Death?

[tomspug]

What is the Unitarian Universalist's response to Death? How do you comfort someone that is uncertain about death? Why do you think death exists?

 

[lilithu]

What is the Unitarian Universalist's response to Death? How do you comfort someone that is uncertain about death? Why do you think death exists?

UUs don't focus on death. We focus on life.

As for how to comfort someone who is uncertain about death, it would depend on the particular someone. There is no cookie-cutter answer that would be appropriate for everyone.

Personally, I think a lot of people aren't afraid of death per se so much as the possibility of regretting how they could have lived differently and death makes it too late to change. The only way to face that fear is to live a life of which one can be proud.

 

[tomspug]

So... ignore death?

Why does death exist? Is death bad?

It seems to me that perhaps in order to accept everyone's beliefs you have to reject death. Because life ends with death, death is what defines our life, as you said.

Christ proved that his death was in fact a victory over death, that we had no need to fear. He died FOR us. That's why death is so important in Christianity. Maybe it isn't important in universalism.

That's why I asked. Because I have Christ to conquer death, so I do not fear what lies beyond it. My question was how does a universalist respond to death. I'm simply curious.

 

[lilithu]

So... ignore death?

Why does death exist? Is death bad?

We're not ignoring death. Death is inevitable for everyone. We choose to not ignore life while we have it.

It seems to me that perhaps in order to accept everyone's beliefs you have to reject death. Because life ends with death, death is what defines our life, as you said.

Christ proved that his death was in fact a victory over death, that we had no need to fear. He died FOR us. That's why death is so important in Christianity. Maybe it isn't important in universalism.

That's why I asked. Because I have Christ to conquer death, so I do not fear what lies beyond it. My question was how does a universalist respond to death. I'm simply curious.

I don't fear what lies beyond death, if indeed anything lies beyond death, so I don't need what you seem to need; I have no fear of a natural process. The only thing I do fear is living this life poorly, and it is within my control not to do so.

Yes, all life ends with death. But that does NOT mean that death need define our life. How sad if it does. The only thing death does is to serve to remind me how precious THIS life is.

As for Jesus, many UUs revere him too. But we believe he LIVED for us. It is his message to "love thy neighbor" that is salvific, not his being tortured by the Romans.

Universalism gets its name from the belief in universal salvation. Everyone is "saved." If there is an afterlife, everyone partakes of it, whether Christian or not. But whether or not it is "heaven" or "hell" depends on how we behave towards each other, whether or not we "love thy neighbor," just as in this life.

btw, I took your comments in the spirit of sharing your own motivations. But if you actually intended to proselytize, please know that:

1. It's against the forum rules.
2. It's impolite to come into someone else's "house" uninvited and preach at them.
3. It won't work. We've heard it all before.

 

[tomspug]

Yes, I understand. That was not preaching but trying to share my own point of view. I'll try to be more careful next time.

 

[lilithu]

Yes, I understand. That was not preaching but trying to share my own point of view. I'll try to be more careful next time.

No prob. It's hard to tell sometimes.

I hope I have answered your questions regarding our views. When thinking of the Unitarian Universalist view of death and a possible afterlife, it is illustrative to relate the story of Henry David Thoreau on his deathbed. (He was a Unitarian.) As the end drew near, friends and family gathered round him and one of them asked if he could glimpse the afterlife. "One world at a time," was his reply, even on his deathbed. One world at a time.

 

[applewuud]

Unitarian Universalists, whether they be theist, humanist, Christian, Jewish or other theological belief, together celebrate the forces which create and sustain life, and tend to focus on this life, even if they happen to believe in an afterlife.

For most of us, the question "why is there death?" isn't one to ponder over much. It just IS. Viewed in the context of the vast universe of both space and time, non-life is the norm...it's life that's the exception. Death is part of the natural cycle of life. It may be frustrating and tragic when it comes, but that is all the more reason to work for health and justice and a society that supports life in fact, not just by word.

As for "accepting everyone's beliefs", UUs don't. We try to respect peoples' beliefs, but that doesn't mean we accept them all (or even most of them). Notably, historical Universalist theology postulates that belief in an everlasting punishment in an afterlife is logically incompatible with a belief in a loving God. Most current UUs, even if we're not all conversant with our theological roots, seem to agree with one of our leading ministers who said, "our Unitarian side says we all come from the same source, and our Universalism says we all share the same destiny." The Universalist message is a direct consequence of the lack of fear they discovered through their thinking and prayer.