to our longevity here on earth. It tends to cross our minds a little more with each decade. We are surrounded by death of loved ones and those who have departed this life. We are saddened deeply by loss and the prospect of lonliness while still living. For some, this existence is unbearable with the passing of a loved one. Life can be compared to a slow death; one which begins at birth. Seems a morbid view, however, biologically realistic. When one is more consumed with one's spiritual life while here on earth, it's nuturance, vitality and necessity, one's life has greater purpose and one which allows positive choices. Feeding one's spirit, to some, is the secret to a good life. It is also the conduit to belief in a fully spiritual after life. Many of us here, in this life, are quite mindful of where we will be after our bodies return to ashes, from whence they came. It is a giving back to further life here, refurtilize the earth, as it were. Life and death, hand in hand, breathing new life from one to the other. A cycle which will never end. A full circle.
As always, Monte, I am deeply moved by your inspiring posts.
Sadly I believe the promise of an afterlife was crafted as a tool to subjugate and placate the masses, an assist in keeping them toiling in their miserable lives for the enrichment of the privileged, or like lambs to the slaughter on the battlefields. So much misery in "the name of God" over the centuries. And before "this" God, there have been countless others, most deemed worthy of dying for by leaders who do not put themselves in harms way.
I admire your faith and the beautiful way that you write and share it with us Monte.
I was thinking about death some time back several months ago when I was uncertain about my health (are we ever certain about it?). I often ponder it as my mantra is "face your fear and it will disappear". My grandfather used to always say that, so I do it. I think about it without fear. I don't want to die just yet, but if I should then I know I have done far more good than bad in this world and I give thanks to God each day for each thing in my life.
I think most people's fear is in the way they will pass. That's a different story. I faced death both violently and passively and I'll take passively for now. But often the violent, (violent car crash in my case) ends it quickly while the passive turns to aggressive and seemingly endless in its length. I think of my father. He has no control over himself really with Alzheimer's. But he seems happy and content now. I pray not for him to live forever, but to die with dignity and without pain.
I'm not so worried about myself. When it's my time my conscience is pretty clear.
Thanks for this.
rated
Gary, my friend, always good to have you here and always glad to share my ideas with you.
Procopius: wonderful to have you visit. I think that Lewis' reflection says a lot about why he was so willing to do what others could or would not, and yet had the humility to think that he could have done more. Very insightful. Thanks for sharing that moment.
Leeandra: I have not seen it but will add it to my Netflix queue.
Pilgrim: Whatever kind of faith we possess it is my feeling that we are blessed to have it. Your care and sincerity are evident to any who bother to read what you write. And your open mindedness is something that we all can emulate. Thanks for your comments.
Cathy, thank you for your perspective. I particularly like your emphasis on "giving back" in gratitude for our own lives. That is such an important part of what it means to not only understand the human condition, but to serve to make it the best it can be. I hope others reading here will ponder your words and learn from them.
Hello again, Sally. Thank you for stopping by. It must have been hard to read some of this given your present situation. Many things are tested when we lose loved ones, and faith is one of the first to be tested. There are no easy answers, but ultimately it comes down to love and to whom we hope that we can offer our loved one knowing that she or he will be loved and cared for beyond our ability to do so. And, dear Sally, trying is all any of us can do. I shall continue praying for you and yours in this difficult time.
Blonde: thank you for coming by and reading even though you do not share my faith. Nothing I write ever requires anyone to share my faith. Each makes the decision of faith or no faith in their own heart, and no one should interfere with that. I agree that faith, including a belief in the afterlife has been abused by power over and over. But that is true of every good idea that has ever been conceived by man. Someone will inevitably abuse it for their own ends. Christian leaders throughout the centuries have much to account for. I condemn that abuse too. But I also believe that the abuse of an idea does not speak to the truth, beauty or importance of that idea. Rather it speaks to the weaknesses and vanity of men. We do not have to agree on that to be friends. Friends we are and friends we shall remain.
Monte
Could not agree more, Trudge.
