We live in a world where death is
not talked about. We know it exists, but we prefer to stay silent on this
topic. However, it is part of life. How does Christianity understand this?
There are many Church Fathers who have given their own exegeses on death. Fr
John Behr gives an interesting explanation, of how death is seen as a
restriction of sin, basing it, of course, on Tradition and Scripture. He
believes that
‘Death plays a further role in
this education economy of God, as it is also the means of limiting the reign of
sin. If death has come into the world as a result of sin (Rom 5.12), in
reverse, death can also be seen as a restriction of sin: death cuts sin short,
lest sin be immortal and as such unable to be healed. Viewed in this way, death
can be seen not so much as an arbitrary penalty imposed for disobedience, nor
as a consequence of human transgression – their turning away from the Source of
life and so becoming mortal – but as a limitation on sin and death itself. As
such, subjection to death can be seen as an act of mercy: it puts an end to sin
through the resolution of man into the earth.’[1]
[1]
Behr, John, The Mystery of Christ, Life
in Death, (Crestwood, New York, St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2006), p.104.
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