Life is good. The world shouts this from the
rooftops in feel-good commercials almost daily, and uses this catchy slogan to
encourage us to spend time and money doing fun things. When it comes to death
though, we hear no fancy phrases like “Death is bad.” Everybody is oddly quiet
when it comes to the topic of death, and even many Christians do their best to
avoid the subject, or just quickly gloss it over. This is quite a shame, for
Christians should have plenty to say about death. N. T. Wright wrote on this
issue, arguing that, “What we say about death and resurrection gives shape and
color to everything else.”[1]
To ignore the subject of death is to downplay the significance of Christ’s
resurrection by signaling to those around us that, ultimately, we’re in the
same boat as them when it comes to death. Having a right notion of death and
how to deal with it is a wonderful way to show the masses an alternative to the
prevailing culture surrounding death, and by doing so we will be living a more
faithful Christian life. How should we as Christians approach changing the
common conceptions of death? For starters, we need to know some of the commonly
held views of death, and see if any of them hold water. If not, we’ll need to
formulate our own position concerning death, and then put it into practice.
There
are three common viewpoints of death, each of which we’ll be looking at in more
detail. The first, held by many non-christians in all walks of life, is the
belief that death is simply bad and there’s nothing we can do about it. The
second, supported by many Christians across the board, believes that death
isn’t actually that bad, but is simply the vehicle that brings us to our final
resting place in heaven. The final position, put forth mainly by atheists and
humanists, states that death is neither good nor bad, but simply the end of
existence.
The
first perspective is fairly straightforward: death is something painful, both
for those who die and those who are left behind, so therefore we should try to
ignore it and just go about our business. Ignorance is bliss, so they try to suppress
the truth and pretend that everything is just dandy. Life is good, death is
bad, and that’s an end to it. When we die it’s all over, so we may as well
party it up while we’re still breathing. How do they deal with the death of
grandparent, a friend, a child? They don’t. They combat sorrow by trying their
best to just forget about the whole thing and drown it in pleasures. Sometimes
they simply can’t handle it and fall into a deep pit of depression. This way of
thinking leaves one hopeless, because there is no way to stop the incessant
all-powerful march of death. All whom death consumes are gone forever, and
there is no way to make things right again.
The
second path of thought holds that death isn’t a bad thing at all. It is simply
an inconvenience for those left behind, who must overcome their misplaced
sorrow to realize that everything is just fine. Nobody ever says that anybody ‘dies’,
because they believe in using phrases such as ‘pass away’, ‘move on’, or some
other euphemism instead of ‘die’. The person who just passed is in heaven now, holders
of this view will say, so there is no reason to be sad at all. You’ll know
you’re spiritually mature if you understand this fact, don’t cry, and feel
happy for your past loved ones. In this line of thinking, there is no room for
grief.
The
final common view believes death is simply a part of life, something that will
inevitably happen at some point. We shouldn’t worry, they say, because we will
simply cease to exist and that’ll be the end of it. Our bodies will decompose
and our atoms will become part of the rest of the world. Some will even go so
far as to say that death is what makes life good. Stephen Fry, narrating a
video for the British Humanist Association, said, “Think about reading a good
book or eating a delicious cake. These may be great pleasures, but one of the
things that makes them pleasures is that they come to an end.”[2]
He goes on to reason that death is necessary, and is what gives life purpose.
Therefore, he reasons, we should try to live our life with intention, doing our
best to accomplish the most amount of good. Here, death is elevated to a
position of ultimate good, the driving force behind getting things done and living
a fulfilling life. This mode of thinking leaves God entirely out of the
picture, and trivializes the negative effects of death. None of these three
views bring us to a proper understanding of death though. Each is off kilter,
and so we need an alternative, one that will give us clear way to live and that
will actually make a difference in our lives for the better.
First off, we
need to understand that death is unnatural. When God first made the world,
there was no death, but by man’s sin death entered into the world and has held
mankind in its grip ever since. Not only is death unnatural, but it is also an
enemy of God. 1 Corinthians 15:25-26 says, “For he must reign until he has put
all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”[3]
If death is an enemy, why treat it simply as a ‘moving on’? If we focus only on
that one aspect, we leave behind the reality that something is not right: our
relative should not be dead. Death is painful, bad, and unavoidable. Instead of
bottling up our grief or distracting ourselves with pleasure though, Christians
should acknowledge the fact and allow ourselves to cry and mourn for our loss.
Jesus himself wept; it’s not an unchristian emotion. It is perfectly fine to be
sad that they’re gone. There is most definitely, as Ecclesiastes 3:4 says, “A
time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” As
this verse implies, though, we won’t always be weeping.
There is hope for
the future, based on Christ’s death and resurrection, and the promise of our
future bodily resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 reads, “But we do not want
you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not
grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have
fallen asleep.” We know death is not the end and that we’ll see them again.
Simply having all
this knowledge won’t actually change anything in the world at large. There is
something missing. Writing about shaping culture, Andy Crouch says, “Is it
really true that simply perceiving the radical comprehensiveness of the
Christian worldview would “transform the world”? Or is there a middle step that
is being skipped over all too lightly?”[4]
Crouch goes on to say that there is something missing: application. There are
plenty of writers who claim that the heart of transforming culture lies in
practical application, yet, as Crouch explains, “The emphasis always somehow
stays on perception and vision, on thinking, on analysis.”[5]
Simply coming to a better understanding of death won’t change things much at
all. If we truly desire to make a difference in the way our culture views and
reacts to death, we Christians should apply our beliefs to how we live and
interact with this world.
How shall we then
live? When someone you know dies, don’t sugarcoat it to try and make yourself
feel better. They didn’t ‘pass away’ or ‘move on’, they died. This isn’t being
callous, it’s calling death what it is and not diminishing the fact that it’s
horrible. It’s ok to cry. Take some time to mourn. Melvin Tinker aptly said,
“Tears are still shed. Grief is no less profound, but there is no grim despair,
instead there is that quiet reassurance that the best is yet to be.”[6]
Take some time to remember the good life you’ve had with them, and then, when
the time is right, move on. Don’t live in the past, work in the present. Take joy
in creation. Be thankful for the wonderful life God has given you. We shouldn’t
be moping around feeling sad all the time, or twiddle our thumbs waiting for
our turn to go to heaven. Far from it! We should work hard for the advancement
of God’s kingdom, joyfully awaiting the day when death dies and sin is no more.
When all things are put under His feet we shall say, “O death, where is your
victory? O death, where is your sting?”[7]
Bibliography
Crouch,
Andy, Culture Making: Recovering Our
Creative Calling, Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
2008.
Tinker, Melvin, “Does the Christian View of Death Need Reviving?” Accessed April 15,
2017.
http://churchsociety.org/docs/churchman/107/Cman_107_3_Tinker.pdf.
Wright, N.T., Surprised by Hope: Rethinking
Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church,
New York, NY:
HarperCollins, 2008.
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