Thanks for reading this Lea. I think some of this post must have hit pretty close to home, and continue to admire your courage. The idea of living each day fully and caring for others while doing that does help us avoid a lot of the concerns we might otherwise have about death. I am so glad that you have found a way that works for you and helps others in the process.
Monte
I'm much more accepting of my faith today than I was yesterday even.
I know you are, Buffy. It was not an accident that I chose to write on this at this time. God bless.
Physics almost dictates that our life energy has to do something or go somewhere, because energy can neither be created or destroyed, it can only change forms. Much to ponder, Monte. I try not to think about it, but you know that I do.
Hi, Cartouche, it is always good to have you read and comment on my posts. I have come to understand your deep and abiding sense of living life to its fullest and to do what you can to "leave behind a better place." I salute you for that and am continually grateful for your friendship. Thank you for your kind words about this post.
Dusty, it is a heavy topic and I wondered when I should write about it. I decided to do it now because several of our dear friends here are struggling with this issue, both personally and in dealing with the deaths, or coming deaths, of loved ones. It just seemed like the right thing to do at this time. I know that your faith is an important part of who you are. I have no knowledge about who will one day occupy those "many mansions." I know how Christianity teaches Christians that they can get there and find that trying to get them to understand that is a full time job, which I have taken on over the years. As for others, I rely on my belief that God is first and foremost a God of love and I am not about to say God's love will not overcome any perceived barriers to "heaven" for others. I too believe that God is inclusive, not exclusive, and will leave the issue of who gets "in" and who is left "out" up to God. Since Jesus died for all I believe that God will insure that the future beyond this life is open to "ALL."
Bless you. It is good to see you active on OS again. I am not as active as I once was here, but I am trying to get a bit more balance in my life and not be consumed by OS every day. I want OS to be an important part of what I do, but not an obsession. For a while it was just that for me. For one with an O/C personality that is not good.
But I can (and will) say thank you once again for an eloquent explanation.
Rated.
Death is to life as collateral damage is to war. We know it's part of the deal. No matter how gung ho we are about the war part of it, we know collateral damage is part and parcel to it too. It is simply what we must accept if we are to go on to victory. Essentially, I feel that the afterlife may be a necessary component of the faith in a sort of ultimate victory. Of course, if you accept this, then you also understand the problem presented by contrasting Good with Evil and Life and Death. In the grey area where there is no more room for doubt - within our _______ minds - faith is the natural answer and at its strongest, can replace the very human need that beyond learning for its own sake, is used for reconciling the known with the unknown; a sort of bookmark for the soul. We need to be men and women of faith and vision, imagination and hope - I wouldn't be typing away on my Mac here with people of all creeds and colors and FAITHS if it weren't for *all of* them.
All things are not linear - in fact, science has proven that much is not. We are talking beyond 4 dimensional here, folks. As for the words of Scripture, words are funny that way. They have fixed definitions, but in certain context have the power to bind and stagnate, or liberate and propel to a realization of a greater purpose.
Whether with this or the next phase fixed in my view, for me the most logical, ethical and practical thing I can do in the present is to live my life with passion, defend the liberty of others with the same, and embrace all other with compassion and entity; the Golden Rule.
At the end of the day, when discussing extra-dimensional philosophical queries, the only danger lies in dogmatism and self-justification. God remains the ultimate Judge.
Though my faith tells me that a happier unity is in store versus the planar unity we are experiencing now, I am bound by my deeper faith in our purpose, to do the best with what I have in my sights.
So lest we '...do not see the forest for the trees,' I propose that life is lived 'in the mean time' and death will come - the only truths about life which we truly 'know'. Perhaps these are 'inconvenient' and uncomfortable truths, but for my part, I find more solace in this than declaring myself a person of faith. This simply helps me to take responsibility for the consequences tangible nature of my life and how I live it, as well as serves to ground my hope to transcend simply living - which I believe *not* to be the human condition. I simply prefer that the brick wall I erect in the absence of knowing, is built with the mortar of morality versus solely religious faith.
If I make it to Heaven, then I hope I have evolved past the point where 'because I said so' is just not intellectually sufficient grounds for obedience.
