What to Do When Belief Dies

Last updated on: June 5, 2017 at 7:53 pm by Christian Piatt

What to Do When Belief Dies 2017-06-05T19:53:43+00:00 Christian Piatt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Fog Scene CDP

Photo by Christian Piatt

Being in congregational ministry means dealing in death. Actually, being alive means dealing with it. At its best, religious community helps bear witness to the entire cycle of life, from miraculous beginnings to often-difficult ends. And as the average age in Christian congregations continues to rise, the work of institutional and personal hospice for ministerial leaders demands more time and energy.

The one thing my wife, Rev. Amy Piatt, was most worried about facing in ministry was death. Then within the first few weeks of arriving in Colorado to start a new church, her uncle died. Her dad (also a pastor) was out of town, so the family turned to her to step up. She was fresh out of seminary, and Billy had been a prominent community figure. Hundreds showed up to his memorial service, which was held in the local convention center.

Amy was terrified, but suffice it to say it helped her take on her “death hangup” straight away. And over time she’s learned that she’s really great at dealing with death. She’s learned to see the beauty and the miracle in the midst of a difficult, sometimes painful, often tragic experience.

Plenty of people don’t see it that way, though.

In so many ways in our culture, death is seen as failure, accession to the frailty of the human condition which we struggle to ignore, deny or forestall, but which pursues us relentlessly until the will or means to outrun it is exhausted.

We’ve lost. Death wins.

When it comes to church, or even just particular traditions, ideologies or structures, there is other baggage attached to the experience of death. It’s particularly hard when we’ve been given the weight of stewardship of something that preceded us, only to experience it crumbling before us, in many ways beyond our control. Where so many have prevailed, we’re failing. There’s a sense of defeat, shame and tragic loss.

My friend, Eric, who himself is a pastor, noted that this is particularly painful when it comes to our personal beliefs. While some of us may see the transition to being open and affirming of, say, our LGBTQ sisters and brothers as intuitively right, historically inevitable or even spiritually compelling, Eric pointed out that the loss of traditions and ideologies some have held as central not only to their faith lives but to their identities as people for so long is experienced much like any other death.

So while some of us lose patience with those who, to us, seem intransigent and even mean in their resistance to change, we’re often blindly insensitive to the grief overwhelming them at the same time. And while we may claim that rejection of full and radical inclusion of all of God’s people in the life of Christian community, how is overlooking or minimizing the experienced death of our other brothers and sisters any more Christlike?

As seekers of wholeness, justice and true reconciliation, we all have to try see beyond the issues that we hold close and pray for more compassionate vision of the world, right around us. Like Dr. King famously said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Change brings death with it, as well as new life. And we can’t prepare fertile ground for one without also tending to the other.

Christian Piatt is the author of “Leaving A-Holiness Behind” and “PostChristian,” among others. He is the founder and cohost of the Homebrewed CultureCast. Find him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Previous Post

April 24, 2017

GENIUS' Young Einstein, Johnny Flynn

Next Post

May 27, 2017 Making History With Bishop Karen Oliveto

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category atonement belief bible Bill O'Reilly Buddhism CCM children christian piatt christianity Contemporary Christian Music current events derek flood Easter education Everyday Sunday faith faith and culture Frank Schaeffer great commission Haaz Sleiman Hobby Lobby Homebrewed Culture humor ISIS Jesus John Paul Lederach Killing Jesus LGBTQ marc driscoll Mission Year Music My Jesus Project Nat Geo parenting politics popular culture postChristian prison reform Ray rice religion republicans sacrifice sexuality theology Uncategorized video violence wild goose festival World Vision young adults

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I was a scribe skilled in the Law, and I set my heart to study, practice, and teach it. Who am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Solomon Ezra Nehemiah Samuel