Theological Reflection :Death

Theological Reflection :Death

Group Theological Research Paper


Disney-Pixar film movie Up (2009) begins with the unexpected. DEATH. It features a short love story between Carl and Ellie, only to end with Carl being left alone. Carl, being unable to move on, became very hostile and refused to give up the house he and his wife lived. Until, he met a very enthusiastic young Wilderness Explorer, Russell became an accidental passenger in his makeshift aircraft. Their adventures became part Carl’s grieving process. The movie ends with Carl, letting go of the house in the exact place she wanted -- a perfect way to honor her memory.

Death is one of the realities of life that most people are not comfortable talking about. Every year, we pass by our death unconsciously. So death is not far away from us. Just like Carl, after a death of a loved one, the grief was a hole too deep to dug and people find it hard to move forward. Part of them wants to move on, but they keep on going through their memories. Most people would advise to let them occupy themselves with other things, but it is not as easy as just saying it. Death is not something that is known by facts, it is something learned from experience.

A typical theology view or understanding of death affirms that death marks the ultimate end of this earthly life. Death, in the dominant perspective in the society, is viewed as the cessation of physical life – the time when the body simply ceases to function, the heart stops and life ends. But man (humans) is not just a body. Man is body and soul.

Let’s try to understand the nature of death by looking at the story of its origin in Genesis chapters 1-3. Genesis 1 describes the immediate creation of the universe and all the life on earth. The universe appears and life formed. Plants are given for food to the animals and to mankind. The death of animals or humans is not mentioned or anticipated in the text. There is nothing to affirm that the multiple animal species will kill and eat each...

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