This is a point I cannot stress enough - faith and morality are not mutually exclusive, but rather, for one to be defensible, the other - morality - must come first.
I realize that this is faith-based conceptualization too, and I am fine with that - for now.
"This is a point I cannot stress enough - faith and morality are not mutually exclusive, but rather, for one to be defensible, the other - morality - must come first."
I mostly agree with that. But I also think that morality is more than an idea, it is something we do, that we "live." As such I think that morality can and does grow out of reading and thinking about the stories and words found in places like the Bible: the stories of faith, or lack thereof, and the response of God to both. And, of course, the stories, dialogues and parables of Jesus which lead always to moral positions. "Oh ye of little faith" is the moral conclusion arrived by observing those who do not have the faith necessary to act morally. So, I guess I would say that while "morality" may well come first, in the Bible and other sources of the theology of Christianity, for example, morality is always judged by whether or not it is consistent with the standards of faithful believers: ie: living according to the wishes of God for justice and mercy and not what we decide is moral. In Christianity, for example, we are not free to decide that murder is moral; murder is forbidden by the justice of God.
It is not quite a "chicken/egg" issue, but I do think that, depending on whether or not one feels that faith leads to moral behavior, or whether moral behavior is a prerequisite to faith, depends on how one believes that faith arises: from ourselves, or from God acting in our lives. I believe, of course, the latter.
Either way I do not see how one can be separated from the other in the lives of believers. I do, however, know people who have no faith who can and do act morally and rely on their sense of conscience to decide what that is. So I guess you could say that I believe that morality can stand on its own without faith, but that faith without morality is not faith.
Monte
My view of death is quite skewed from the "norm" as I lost many people in my life at a young age. The only part of MY death that concerns me is all those I will be leaving behind. I do not want them to be sad or miss me. I will have gone on to a much happier place.
I know this to be true and it is part of the reason I have John 3:16 tattooed across my shoulders.
Peace,
For me I am not all that fearful of death itself, but, like you, I do not want to leave this life and this earth, at least just yet. I can visualize a time, however, when my body simply cannot take the pain or is unable to function, or my mind has simply given out. At that time I can see how I would be, as many old people have told me, "ready to go home." For now, just know that you are not alone in this feeling.
As to faith, ask for it to be strengthened. Over time I have seen mine strengthened by doing that consistently. But I have too many doubts to believe that it will ever be perfectly 100% certain. I do not believe we are wired to never doubt. But I also believe that God knows that and accepts us as the imperfect beings we are.
Monte
Monte
In my humble opinion you’ve touched on the very topic that drives the need for beliefs such as Christianity…the irrational way that humans seem to cope with the thought of their own mortality.
I prefer to think not of my untimely end (for it will always seem untimely to me!) but rather the tremendous bit of luck bestowed upon me for even having existed. Of all the possible beings that could have existed up until now (and the mathematics is staggering) that fact that I’m one of them delights me to no end. Some would attribute this luck to divine intervention, but I haven’t yet developed the vanity to do so.
Furthermore, the very comforting thought that I can remember no great burden in my “not being” before I was born, leads me to think that the “not being” after my death shall not be so bad either. I need no divine intervention to buffer me from this thought.
That fact that some people need, or just find comfort in a magical deliverance from this upcoming “not being” surely is good thing…unless the precious gift they have been given in the here and now is wasted by the mere promise of some future paradise.
In my mind, philosophy, religion, spirituality, and every other study of the human condition should have no greater purpose than to teach us how to make the most of our brief veil of tears.
For example, I do not think that people who accept belief systems, like Christianity, are "irratiional," but rather are "arational" or "nonrational." Their faith is an essentially intuitive response to what they believe is the call of a higher power in their lives . Rationality plays no part in the "leap of faith" needed to become a believer. Perhaps I am parsing here, but to someone who thinks he is "rational" to say someone is "irrational" is pejorative.
