Everything we value is possible only because of death. The ancients couldn't have known this truth revealed by science. We can no longer afford to remain ignorant of it; the cost is too high. Death is no less sacred than life.
Most people, whether religious or not, are tragically unaware of what has been revealed about death in the past few hundred years, through evidence. This ignorance now fosters untold suffering -- for families and for society, as well as for individuals.
I am regularly asked (especially since I was diagnosed with cancer three years ago), "Do you believe in an afterlife? What do you think happens to us when we die?" My typical response is to make one or more of the following points...
1. As I discuss in "The Gifts of Death" section in my 2009 book, it is vital when thinking about death in the abstract, when contemplating the inevitability of our own demise or when grieving the loss of a loved one to call to mind the positive role of death in the Universe. Widespread ignorance of the now-indisputable fact that death is natural and generative at all levels of reality, coupled with our culture's failure to interpret the science in ways that help us to feel the sacred quality of death, result in not only distorted but outright disabling views.
Honoring the creative role of death in the cosmos does not, of course, take away the anguish and grief we feel when someone or something we love dies. Such intense feelings are normal and healthy. They should be honored and allowed time to dissipate naturally, which can often take a year or two (and sometimes much longer). But what a gift to go through the grieving process while resting safely in a reality-based (even beautiful) big picture "container" that puts our personal loss in perspective! Death is assuredly not a cosmic mistake; it is not "the enemy." Indeed, contrary to the writings of the Christian Apostle Paul, humans bear no responsibility for the existence of death in the Universe. And we don't need to believe this; we know it. God (reality mythically personified) revealed it through science.
(Here you can sample testimonials from my wife and my last decade on the road that demonstrate the emotional gifts of a science-based perspective, meaningfully interpreted, even in such unspeakably painful cases as the tragic loss of a child. It is also important to bear in mind that Moses, Jesus, the Apostle Paul and Muhammad could not possibly have known what we know about death. This evidence-based understanding couldn't have been revealed in a way that we could have received it, prior to telescopes, microscopes and computers.)
2. By taking the long view of "big history," and thereby nurturing an extended sense of who I am, I begin to experience a "self" that does not stop with my skin. Earth is my larger Self. The Universe is my even larger Self: my Great Self. So, yes, "I" (in this expanded sense) will continue to exist even after "I" (this particular body-mind) comes to a natural end. Recognizing that my small self will soon experience death everlasting, I find deep comfort in knowing that my larger Self will live on. More, I am powerfully motivated to be in action today precisely because I do not ignore or deny my mortality. My human self has but a brief window of opportunity to delight in, and contribute to, the ongoing evolution of the body of life and human culture. Truly, this is it; now or never.
I am immensely grateful for both the comfort and the compulsion born of this sacred evolutionary perspective.
3. From a religious naturalist standpoint, it seems clear that we go to the same place we came from before we were conceived -- the same "place" that trillions of other animals and plants have gone throughout Earth's history whenever they perished. Some speak about this transition as "coming from God and returning to God." Others prefer the imagery of "coming from mystery and returning to mystery." Still others, as "coming from nothing and returning to nothing." All are legitimate (as well as emotionally satisfying) ways of thinking and talking about what happens at death.
As to my own beliefs, I usually respond (with humor), "If it turns out that where I go isn't the same place that all other animals, plants and bacteria have gone throughout Earth's history, I'm gonna be pissed!"
4. A universal experience (whether or not we choose to admit it) is this: death is no less partnered with birth than a magnetic north arises only when there is also a south. From the moment we take our first breath, the outcome is ultimately death.
Any so-called "faith" that doesn't include trusting that whatever happens on the other side of death is just fine is, in my view, really no faith at all. Fear of a terrifying, hellish after-death scenario, or hope of a blissful, heavenly after-death scenario are just that: fear or hope; not faith, not trust. As legendary Griefwalker and "Angel of Death" Stephen Jenkinson warns: "Not success. Not growth. Not happiness. The cradle of your love of life ... is death." (I highly recommend watching the documentary, "Griefwalker," which is freely available online, here.)
