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Death is not normal! The late Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann addressed this trend of Western culture in his little book For the Life of the World. He made many of the same notes: that we tend to treat death as something perfectly normal, albiet unpleasant and best hygenized and shunted away out of view. On the other hand, Schmemann says, the 'religious' view is that death is merely a part of God's plan. Neither view, of course, is true: death is awful, brutal, a mockery of God and man and all being. It is something to be treated as a reviled enemy. We are to recognize Christ's defeat of death, and thus we have reason not to fear it. However, this does not mean we should accept it; rather, we should despise it all the more.

Very worthwhile. Thank you. I especially appreciated this part.

I suggest that the reason many like to identify God with what is happening in their lives is a fear of a loss of control. They make themselves believe in a closed sovereignty, for they do not like the unfinished situation found in a fallen world. Consequently while they advocate the control of God over the events in history, they abandon God to immorality. He becomes the author of whatever comes to pass. At least he allows what, in their eyes, he could prevent, if only he chose to. But since it happens, he must have decided not to want to help, even though he could have.