Quote:
Originally Posted by sworkhard
The support the church provides immediately before and after the death of a loved one makes a big difference. However, the belief that you will be re-united with your family after death has been demonstrated as one of the things that prevent people from dealing with death in a healthy way. To my knowledge, being reunited with family members is not part of any major Christian theology either, but I see people reference such a belief often enough to know that it's a commonly held belief non the less.
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I think the afterlife (at least in Christian circles) is not so well defined. There are verses in revelation which some take to describe heaven - streets of gold, jeweled gates, etc, but as Revelation is filled with imagery, how much should be taken literally, and how much metaphorically?
Also, in one of the stories where Jesus is being tested by the religious elite, he mentions that "...in the resurrection [people] neither marry nor are given in marriage...". There is an implication that things are different in the afterlife. In what ways? No idea.
I've heard some preach that God would not waste our talents and experiences we have gained here on earth, and so in Heaven we would be engaged in activities that use those talents in a fulfilling way. So I guess if you love your job here, you can expect to keep doing it for all eternity
. The pastor who preached this was careful to say this was only his opinion based on what he felt were characteristics of God.
The idea of being reunited with family members comes mainly from inference: if I believe a family member that passed away is in Heaven, and I believe when I die I will go to Heaven, then I might expect that I will see them again in Heaven. There are probably other verses that imply something similar - off the top of my head, I'm thinking of the story where Jesus meets with Moses and Elijah atop a mountain after being "transfigured". Moses and Elijah never met as they lived hundreds of years apart, but here they meet "in the afterlife".
I am curious how this belief makes people not deal with death in a healthy way. In my experience, Christians go through a healthy process of sadness and grief. If anything, the idea of an afterlife provides an element of hope which isn't such a bad thing.