Beyond Silence and Denial: Death and Dying Reconsidered [Paperback]

Lucy Bregman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999

Lucy Bregman guides the reader through the wealth of recent literature on death and dying, giving special attention to the autobiographical narratives of terminally ill people and to books offering counsel to the dying, their caregivers, and the bereaved. She argues that this literature should supplement, not supplant, Christian understandings of death.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Bregman's response to "a new language for death and dying and grief" was prompted by a seminary student's rhetorical question: "Once you've said that death is natural, what more is there to say?" She largely embraces the death-awareness and hospice movements that have articulated the new language, in which "death is natural" is a commonplace. But that commonplaceness raises questions about its meaning and challenges Christian traditions that have long devoted attention to the supernatural. To show how Christian thought has been transformed by the new language, Bregman first sketches the histories of Christian attitudes toward death and dying and of the death-awareness and hospice movements in the U.S. She then discusses the interrelationship of the three, incidentally considering American misappropriation of Freudian language. Convinced that Christianity has a stake in the death-awareness movement, she argues that a Christian contribution to the movement should be grounded in a theology of the Cross and resurrection. She may leave readers convinced that there is more to say and that saying it will be of lasting importance. Steven Schroeder

About the Author

Lucy Bregman is Professor of Religion at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664258026
• ISBN-13: 978-0664258023
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,859,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rethinking how Christians look at death, December 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Silence and Denial: Death and Dying Reconsidered (Paperback)

Beyond Silence and Denial looks at the roles of death in the Christian Faith. The author lays out how the Protestant view of death and dying has shifted through out the ages. Sometimes this shift was in response to secularism or social problems. The model that the author proposes is how Jesus responded to death and dying. Jesus willingly yielded his spirit on the cross not as an act of defeat or victory, but out of trust in his Father. Death is seen as a part of God's plan and nothing, including dying, can separate us from communion with God.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Who started the death awareness movement?, April 28, 2006

By 

D. Lozer "Lifelong student" (Maple Grove, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Silence and Denial: Death and Dying Reconsidered (Paperback)

Prior to reading this text I had never heard of the death awareness movement, and after reading it I still can't seem to pinpoint it. I learned more about what it is not. However, the author makes good points about the reality of death and how our society not only denies it and tries to overcome it, but how our culture pushes bereaved persons to rush through their grief and "get on with life."