And I am glad that you feel "lucky" to exist, but "luck" does not sound too rational either. That you do not have any worries of "not being" sounds to me that you have found a way of dealing with death that works for you. I pray that it continues to do that through the years. I believe that Carl Sagan felt essentially the same way.
I do not consider faith to have anything to do with "magic", but I do think you are right that it is a sad thing for believers who have it pretty well made if we focus on a future paradise and ignore the need to do the most we can to be of service to others in the here and now.
The only people of faith that I know who would be justified in focusing almost solely on a future life to the exclusion of the present life are those who have no reason to think that the present life is, in fact, any more than a "veil of tears." There is an old Negro Spiritual about wanting to get to heaven because in heaven " all God's children's got shoes." I can understand the focus on the hope of heaven for those who have no hope in the present.
You write: "In my mind, philosophy, religion, spirituality, and every other study of the human condition should have no greater purpose than to teach us how to make the most of our brief veil of tears." I should think that any of those various disciplines that did not focus on that as one of the core values to explore would not meet even a fundamental test of having a proper concern for understanding the human condition and trying to do the best we can in helping ourselves and other live to the improvement of that condition.
Thanks, again, Mark. I appreciate your position and thank you for taking the time to comment here.
Peace,
Monte
Thanks for reading and commenting, Kathy. I agree. I can't think of any other single thing that tests faith more than the death of a loved one or coming to grips with the inevitability of our own death. I think one of the prices of faith is that we are in fact tested and that doubt is part of that process.
Monte
Monte
I didn't mean to imply that Christians are irrational, I just stated that I think this particular way of dealing with mortality is irrational.
Lots of people who I consider rational have certain idiosyncrasies that are irrational...myself included.
You are certainly correct that luck doesn't sound rational, I have no better way to describe the good fortune at beating the incredibly long odds of existence.
You said "The only people of faith that I know who would be justified in focusing almost solely on a future life to the exclusion of the present life are those who have no reason to think that the present life is, in fact, any more than a "veil of tears." " .... and to me this exemplifies the point I was trying to make. It is a shame that this particular belief, mostly propagated by the religious, could encourage anyone to waste the precious time that have now.
This belief has extremely dangerous consequences as attested by the 19 young men who flew themselves and others to their deaths on 9/11. It was the lure of paradise and the rejection of the here and now that motivated them. We ignore this belief at our peril.
I think that certain words push my buttons and "irrational" is one of them because of its pejorative connotations. Regardless, we can leave that lie, and agree to disagree on the use of that word.
I do understand the implications of people using religion as an excuse to do harm to others and your vivid reminder of 9/11 is a perfect example. If you have been reading any of my posts you know that I share with you my disgust of the damage done in the name of religion. And Christianity has much to account for over the centuries, and there are many alleged "Christians" today on the right who still have not a clue what it means to actually follow Christ. Much serious damage is still being done under the name "Christian." And there is really no excuse for it unless ignorance, greed, personal fame, fear, pride and indifference to the plight of others can be called an excuse.
Thanks again, and I will see you around OS.
Blessings,
Monte
I have read your thoughts on the evils done in the name of religion and it is your honest and open discussion of these topics that keep bringing me back to read your posts. I value your perspective.
In using 9/11 to emphasize my point, I was not trying bang home any point about the negative things done in the name of religion, but rather, it was to point out that a seemingly harmless belief (that I could have an everlasting existence) coupled with the sales pitch normally associated with religion (that paradise awaits us after death) is in fact a dangerous combination that should not only not be encouraged, but just maybe, should be discouraged.
I've been chewing this over today, and I have to agree that everyone has to come to their own conclusions regarding death. My own personal take has been that since we are creatures composed of many things, including energy, and since energy can neither be created nor destroyed (according to science) then that energy which occupies us must have:
a) come FROM somewhere and
b) go TO somewhere else when its container eventually fails.
Now, I'm not sure that I'll find myself in G-d's company once my body ceases to function. I guess I'll find out in due time, but that is hopefully far in the future. But knowing in my heart that the energy that is me (my soul, if you will) cannot be destroyed and must obviously go somewhere, that dying is not a final outcome but another room in the house, it makes death a little bit easier to accept.