5. The idea of being "rewarded" (condemned?!) with experiencing even one day of unnatural after-death existence would occur to me as hell, not heaven, were I to think of (or worse yet, witness from on high) a divinely decreed eternal torture of others who had in some way missed the mark. Adding to the repugnance would be knowing that those relegated to never-ending suffering included not only perpetrators of outright evil but also those condemned for nothing more than holding wrong beliefs -- that is, beliefs different from mine.
6. Here is the way I discuss the subject of "the afterlife/what happens when we die" on pages 116-117 of my book, "Thank God for Evolution":
My formal training for becoming a United Church of Christ minister culminated in an ordination paper that I wrote and then presented to a gathering of ministers and lay leaders. Titled "A Great Story Perspective on the UCC Statement of Faith," my talk stimulated a host of comments and queries. A widely respected minister posed a question I shall never forget. "Michael," he began, "I'm impressed with your presentation and with the evolutionary theology that you've shared with us. However, there's a little boy who lives in me, and that little boy wants to know: Where is Emory?"
Emory Wallace, a well-known and beloved retired minister, had for nearly three years guided me through my ministerial training. He died suddenly, at the age of 85, just a few weeks before my ordination hearing.
"Where is Emory?" My mind went blank. I knew I needed to say something -- after all, this was my ordination hearing -- so I just opened my mouth and started speaking, trusting the words to come. My response went something like this:
Where is Emory? In order to answer that question I have to use both day language (the language of rational, everyday discourse) and night language (the language of dreams, myth and poetry). Both languages are vital and necessary, just as both waking and dreaming states of consciousness are vital and necessary. Like all mammals, we cannot survive without dreaming. It is a necessary function of our brain. Sleep is not enough; we must be allowed to dream.We, of course, know that day experience and night experience are different. For example, if you were to ask me what I did for lunch today, and I told you that I turned myself into a crow and flew over to the neighborhood farm and goofed around with the cows for awhile, then flew to Dairy Queen and ordered a milkshake -- and if I told you all that with a straight face -- you might counsel me to visit a psychiatrist. However, had you asked me to share a recent dream, and I told the same story, you might be curious as to the meaning of that dream -- but you wouldn't think me delusional.
So in order to respond to your question, "Where is Emory?" I have to answer in two ways. First, in the day language of common discourse I will say, Emory's physical body is being consumed by bacteria. Eventually only his skeleton and teeth will remain. His genes, contributions and memory will live on through his family and through the countless people that he touched in person and through his writings -- and that includes all of us.
But, you see, if I stop there -- if that's all I say -- then I've told only half the story. In order to address the nonmaterial, meaningful dimensions of reality I must continue and say something like: "Emory is at the right hand of God the Father, worshipping and giving glory with all the saints." Or I could say, "Emory is being held and nurtured by God the Mother." Or I could use a Tibetan symbol system and say, "Emory has entered the bardo realm." Any or all of these can be considered practically real, rather than factually real -- that is, true within the accepted logic and understanding of mythic night language.
My response was well received in that meeting 22 years ago, and it has shaped my thinking ever since. Recently, I blended the core of that distinction into my Great Story talks and workshops. I am sure that my understanding of day and night language -- language of reason and language of reverence -- will continue to evolve and thus inform my preaching, my teaching and my personal relationship Reality.
"The Gifts of Death" -- A Responsive Reading In Celebration Of Death
1. Without the death of stars, there would be no planets and no life.
2. Without the death of creatures, there would be no evolution.
1. Without the death of elders, there would be no room for children.
2. Without the death of fetal cells, we would all be spheres.
1. Without the death of neurons, wisdom and creativity would not blossom.
2. Without the death of cells in woody plants, there would be no trees.
1. Without the death of forests by Ice Age advance, there would be no northern lakes.
2. Without the death of mountains, there would be no sand or soil.
1. Without the death of plants and animals, there would be no food.
2. Without the death of old ways of thinking, there would be no room for the new.
1. Without death, there would be no ancestors.
2. Without death, time would not be precious.
ALL: What, then, are the gifts of death?
1. The gifts of death are Mars and Mercury, Saturn and Earth.
2. The gifts of death are the atoms of stardust within our bodies.
1. The gifts of death are the splendors of shape and form and color.
2. The gifts of death are diversity, the immense journey of life.
1. The gifts of death are woodlands and soils, ponds and lakes.
2. The gifts of death are food: the sustenance of life.
1. The gifts of death are seeing, hearing, feeling -- deeply feeling.
2. The gifts of death are wisdom, creativity, and the flow of cultural change.
1. The gifts of death are the urgency to act, the desire to fully be and become.
2. The gifts of death are joy and sorrow, laughter and tears.
ALL: The gifts of death are lives that are fully and exuberantly lived, then graciously and gratefully given up, for now and forevermore. Amen!
