Death in contemporary Western culture
As a Christian priest and minister, I have inevitably taken responsibility for getting to know a wide variety of families as they faced the dying or death of a relative, and in the majority of cases I have not previously known the family. Unlike many other occasions for pastoral contact, the encount...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2007
|
| In: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Year: 2007, Volume: 18, Issue: 3, Pages: 333-343 |
| Further subjects: | B
concept of life
B Lebensbegriff B concept of death B Death B Christianity |
| Summary: | As a Christian priest and minister, I have inevitably taken responsibility for getting to know a wide variety of families as they faced the dying or death of a relative, and in the majority of cases I have not previously known the family. Unlike many other occasions for pastoral contact, the encounter with death has meant that I have met families when they are ready to be very open and honest about their feelings. In this paper, beginning with reference to a contemporary film, I explore the question of the concept of death in Western culture today. I am particularly indebted to Grace Jantzen for shaping a key question: Is it necrophilia or necrophobia that best describes the attitude of Western culture to death? I shall examine these two particular lines of thinking prior to offering some reflections on ways in which the Christian tradition approaches the subject. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0959-6410 |
| Contains: | In: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
|
