ABSTRACT

Dying is helped by many constructive influences, but the fear of death also tempts people to create a fantasy in which it does not exist: an ideological structure for collective, cultural denial! There are some who even argue that it is unnecessary and avoidable, if only the correct combination of physical and spiritual health is achieved. It is not helped by the Christian idea that Christ has conquered death, as if the kind of death being discussed is the same as the mortality, which is the focus of this book. Even though for many Christians, that notion can be inspiring, reinforcing their belief in a life after death, for others who take it literally and then wonder why they are at a funeral, it is confusing. The problem is that such language is struggling, as death is inclined to do, with ideas that stretch human understanding.