Preaching Death: The Transformation of Christian Funeral Sermons

Description

Christians traditionally have had something substantive and important to say about death and afterlife. Yet the language and imagery used in sermons about life and death have given way to language designed to comfort and celebrate. In Preaching Death, Lucy Bregman tracks the changes in Protestant American funerals over the last one hundred years. Early-twentieth-century "natural immortality" doctrinal funeral sermons transitioned to an era of "silence and denial," eventually becoming expressive, biographical tributes to the deceased. The contemporary death awareness movement, with the "death as a natural event" perspective, has widely impacted American culture, affecting health care, education, and psychotherapy and creating new professions such as hospice nurse and grief counselor. Bregman questions whether this transition―which occurred unobserved and without conflict―was inevitable and what alternative paths could have been chosen. In tracing this unique story, she reveals how Americans' comprehension of death shifted in the last century―and why we must find ways to move beyond it. Review Bregman offers very interesting perspectives for pastoral workers as well as for empirical researchers in the field of death and dying. (Brenda Mathijssen, Radboud University Nijmegen Modern Believing) Review Lucy Bregman's primary concern is our legacy, not in terms of what we leave behind when we die but with the images and meanings we create as we live in the presence of death. In a unique and provocative twist, she challenges readers to use historical imagination to envision alternative theologies of death in 20th century America. Preaching Death should be read by historians, preachers, and poets, and by anyone who longs to re-imagine death and grief in the 21st century. (Margaret R. McLean, Associate Director and Director of Bioethics, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University) Lucy Bregman's incredible scholarship, laced with her practical judgment, creates sparkling insights at every turn. A must-read for pastors, for those who teach them, and for grief counselors of any stripe; this is their story, too. (Dennis Klass, author of The Spiritual Lives of Bereaved Parents) Lucy Bregman has once again brought her experience to bear upon the weighty topic of death dying, and the afterlife. Clear, concise, and accessibly written, this book will doubtless be of interest to a wide audience, including not only those interested in Christian theology but those with a general interest in modern attitudes to death, dying, loss, and bereavement. (Christopher M. Moreman, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, California State University, East Bay) Acknowledgments vii Part I What Christians Used to Say about Death 1 A Changeover of Messages and Images 3 2 What Is a Christian Funeral? 17 3 Funeral Theologies of Death 31 4 Heaven as Home 47 5 Heaven as Journey 61 6 Natural Immortality 75 7 The Lord’s Will 89 Part II The Age of Silence and Denial 8 “Please Omit Funeral” 107 9 The Challenge of New Theologies 119 10 Death as Enemy 133 Part III What Came Next 11 New Words for Death, Dying, and Grief 151 12 The Triumph of the Biographical 167 Part IV What Might Have Been 13 Two Alternatives 183 14 What Might Have Been—Lament 197 15 The Eclipse of Poetry 211 Part V Conclusion 16 What Christians No Longer Want to Say about Death 227 Bibliography 239 Index 247