Let's Talk about Death
This past week was All Saint’s Day, and while different denominations and churches have different celebrations and rituals, at the Episcopal Church I attended we took some time to honor the saints in our lives who have recently died. I have to be honest, like most good mainliners, I don’t really think about death unless it directly impacts me or unless there is a church holiday that focuses on it.
This is in sharp contrast to the Pentecostal congregation I grew up in, where we thought about death all the time. Mainly, death was presented in one of two ways: as the path to hell if we didn’t repent and weren’t “saved” (and surprisingly we had a long list of beliefs we had to adhere to and actions we needed to perform in order to be saved, though officially we only had to “accept Jesus into our hearts”) or, if we were “saved” death was something we longed for because it meant we were going to heaven. In the Pentecostal church, we talked about death all the time: either as a tactic to scare ourselves straight and to make sure we fell in line or as a comfort for a difficult world.
Both extremes of rarely mentioning death and using death as a manipulation tactic to endorse certain behaviors are extremely unhealthy. Sometimes, Mainline Churches, in general, attempt to distance themselves from Evangelical theology: overcorrect. Many Mainline churches, particularly those on the more Progressive end, want to push back against Evangelical and/or Fundamentalist Christianity’s obsession with death.
For many Evangelicals and/or Fundamentalists the point of Christianity has been narrowed down to fire insurance: meaning it’s better to believe, just in case, and avoid hell than to not believe and then burn in hell. While there are many Evangelicals/Fundamentalist Christian individuals and congregations who participate in charity and helping others, the underlying motivation often is to be able to preach their version of the gospel so that people can avoid going to hell.
Some, though not all, Evangelical and/or Fundamentalist Christian charity organizations tie whatever services they provide to a requirement that the ones being helped have to listen to their preaching. And of course, there are some who fall under the Evangelical and/or Fundamentalist Christian umbrella who don’t see the point in engaging in systemic justice initiatives since this life is temporary and what matters is the afterlife.
The Mainline Churches that I have personally attended, so obviously, I can’t speak for ALL mainline congregations, the impulse has been to downplay death and the afterlife and focus only on this life here. The focus is on creating a more just and equitable world in the here and now. Which I agree with. It seems like almost every blog post I write has a social justice bent. And to be clear, I agree with this focus. I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is intimately tied to the idea of a God who cares about the suffering, pain, and injustice in the here and now and actively gets involved.
AND sometimes I think that Mainline Christians, in a desire to point out that Christianity has relevance in the here and now, avoid talking about death too much. This avoidance not only has practical pastoral concerns as families within these congregations grapple with the inevitability of death, but I believe this avoidance of death also has implications as Mainline numbers shrink. Humans die and institutions do as well, and many mainline congregations can barely handle the actual deaths of individuals, so when it comes to institutional deaths, they are even more ill-equipped to navigate it.
I also think some of the avoidance of talking about death, is that many Mainline Christian congregations, especially on the more Progressive end, aren’t sure what to make of heaven or resurrection. In Fundamentalist/Evangelical Circles, heaven and resurrection are a given. For better or worse, their whole theology is wrapped up in specific understandings of heaven and resurrection. And this has practical ramifications for how Evangelicals and Fundamentalists treat both the death of humans and the death of institutions.
Sometimes, their focus on heaven can make for uncomfortable funeral services. I remember when my grandma died, the pastor affirmed that she was most likely in heaven (though he couldn’t be 100 percent sure) and spent most of the time telling u to repent to avoid hell. And when it comes to the “death” or closing of congregations- Evangelical/Fundamentalists don’t always allow room for grief. They often are intent on moving onto the next thing.
In mainline congregations, typically those that are more progressive, there tends to be more openness to the mystery regarding death and resurrection. And that can be good when it leads to having fruitful discussion and conversation, but sometimes the mindset is less, “we aren’t God so we can’t definitively figure out what happens after death or what resurrection encompasses, so let’s hold space for all the various opinions” and more, “since death and resurrection are mysteries, let’s avoid talking about it.”
But while I agree with many Progressive Christians, that the majority of the Good News is about the here and now, there are aspects that deal with the afterlife and resurrection. And to leave out that portion of the gospel because it’s difficult, does a disservice to both those mourning the death of loved ones, and to institutions grappling with the reality that they may not survive the next 30 years.
For me, as a Progressive Christian, I am no longer interested in the idea of hell or in trying to play God and decide where people go in the afterlife, nor am I interested in trying to figure out what heaven looks like (actual streets made of gold? Living in the clouds or a restored earth?) Nor am I interested in trying to “scientifically’ prove the resurrection happened. (The books The Case for Christ and The Case for Heaven are not convincing). But I do believe that trusting in God means believing that death whatever forms it takes is not the end.
For me that is part of the hope of the gospel-yes, yes working with God to create change in the here and now and also trusting that even if I don’t live to see that change, my work is not in vain. It is a hope that while we work to stop the needless violence and destruction, those already lost to the violence and destruction, did not die a meaningless death nor are forgotten.
Additionally, even if we can’t scientifically “prove” the resurrection, the hope of a God who conquers death, is also important for institutions who are on the precipice. The reality is that just like all human beings will die, most institutions will experience some form of death. They might come back as something new or they may not. But it will happen. How institutions react to that reality will impact their legacy.
So many Mainline churches are fighting to hold onto a way of doing church that is no longer relevant to the majority of people in Western countries. While some respond with innovative work or by using their resources to support those doing innovative work, others insist that the ways of doing church in the 1950s work, we just need to hold onto these traditions because eventually, they will be relevant again.
All Saints Day does provide congregations and denominations who don’t necessarily talk about death a lot with the opportunity to have a day where death, resurrection, and hope are the topic. But it is not enough. These difficult conversations need to happen on a frequent basis, not just on All Saint’s Day or during Lent. Obviously, I’m not suggesting that Mainline Christianity embrace the Evangelical and/or Fundamentalist view of death, the afterlife, and resurrection. But there is space for being open to the mystery of God and still actually talking about death, the afterlife, and resurrection.
Image: Candle flickering in the dark. Text: To avoid talking about death, resurrection and the afterlife, because it is difficult does a disservice to both those mourning the deaths of loved ones, and to institutions grappling with the reality that they may not survive the next 30 years.