Accompany Them With Singing Part 1

I have so much to say about this book, that it'll have to be split up in parts. Accompany Them With Singing: The Christian Funeral by Thomas G. Long is like one giant argument.

Long describes Platonism as the belief that the body is just a shell. He is so firm against this belief that he glorifies the body beyond it's importance and claims that this is the only Christian way to view things. He believes that funerals are a sort of baptism journey into heaven, but then says that we are not immortal. "Since we are not immortal, when the body dies, the whole person dies, period. We don't have deathless souls, spirits, or anything else. Only God is immortal." He then moves on to talk about us receiving new imperishable bodies as if he is in no way contradicting himself.

He makes a wide difference between "death" and "Death", natural death and Death, the final enemy. He speaks as if natural death was ALWAYS a part of man instead of tying it in with consequences of the fall of Adam and Eve. He's VERY critical of anyone who may hold different views, calling them "well-meaning Christians" and "overoptimistic".
He's so convinced that we cannot exist without bodies that he spends way too much time arguing with himself about when the switchover happens and we get our new bodies. We can't have gone on immediately when we die cuz our bodies are still there. Do we get our new bodies while the old ones are rotting away under ground? According to him, we are raised from the dead and given new bodies immediately. Thereby, Death has no victory.

Further into the book... "While the biblical evidence is mixed, the overall thrust of the biblical witness seems to encourage a hope for the redemption of all humanity...The notion that the eternal fate of people swings on whether they decide to allow Jesus Christ into their hearts is ruthlessly individualistic and runs counter to the biblical hope of a new creation...Moreover, such a view of salvation puts God's will at the mercy of human decision making." No wonder the jacket describes the author as "one of the most popular preachers in the United States today."

There are some positive elements so far. I appreciate learning about Christian funeral rites through the ages. I also agree that the funeral shouldn't lose the concept that we are accompanying the deceased on their last journey to Christ. Why cremation would hinder that, I'm not sure. Chapter 5, entitled "The Funeral As Worshipful Drama" is very good if a little long winded.

I'm halfway through and not sure when I'll finish the book. I'm leaving for Estonia tomorrow and won't have much time for reading. Will keep you posted when I return!