The Story (sometimes) Told at Christian Funerals


I'm posting this late because I had a marathon day driving to a funeral, attending the funeral and related events and driving back. Twelve hours all told. 

On the way home I was mulling over how different today's funeral was from one I attended two weeks ago. Both pastors were about 50 years old.  Two weeks ago at a Lutheran Missouri Synod church the pastor talked about the deceased, what he had done during his lifetime and how great it was for anyone who had known him. I think he said as if an afterthought something like, "If there is an afterlife this great fellow deserves a good spot."

Today's funeral was Methodist. The lady pastor made very pointed reference, three times I think, to the story that Jesus had defeated death and that is why the deceased today has defeated death and all his loved ones present will defeat death and everyone will live happily ever after. She really enjoyed saying that.

Afterwards, it made me recall a poignant experience of famous author and professor Bart Ehrman. As I recall the story, Ehrman was very conservative in religion as a young man. He went, I believe, to Moody's Bible Institute and became certified to preach in something like Southern Baptist churches. One of his favorite professors who was also a preacher gave him training in preaching and encouragement to preach and to study theology at Ivy League universities. Whenever he could he went back to visit this favorite professor who wanted to learn what Ehrman had been studying.  

One day they were in a car discussing the complexities of the faith. The professor said, "Well, lots of it is complicated. The thing we actually know is quite simple. Jesus died and was resurrected. This has made possible life eternal. We can't go wrong preaching that." Ehrman thought his friend was discussing theology and wanted the hear what he Ehrman had encountered in graduate school. He said to his friend, "But what if the resurrection story is not true?"

Ehrman then realized he should not have said this. His friend was silent. Then tears came to his eyes. 

Today, I did not make Ehrman's mistake of wondering out loud if the Preacher's entire premise might be (probably is) based on an often-debunked myth.  

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