Not comfortable, mind you - I am not sure I'll ever be comfortable with death; indiscriminate, cheating death seems to always try to stack the deck.
Thanks as always for an incredibly insightful and well-thought-out post.
Peace,
Monte
As a Man of God, I think you shoulda told me how f-ing good it feels
to surrender yrself to the Father...
it took a hellish ride through the Valley
to bring me finally to "my" senses...
still intoxicated by the graces that are offered so damn freely now
that I can SEE them...& HEAR them..
and especially
FEEL them...
I realized my whole life has been a battle ,
mano a mano,
with Him..
I have finally surrendered,
and am feeling a-ok..
More later, old pal
love James
God bless and God speed.
Monte
I hate to think of death and haven't even gotten myself on a defined spiritual or religious path to deal with that inevitability.
I still search and learn and keep an open mind. I learn a lot from you.
I was about your age when I first read Becker's book. At that point in my life I too was impressed with where Becker came out. It was only much later that I chose a different way to deal with life, death and other things which I now see as spiritual.
Becker was not an atheist, but rather an agnostic. If you read him carefully, even that brief quote you will notice that he speaks of making an "offering" to the "life force." That language is inherently spiritual in nature.
I would not worry at all about where you are in your journey. You will make your own mind up as time goes on. Searching, learning and keeping an open mind are attributes that serve you well.
Blessings and peace,
Monte
I learned to "pretend I was already dead" to prepare for intense meditation
not in a morbid way, but it really focuses the mind
and to pretend I was dying, and practice saying goodbye to the world and leaving the world, because sometime I will
I want to be ready, not dragged out screaming
I have now lost both parents, and most of my relatives to death
also, many people my age (58) have started to die
as you say, I can no longer deny the prospect of my own death
and then, the minute we are born we begin a process that inevitably leads to death because we enter a physical body that begins a process of change that leads to death
so, this post really hits the nail on the head, rated
Tayler
I never worried to much about the death of my own body (since I am quite convinced that "I" am not my body – nor my mind, for that matter.) But I sure get upset when the various bodies of my loved ones reach their expiration date. On the other hand, that shining, unchanging "I" in them, is what I loved anyway, so, I guess that can never be lost either. What an exquisite mystery!
A big thumb for you.
Tayler, thank you so much. I appreciate your kind words and you are always welcome to come here and ruminate with me on the problems associated with the human condition.
Thanks much, Professor, I am humbled by your kind words.
Brinna, always good to see you here. Death is truly "an exquisite mystery." What a compelling way to say that! I too believe that we are much more than our body or our mind. Some call it "soul." I call it "spirit" but whatever that is called it is the unique quality of spiritual essence that God has provided to each of us. One way I look at death is "the sundering of relationships." And I believe that the reestablishment of relationships is one of the main things God intends for us in the life after this one. I have written, from a Christian perspective, that the first thing Jesus did after his resurrection was to reestablish relationships, first with the women who served him and then with the disciples, and later with many other followers.
God bless you all.
Monte
I wrote the above in one of my own post-comments. Compared to the age of the universe the life of a single human is a blink. I like your post because it is a continuation of what humans have been wondering for quite a while now, the absolute reality of death, the finality of death, the fear of death and the dealing with personal death. The photograph (yours?) is absolutely wonderful.
Monte where would you place "suicide" in the death discussion? Not religiously but just the phenomenon of being at a spot where one decides "Thats it!"
Late but always sincerely,
T1
I wrote the above in one of my own post-comments. Compared to the age of the universe the life of a single human is a blink. I like your post because it is a continuation of what humans have been wondering for quite a while now, the absolute reality of death, the finality of death, the fear of death and the dealing with personal death. The photograph (yours?) is absolutely wonderful.
Monte where would you place "suicide" in the death discussion? Not religiously but just the phenomenon of being at a spot where one decides "Thats it!"
Late but always sincerely,
T1
Suicide is a complex issue and is certainly part of how we deal with death. I lost a nephew to suicide and it was very, very hard on the family and I know his parents will never completely come to grips with it. He had just graduated high school.
