Recent trends in end of life “celebrations” are a clear indication that the traditional funeral is itself, dead.

A comprehensive report from the Theos Think Tank in London details these trends away from religious rites and toward more informal gatherings tailored to the unique personality of the deceased.

What the report reveals is what it doesn’t say explicitly: we are masking the horrific nature of death (and its cause – SIN) with irreverence and humor rather than confronting the reality of what death is, how it has separated us, and where the hope lies.

LINKS:

Theos Think Tank: Ashes to Ashes: Beliefs, Trends, and Practices in Dying, Death, and the Afterlife

Pastor Paul Edwards: Pastoral Thoughts on the Funeral and the Treatment of the Body After Death

April 6, 1981: Memorial Service for Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Rev. Paul Scalia: Funeral Homily for The Honorable Antonin Scalia

Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the television sitcom The Office, is out on the circuit promoting his new book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution.

Viral reels of Wilson’s recent appearance on the Rich Roll Podcast are being shared by Christians (and non-Christians) on their social media platforms because so much of what Rainn and Rich are talking about speaks to what Pascal referenced when he said, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.”

St. Augustine also famously said, “You move us to delight in praising You; for You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You.”

But the spirituality Rainn and Rich are pedaling as a response to our spiritual longings is not not the spirituality Pascal and Augustine proclaimed. Soul Boom offers a revival of ancient heresies which were confronted and refuted by both the Apostles in sacred Scripture and by the church in its infancy.

On today’s episode of Recovering the Christian Mind we’ll hear what Rainn is saying and respond with the Bible.

Who are the two disciples in Luke 24 walking home to Emmaus from Jerusalem on the day of the resurrection of Jesus, and what are the implications for using our homes as welcoming places for the gospel?