ALSO SEE:
Can Death Become Your Ally? (HuffPost blogpost by Duane Elgin)
The Science of What We Now Know About Death (That the Ancients Couldn't Have Possibly Known)
When Death Gets Personal (podcast recorded just after I learned I had potentially deadly cancer)
Yes to the Universe (litany / responsive reading)
Evolution and the Revival of the Human Spirit (secular sermon by Michael Dowd)
Tree Talks About Death (children's story written by Connie Barlow)
Startull: The Story of an Average Yellow Star (evolutionary parable by Connie Barlow)
Immortality Projects in the Internet Era: The Rise of Volunteerism, the Demise of Consumerism, and the Democratization of Cultural Progress (blogpost by Connie Barlow)
Death, Budgets, and Generational Justice (blogpost by Connie Barlow; also the following YouTube clip...)
Follow Rev. Michael Dowd on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MBDowd
Ashley Davis Bush, LCSW: Get Over It! (And Other Things That Grievers Cannot Do)
only a few years old - It is strange how an apparent age can lead people away from the
Genesis account into the unproven philosophy of evolution
These writers are whistling past the graveyard. Their appeal is limited and fleeting. Stick with the sure Word of God for information about the afterlife.
And I understand that thousands of people derive great peace from your presentation of evolution and religion. That's a separate issue from whether it makes any logical sense.
What you see as incoherent is, for us, amazingly fruitful and joyful. We feel like we're the richest people on the planet. Both of us are at deep peace with our inner and outer nature (including our mortality)]. We are passionately in love with each other, with our itinerant lifestyle and we're in the center of our bliss pretty much nonstop. Both of us would rate the quality of our life, our relationship, and our work as a 10 on a scale of 1-10. Our view and experience of "God" can be fairly well summed up here: http://www.thankgodforevolution.com/node/2010 and our sense of what life is all about has been shaped and is fed by the resources here: http://evolutionarychristianity.com/blog/big-integrity-resources-growing-in-right-relationship-to-reality/
Perhaps our approach doesn't work for you, Don. I get that. But it sure works for us. And I sense it's allowing us to leave a sweet legacy. What more could we ask for?
I wouldn't imagine you'd remember a conversation you and I had shortly after Connie and I completed our teaching series. You had given a talk in which you gave some vague references to how spirituality and science were in agreement. I pointed out that from a strictly scientific point of view, you were exaggerating and making linkages that weren't correct. In private, you agreed but felt it was ok to present the "spirit" of this linkage. I understand. People have a need for meaning and significance. If you present "God" and "religion" as "night language" in the vaguest sense, to the point that the words become ciphers for anything anybody wants to project on to them (from fundamaterialist Nobel Prize winners naturalist belief systems to ex fundamentalist church goers looking for new meaning) then you're going to be successful. It's quite brilliant, in a sort of devilish way, I think (I mean that humorously, of course).
If you are interested in actually thinking through the day/night night/day reversal, I'd be interested in furthering the dialog. But if it's a kind of Alice in Wonderland "words mean what we want them to mean", then there's not really much to talk about I guess. This was the same difficulty I had in the science and spirit dialog years ago - if you just define words any way you want, well, nobody can disagree with you and you'll be very well respected. And it appears to have worked for you.
But I find it necessary to distinguish between myself and the whole of things. Existence is not just a blob of gelatin (or as the ancient Parmenides saw it, an All where distinctions are illusions). Birth and death are dynamic. Conflict is real, too. Atoms have no identity. Human identity comes to be and then ends. Mortality is a privilege insofar as Emerson puts it in his essay "Fate," "In the history of the individual is always an account of his condition, and he knows himself to be party to his present estate."
Please take no one's word for what happens after this life ends. do your own research and know that neither religion nor scientific materialism can look outside their cherished beliefs.
It is kind of sad that religious preachers know so little about the soul and those many mansions that jesus referred to in his teachings.