We tend to think that suicide affects just the one who does it, but the truth is that in most cases we leave grieving and broken people who love us stunned and unable to deal with it.
Assisted suicide when someone is hopeless is a whole different manner. I understand that there are times when the body fails is to the point where it is unbearable to live within it any more and we wish to pull the plug. That becomes a very personal decision and I would leave that to the individual and the family to decide, hopefully with the advice from a doctor or two.
I do not support suicide for myself. I believe that God put us here when he did for a reason and will take us to him/her when our time comes. But I can imagine situations where others may choose a different answer to that.
Suicide is generally considered a sin in the church, but, if it is, it is no worse a sin than the hundreds we all commit every year. When I was a pastor I treated suicide like any other death and did not deny the family of the deceased any of my or the church's service and comfort.
But, it is a subject fraught with many subtleties and difficulties and it poses serious ethical and social issues that are not solved by simple "yes" or "no" answers. At least that is how I see it.
Thanks much,
Monte
I have an interesting observation regarding suicide, from my recent experiences as a homeless bum.
Alot , and i mean ALOT, of gifted beautiful souls are trying suicide, and most are failing, and ending up in the loving hands of the PsychoIndustrial Complex. Lovely caring (tough love) women run it.
These suiciders , these people who WANT more than anything to end the intolerable pain of their lives (it is of course an
argument whether their pain is truly "intolerable",
but we'll leave that aside)
these who wish to die cannot...
yet in the larger society, those who want more than anything NOT
to die...those body-fanatics,
you know who i mean...new diets, new health kicks, etc...
they are the ones kicking off...
ironic...
.....................................
My own view on suicide is also ambivalent, as i sense yours is.
god has a time for us, but if we
step in and f--k up his schedule,
wasnt it then
God's time, if truly He is all-pervadingly influential
as the Religious People
believe?
......................................
God's vs. Human Will....
We are given free will, are we not,
in order to surrender it
in an act of..well, free will....
to God's will?
It's fairly easy to see when yre on the right track,
because you are rewarded constantly withe small, or even medium-
sized, and...sometimes really BIG...
graces...
but then, I guess graces are always abundant,
and we just need clearer eyes and ears to
see and hear them...
The act of surrender to God's will
turns out to be fairly easily accomplished,
i am discovering:
just
attendez-vous,
why dont u?
ha James
This poses a neat "predestination vs. free will" issue:
You wrote:
"god has a time for us, but if we
step in and f--k up his schedule,
wasnt it then
God's time, if truly He is all-pervadingly influential
as the Religious People
believe?"
My own take is that God is not into micro management precisely because he did give us free will. Therefore when we take actions like suicide when it was clear that if we did not put a gun to our head we would not die then we are taking the decision of when we die literally into our own hands.
I suppose that someone could do it believing that "God" or "the devil" made him do it, but again that, to me, goes against the existential fact that had we not intervened we would be alive.
The obverse is also true: if we are riddled with cancer and there is no way in hell, and I am sure it is a form of hell, that we can ever recover, when our body is essentially destroyed, and someone, maybe even us, KNOWING that there is nothing to remaining alive but misery, pain or, if lucky, coma, then decides to put us on a ventilator and continuing food IV , that decision is doing essentially the same thing: keeping us alive when we, in the natural course of things, would die.
There are many, many shades of gray in those two examples and I think that ultimately we are dealing in each case not with moral absolutes but with difficult and painful decisions in the context of situational ethics. And I for one would make those kinds of decisions on a case by case basis, all the while knowing that my tendency is to lean toward not interfering with the natural course of events. Some people clearly do not agree with that, which is why some people think that it is OK to assist someone in suicide when it is still possible to have a useful life. I will leave it to them to decide why they would do that. But I would not be a party to it.
Good point, stretches the gray cells a bit. Thank you.
Monte
Thanks again for tackling a tough subject with wisdom, reason and faith.
Monte
I believe that there is a possibility that death was our one great foe and that science is something given to humans through God - and that eventually, we are meant to make this world, our Earth, a Heaven... and that the afterlife and this life will be mingled.
