Why aren’t Christian funerals a bit sadder?

Funerals of those who are not believers are, of course, the saddest events of all. They represent – however good a life the person has lived – a rejection of the saving power of Jesus (though we can never really know) and the prospect of an eternal punishment that every one of us deserves.

Few, if any, unbelievers would acknowledge such a destination, but the reality of death itself should be enough to make such occasions as sober as they could be. It is not altogether surprising that those without hope find ways to avoid such grief. So, out with ‘funerals’ and in with ‘celebration of life’.

Looking back on the good bits (and it’s nearly always only the good bits) allows a rather rose-tinted view of someone’s life and – importantly – dodges the biggest issue of all: death is rubbish. It’s painful; sad; emotional; heart-wrenching.