11/28/2011—If I remember correctly, Pope Benedict recently stated that modern people are in despair over death. Obviously, he was suggesting that the promise of Christian life could be an antidote to this despair.
I am on my way to the funeral of my father, Nathan Ledewitz. Even though he lived to ripe age of 94, and lived a good life according to his lights, his death inevitably reminds me of the decline and death of all of us.
What can be said by a secularist about death? All living beings die. For that matter, all reality is transient. Even the sun will die. This universe too as far as we know. It is part of the rhythm of being.
Why does the Pope think this is a matter for despair? Why should my little ego survive and live forever?
It cannot be simply a religious distaste for death. For much of its history, Judaism had no notion of life after death in any form. Abraham was not promised anything but that his descendants would be a blessing after his death. In other words, the ongoing blessing of life was crucial, not Abraham himself.
All we can do is live the best life we can. And we can be grateful for life itself, which is a mysterious blessing we did nothing to merit.
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I want to share this fun spiritual blog contest (50 prizes) with you and your readers (sorry I'm contacting you this way - couldn't find an email and I'm new to blogging). Please feel free to contact me for more information or to repost in a different way, info@holycrapway.com). Also, any blog host who shares the contest details and a link to www.hc-way.com/contest2011 will receive a vibrant “Lover of Peace” sticker and a free ebook of Holy Crap: Spirituality within the Muck of Everyday Life. More here:
ReplyDeleteStoke Your Soul: A Simple, Heartwarming Contest
Author and musician Dan Messinger uses multimedia - including a book, music, audio meditations, and a Web community - to revolutionize spirituality in a program called Holy Crap. In Dan Messinger’s Holy Crap Heartwarming Contest 2011, fifty prizes will be awarded to the 50 most interesting, soulful or otherwise touching blog comments. Even more, any blog host who shares both the contest details and a link to the contest page will receive a vibrant “Lover of Peace” sticker and a free ebook of Holy Crap: Spirituality within the Muck of Everyday Life.
Holy Crap is a revolutionary spiritual program that supports people of all faiths in using everyday hassles as opportunities for spiritual growth. With humor and stories of his own struggles as a father, husband and corporate VP, Dan Messinger both entertains and enlightens in his new multimedia book, Holy Crap: Spirituality within the Muck of Everyday Life.
This holiday season, author Dan Messinger is hosting the Holy Crap Heartwarming Contest 2011. Fifty prizes will be awarded to the 50 most interesting, soulful or otherwise touching blog comments. As Dan noted, “In the very act of composing your thoughts and stories, you reflect on what deeply matters; in this way, you already benefit." Even more, 50 contributors will win one of 50 spiritual gifts such as modern meditation timers, Holy Crap t-shirts, and Om Hats, as well as inspirational key chains and stickers quoting Messinger's premises: “Everything is an Opportunity for Growth” and “Transform Everyday Hassles into Spiritual Growth”.
Dan reminds everyone to keep the blog comments soulful, fun, and - true to his nondenominational perspective - respectful of all faiths. The more blog comments one makes, the greater his or her chance of winning. Each person may win up to 3 prizes.
To view the 50 prizes, Contest Details and the Entry Form, go to www.holycrapway.com/contest2011.
To post a blog comment, go to www.hc-way.com/mainsite (then go to Community & Blog).
The Holy Crap Heartwarming Contest 2011 ends at the stroke of midnight (PST) on January 15, 2012. The time is now to stoke your soul: share and learn how others transform everyday hassles into spiritual growth at www.hc-way.com/mainsite.
Peace.