That having been said, I also see nothing wrong with the Christian position presented here -
http://www.alcor.org/FAQs/faq04.html
... that God has given us brains to discover science, and that God values life - and that, as such, He wants us to do whatever possible to preserve life -
Up to and including cryonics.
This is an interesting discussion I got into with a college theology professor. He eventually just stopped answering my questions. I never knew if it was because he felt I was ridiculous and not worth his time; or if it was because he just felt I was already damned and not worth his time... you know how those Calvinists can be. ;)
Also, it is clear to me that a correct reading of the idea of Christian salvation is that once one is "saved," that is once one believes in Christ, then from that point forward one already has eternal life. In other words once one is "saved" death is the overcome enemy and you pass through death but that you do not die. Terms used to express this are traditionally "sleeping," "passing on" and "passing over" versus "dying."
Speaking from a Christian perspective what I know for sure is that we do not know for sure what happens after death and what we have is a promise and a hope in that promise.
I would think that your professor would have done better had he just admitted that we have only glimpses of bits and pieces of the afterlife. At some point, of course, assuming science is right and I have no reason to think otherwise, the sun that warms this earth will burn out and life as we know it will not be possible here. How that fits with your idea is unclear.
In any case nobody can say with any confidence that we "know" the shape of the afterlife. Faith tells us that it will be better than life as we now know it.
The three best places where Christians can get an idea of what it might be like are Chapter 21 of Revelation (which is a stylized vision), Chapter 15 of 1st Corinthians where Paul discusses resurrection in more detail than any other biblical writer, and the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus that Jesus told.
"In Revelation near the end John mentions a "new heaven and a new earth" with a new Jerusalem coming DOWN from heaven and that God will dwell with and among God's people here on the new earth in this new Jerusalem. "
This is very much what I am speaking of here. I truly believe that we're here to create a heaven on Earth, so to speak. I don't really feel that there would be any reason for God to create matter as separate from spirit if there wasn't some overwhelming reason for matter to exist.
I will have to read the passages you mentioned. Thank you again for replying!
By the age of 20 i had over 40 broken bones,including skull and back. I had lost my right leg below the knee.I was cut down from 6 ' feet 3" and a half inches to under 6'.
By 30 I had treatment and been cured for hep C. been to a mental institution because of the things your liver gives you to think that the hep and serosis of the liver had denied me.
Now at 51 I have fought and beat stag 4 cancer of the throat and cancer of the bone.
Each time I was Faced with a task of faith I saw demons as well as god.
I sat on the steps of heaven watched the soul pass into the pure light
from the darkness of the world below.
So I can only testify that I saw heaven, was tested by faith many ,many times. I'm not well versed in the words of the bible. Only in the visions i have been blessed with.
So as far as death is concerned, I look forward to the day i will pass the steps on which I have sat. To go into the lighted area of heaven.
Think of one problem that you will have without a earthly body.
To go to the light, everything in heaven is faster than the speed of light, everything on earth is slower.
I know i sound like a crackpot, but I thought i should share a few of the things ive seen with you. take what you want leave the rest.
Pat: your testimony is always welcome here. It matters not whether anyone else believes what you experienced. What matters is that you believe it and live by what it tells you about the here and now and the world beyond this one. Obviously your faith has been tested and the response to your faith has been healing. In my life as a pastor I have known many who have told me that they have had a glimpse of the beyond. I do not doubt them. By definition faith is belief in "things unseen" as St. Paul said. Most of us will never see what you have experienced, but also most of us will never have to go through anything like the hell you have gone through on this earth. No one human being should have to go through the pain and anguish you have gone through. I pray that you will now have some respite from all of that. I will continue with you in my thoughts and in my prayers.
Anne: thanks for your comment. You and Pat are very fortunate in one vital thing. Love. That you can share your love for one another and keep that firmly in heart and mind in spite of all of the pitfalls and disappointments, and now the joy of the latest test results, is something wonderful to see. My prayers are with you.
Monte