DEATH…THEN WHAT? SESSION ONE Our Marvelous Bodies In this Lutheran Witness article Dr. Reed Lessing reminds us to respect our bodies because they are a marvel of God’s engineering. Cryonics “Cryonics is an effort to save lives by using temperatures so cold that a person beyond help by today's medicine might be preserved for decades or centuries until a future medical technology can restore that person to full health.” Dancing With Death (A Doctor Looks at Death) “The enemy is death. The avenger is medicine. And the war is going very poorly indeed…We are so engaged in the battle, so empowered by our growing capabilities, that we have lost sight of the bigger picture. While pushing back the adversary of death, we are ever so steadily being destroyed by the very battle itself.” The Roots of Reincarnation “To know that you lived many lives before this one and that there are many more to come is a very attractive perspective from which to judge the meaning of life.” Muti Killings In a modern spin on human sacrifice African children are being mutilated and killed so their organs and body parts can be used for African medicine. Thinking About Your Funeral This Lutheran Witness article by Jonathan C. Watt explains the purpose of a Christian funeral service and how you can work with your pastor to give your family and friends one final testimony of your faith in Jesus Christ. Resurrection Reality New Orleans had to find a different way to bury the dead. But it reminds us why we need the resurrection. Dropping Dead in Jesus In this video presentation at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Dr. William M. Cwirla provides a Biblical look at death and dying. The presentation itself begins at 10:33. SESSION TWO The Five Stages of Grief In this article Elisabeth Kübler-Ross & David Kessler guide us through the five stages of grief. Frequently Asked Questions about Heaven and Hell Including “What happens to people who have not heard the Gospel?”, “What’s the LCMS view on the Left Behind Series?”, “Are there degrees or levels in heaven or hell?”, “Does the LCMS believe in the rapture?”, “Can you sin in heaven?”, “What happens when people die?”, and “Are my family members with God or ar they asleep until the end of the world?” Myths About Death: Why Easter Matters This article by Jared Melius discusses several common myths people hold about death. A Statement on Death, Resurrection and Immortality This report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations discusses the Christian concepts of soul, death and life after death. Paul’s Use of the Imagery of Sleep In this article Piotr J. Malysz discusses the images of sleep Paul used to refer to death and other subjects. Soul Sleep Dr. Richard Bucher examines the Bible to see if the soul leaves the body at death or remains for a time of sleep until the Resurrection Day. A Heavenly Reunion How can the story of 33 trapped miners in Chili remind us of life after death? Yes Virginia! There Are Angels In case you think we become angels when we die, let this article set you straight. SESSION THREE Be Near Me, Lord Jesus What good can you do for a loved one nearing death? This granddaughter has some ideas for you. Christ in Death, Christ in Life In this article by Rev. Dr. Dean Nadasdy, a 15 year-old girl teaches her church what she has learned from her father’s death the previous year. Through the Shadowlands- A Christian Handbook on Death and Life Harold Senkbeil wrote this article that describes how God’s Church comforts the dying and their loved ones before, during and after death and burial. Angry with God This Lutheran Witness article explores why we get angry at God and Scripture’s answer to that anger. How About Capital Punishment? Rev. Arnold G. Deke explores whether Scripture supports capital punishment or not. SESSION FOUR Reservations about the Resurrection? In this Lutheran Witness article, Dr. Paul L. Maier answers many challenges posed against Jesus’ resurrection. Mysteries and Realities of Resurrection This Lutheran Witness article addresses the question of what happened to the people raised from the dead at Jesus’ death and resurrection (Mt. 27:52-53) and in His ministry. Concerning the Resurrection Body This wonderful article by J. T. Mueller examines what God says about our resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49. Seven Stanzas for Easter In 1960 John Updike entered a poem in a contest at Clifton Lutheran Church in Marblehead, Massachusetts. In this poem Updike reminds us why it is important to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection are a real, physical, historical event. DEATH…THEN WHAT? Our Marvelous Bodies http://witness.lcms.org/pages/wPage.asp?ContentID=63&IssueID=10 Our Marvelous Bodies