I have been attending morning bible study groups and it is interesting that most christians know so little about what jesus taught. and of course next to nothing what other religions teach. amazing.
Our concen should be filling out the parentheses in a manner commensurate with our status as human beings.
The Science of What We Now Know (That the Ancients Could Not Possibly Have Known):
http://thegreatstory.org/charts/death.html
I get considerable comfort from the Epicurean view on death. When we are, death is not. When death is, we are not. We will never experience death, only the loss of consciousness, of awareness, just as we do every time we fall asleep.
And the Epicurean epitaph helps when I think about friends and family that I've lost:
I was not; I was; I am not; I have no cares
Tumult
As you huddle rocking faintly in the darkness of winter storm
Pause and see with the eye of God.
Rise through the sleet and mist
Above the clouds sullen with frost.
Gaze with the eye of God upon the earth
Gleaming bright and blue against a black velvet mantle
Crowned with shimmering auroras
Bathed in the light of sun and countless stars
Turning gently away from night to day
Waltzing gracefully into the long embrace of light.
Take comfort in the earth’s glad deep thighs
Able to absorb all manner of violence and tumult
And give forth always and forgetfully
Spring.
Copyright, 1997, Lanny Buettner
I drew somewhat on a similar poem by E. E. Cummings, so acknowledgements to this great poet. He too had some similar insights about death in his poetry. I recommend particularly these:
http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/10063/
http://fiorenzaapenglish.blogspot.com/2009/03/shape-dying-is-finebut-death-by-ee.html
The ancient: Chuang Tzu, Taoist sage, has a number of statements in the same vein as Michael's points, without the benefit of science. He describes a dying man who reflects, "A son must go wherever his parents tell him to go! East, west, south, or north. Yin and Yang are no other than one's parents. If they brought me to the verge of death and I do not obey them, then I am only being stubborn. They are not to be blamed. The great earth burdens me with a body, causes me to toil in life, eases me in old age, and rests me in death. That which makes my life good, makes my death good also."
More recently, poet Walt Whitman wrote a spendid poem called "This Compost," in which he reflects how odd that the earth is so full of beautiful life when the earth has been receiving the corpses of animals for millions of years. How can that much death somehow be transformed into things as beatiful as flowers and butterflies? A link to this poem: http://www.daypoems.net/poems/2069.html
Second, the poem from whirlpool in the comments is a lovely poetic way of making the same point.
Lanny Buettner
Co-evolutionarily,
~ Michael
I know that people who are facing death more obviously would be looking to find something like this. It's almost like the last portion of water in a desert in which the ending is either unclear or distressing. The mourners will sense a touch of peace or perhaps, hope. Death prevents stagnancy.
One thing I want to throw out there regarding our own mortality is the other perspective of many scientists (and the like) who are working in the field of Gerontology and information technology. Aubrey De Grey, Ray Kurzweil etc. believe that death has only been accepted because it could not be overcome. Aging is as much a disease as any other ailment. Does that mean that when we are on the cusp of radical life extension that everything becomes meaningless? Certainly things would need to change in society.
I've personally spoken with many researchers as a bioengineering student who think we are almost there.
Please read the following page carefully and look at all innumerable ways that we now KNOW (not believe) that death is vital and necessary at all scales of the cosmos...
The Science of Death: http://thegreatstory.org/charts/death.html
Certain deaths are necessary. Death of stars for heavier element creation, death of individual cells, evolutionary pressures, etc. I do have to disagree however that death is necessary with modern and post modern science. What good comes from the loss of a life and the wisdom gained in that time frame?
I suppose this all depends on your definition of death as well. No one can live forever. Even the Universe will eventually spread out and cool down to absolute zero.
I'm speaking of both of your worldviews actually, and according to people who have taught you in the past as well. I taught with Connie for 8 weeks and have seen her books; I don't see anything in any of her writings or presentations that is in conflict with the dogma of fundamaterialism (see philosopher Neal Grossman for more on this). Try to define matter (or what "physical" means) without referring to awareness; I know it's been done, but it's logically incoherent. Thus, "matter" (or "physical" or whatever new term is coined) becomes a God).
This is not a very complicated idea. It is based on the most parsimonious understanding of Occam's Razor. Given that our direct experience is comprised of forms in awareness, it is incumbent on the naturalist to prove otherwise.