Life, Death & Healing: Then and Now

From time to time I have pondered how it is that so many believers from generations past appeared to receive a healing more easily, when people of this day and age so often do not. Even in these modern times, believers in countries we label ‘third world’ appear to have a better capacity to receive healing than Christians in more prosperous nations. So why is that? My conclusion is that basically we think differently, and we’ve got more options. If you’re new to the blog, you can read the previous posts from the beginning of this series here.

Paradigm Shift

Firstly, there has been a general paradigm shift in our mindsets relating to sickness and death. We live in a time where medical research has produced a wealth of knowledge and understanding about the human mind and body. As a result, the mortality rate from many of the things that were killing people decades ago has significantly reduced. Back then, a person’s life expectancy naturally tended to be shorter, and the death of a loved one was not unexpected because death was accepted simply as a normal part of life.

Thanks to advances in science and technology though, death seems to be regarded now as less of a normal or expected thing, and more like an anomaly. Because there are so many medical interventions available to us – a drug we can take, a therapy we can apply (like chemotherapy or radiation), a surgical solution, or even bionics –  a death from anything other than old age almost seems to surprise us.

Where once death was perhaps more intimate and personal, it seems to have become almost clinical. Back then, the body of the deceased might have been laid out in the front parlour of the family home, and most likely prepared for burial by the family or someone known to them. Friends and family could easily visit to say their farewells – including the children, who were not as shielded from death as they seem to be now.

Speaking generally, the culture around death these days has become far more sanitised. The bodies of our loved ones are carried away to be impersonally stored at a funeral home; out of sight from the grieving family and refrigerated to minimise offensive smells. The body is prepared for burial by a stranger, and viewing the corpse becomes a logistical issue that needs to be coordinated between the next of kin, the funeral home, and the person wanting to view the body. Cremation has become largely preferred over burial not only because it’s cheaper, but because we’ve been quietly guilted into believing it’s the most socially and environmentally acceptable option. There’s no more calling in to the home of the deceased to say your goodbyes; and the increasing trend of only offering a memorial service rather than a funeral means not even the body or cremated remains of the deceased are present to farewell to help make it more real.

A Separation

In some ways, our current practices have enabled us to separate or distance ourselves from the process of death. Consequently, we are less likely to have a healthy framework of reference in how to emotionally deal with death. This then makes death seem more traumatic when it does occur, because it’s no longer treated as a normal part of life. Rightly or wrongly, this separation effectively enables us to dissociate to some degree from the cold reality and finality of death.

Our culture has evolved to accommodate these changes and keep us insulated emotionally. We don’t openly talk about death, as though by not talking about it, that somehow makes it less real. It’s as though society has made a tacit agreement not to discuss such unpleasant things, because we fear they might force us to face the reality of death. We also generally tend to shield our kids from death because we want to protect them from the distress that comes with the loss of a loved one, and perhaps to protect ourselves from the discomfort of having to deal with their direct questions. If no one gets out alive, then our shielding them effectively makes it worse when the inevitable happens because they are as unprepared as we are, making their distress greater simply because we, as adults, aren’t treating death as something normal.

But wait, there’s more….

I’ve still got more to share on this topic, so keep popping back for the next instalment, or consider subscribing. In the mean time, let’s all do ourselves a favour and start a conversation with our nearest and dearest about death.