When I was a junior in high school, "teaching Reed to drive" fell to my mother. There we were in downtown Denver, I with my driver's permit, my mother with her seat belt buckled and her life insurance policy paid up. Then it happened. As I went to change lanes, I came within inches of another car. My mother, in her words, "had the big one!" From that point on, her litany to me was, "Reed Lessing, always remember you have a blind spot!" You know what she meant, those areas on either side of a vehicle that you can't see in the rearview or side-view mirrors. Many accidents happen because drivers forget about the blind spot. In broader usage, blind spots are any issues in life that are easily overlooked. One glaring blind spot in the lives of most Christians is our body. Oh, don't get me wrong. Most Christians are outraged by sins against the body, homosexuality, lesbianism, prostitution, abortion, alcoholism, drug abuse, physical violence, and so on. But we are blind to a far more common sin, the abuse of our bodies with our poor diets and lack of regular exercise. The results are in: obesity is the second-leading cause of preventable death in the United States; approximately 127 million adults are overweight; 60 million are obese; and nine million are severely obese. Picture a wheel with a hub and five spokes. The hub, or center, is the Triune God's baptismal gift. New life in Christ is both the glue that holds the five spokes together as well as the power that enables them to properly function. The five spokes are our emotional life, relationships with people, intellect, vocation, and physical health. To be whole means to keep these spokes connected to Christ and in good order. If one spoke is neglected the whole will be out of balance. At issue, then, is not only our physical health and fitness but every facet of our lives, for if one part is neglected, everything in life suffers. Reject the Body One approach toward our bodies is to reject them. Some elements of the New Age Movement embrace beliefs that demean and reject the body, teaching that human beings are mere souls animating dispensable bodies. Sociologists estimate that more than 10 million Americans are participating in New Age activities that encourage them to turn inward toward their "psychic abilities" or "inner healing." New Age spirituality often encourages followers to abandon their "evil bodies" and seek answers from the "god within" by means of mystical experiences. But Holy Scripture promises us something different. In Baptism, God not only cleanses our conscience (1 Pet. 3:21), but also our bodies (Heb. 10:22). In Baptism both body and soul become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). And even though our body outwardly wastes away (2 Cor. 4:16), the Holy Spirit empowers us to accept our body, knowing that at the Second Advent of Christ we will receive a glorified body (Phil. 3:21). Perfect the Body A more popular current approach to the body is to perfect it. For many, physical perfection has almost become their god. Any degree of dedication, even the excess and abuse of performance enhancers, obsessive exercise, exorbitant investments in exercise equipment, is acceptable in achieving their goal. Most communities offer easy access to exfoliation, anti-oxidizing, moisturizing, revitalizing, toning, and tanning. We have changed from a society of Ivory soap and VO-5 shampoo to one that must have mousse, gel, pomade, volumizers, buffers, bronzers, and polishers. Shower stalls look and smell more like the Amazon jungle! A quick look in many bathrooms will discover banana, lemon, and lime conditioners that are matched by mint, coconut, and herbal shampoo. "Americans have become self-obsessive, unable to see past their own gleaming white incisors and painted toes," observed Anna Quindlen in her Newsweek article "Leg Waxing and Life Everlasting." And then there is cosmetic surgery. The demand for these procedures jumped 44 percent from 2003 to 2004 when almost 11.9 million cosmetic surgeries were performed in the United States. The cosmetic industry in America generates annual sales of almost $8 billion. Even a partial list of options is impressive: rhinoplasty (fixing the nose); dermabrasion, including acne scar removal; otoplasty (ear augmentation); breast augmentation; breast reduction; lip enhancement; and hair and tattoo removal. Liposuction remains the most popular surgical procedure for both men and women. In fact, many segments of the medical field are driven by our incessant desire to perfect our body. For many, medicine is more powerful and pervasive than the church ever was. Doctors and hospitals, viewed in godlike fashion, function as insurance policies that give people a sense that they will never die.