"Medicine can't get us out of life alive." --Stanley Hauerwas
is there something in between a business person or the government making the medical decisions
in our lives? Something more radical? Stanley Hauerwas, one of America's most respected theologians, says the answer to the healthcare crisis is, "to teach people how to die." Our culture tends to ignore death. At the very least, we make wild attempts to distract ourselves from it for as long as possible. Are we just living "lives of quiet, desperate atheism," as Hauerwas suggests?
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"One million dollars is offered to any skeptic who can rebut the evidence for the existence of the afterlife - see paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 hereinafter."
http://www.victorzammit.com/skeptics/challenge.html
Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of God.
Born of the Father before all ages.
God of God
Light of Light;
True God of True God
Begotten not made; of one being with
the FATHER; by Whom all things were made
who for us men, and for our salvation,
came down to Heaven
And was made Flesh by the HOLY GHOST
of the Virgin MARY: AND WAS MADE MAN.
He was also crucified for us, suffered under Pontious
Pilate and was buried.
And on the third day he rose again according
to the Scriptures. And ascending into Heaven,
He sitteth at the right hand of the Father.
And He shall come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead; and of
His kingdom there shall be no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, Lord and Giver
of Life Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Who together with the Father and the Son is no less adored and glorified:
Who spoke by the Prophets. And I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins.
And I look for the resurrection of the dead
And the Life of the world to come . AMEN
i do not fear death at all.
i remember my last breath, .. i said in my mind: why is this happening ...please let me die. .
(and i woke up in a hospital room).
know that the end is the end but Christians really aren't sure.
As for me - I am a Spiritualist - while I readily admit I am afraid of the way I will die, I am not afraid of death.
I believe:
Declaration of Principles
These principles are neither dogma nor creed but a set of guidelines:
1. We believe in Infinite Intelligence.
2. We believe that the phenomena of nature, both physical and spiritual are the
expression of Infinite Intelligence.
3. We affirm that a correct understanding of such expression and living in
accordance therewith constitute true religion.
4. We affirm that the existence and personal identity of the individual continue after
the change called death.
5. We affirm that communication with the so-called dead is a fact, scientifically
proven by the phenomena of Spiritualism.
6. We believe that the highest morality is contained in the Golden Rule: "Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you."
7. We affirm the moral responsibility of individuals and that we make our own
happiness or unhappiness as we obey or disobey Nature's physical and spiritual
laws.
8. We affirm that the doorway to reformation is never closed against any soul here
or hereafter.
9. We affirm that the precepts of Prophecy and Healing are Divine attributes
proven through Mediumship.
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
But suppose it "is" true. Whether one beleives or not "all" will "know"...one day. If I'm in error. I prefer to err on the side of The WORD. Life.
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with The LORD." ll Corinthians 5:6-8.
This is my belief. Obviously. How sad for those who have nothing to look forward to. For those who do not believe...there is more to death than what they believe. I know some will find this humorous. Yet The LORD has a way of making a believer out of folk. Whether y'all beleive it or not. But as I said. this is my belief. Life/
"Are we just living "lives of quiet, desperate atheism," as Hauerwas suggests?"
I think this is true for many "believers", otherwise they wouldn't experience the searing grief all of us have when a loved one dies, or the intense fear of death that leads to such costly treatments at the end of life. When you admit non-belief, at least to yourself, it forces you to come to terms with death and, I think, approach it and life in a more prepared, serene, and non-desperate, manner.
My point was that the "quiet desperate atheism" he describes really applies to people who don't truly believe, but nevertheless desperately cling to religious rituals in the forlorn hope of receiving some comfort. I think they'd be a lot better off if they accepted their non-belief and thought through the implications, which are far easier to live with than they fear.
Overall, I said it was a good posting because it might get people to contemplate how much continued life is really worth to them. I don't think I'd want an extra month of life if it was only filled with pain and misery, and given how expensive such months tend to be, it's good to have people think about it.
I think your last sentence is too bold. We all go through the same stages of death no matter our religion or non-religion. Consciously and unconsciously our bodies strive and struggle to survive. There is no dignity in the dying process. If you have seen it, you very well know this to be true. I am an advocate of euthanasia. I would rather if faced with a terminal illness have the choice to die when I want instead of the long drawn out suffering and degradation. I would call in my family and talk with each one. Tell them I loved them and to live their lives to the best of their abilities then send them home. Call the funeral home and tell them the front door was open and which room I was in then go take my pills and lay down to die on my terms. Now that is dignity.
I, like others commenting, have no idea what "lives of quiet, desperate atheism" is and I don't really like the sound of that.
This doesn't need to be heard as a slam on real atheists or agnostics who may have their own reasons and ways of facing death with dignity and a minimum of costly technology. But for Christians, prolonging the inevitable seems to indicate a failure to grasp their own theology.
http://www.humanismandculture.com/communal-and-personal-henri-de-lubacs-catholicism/