The futility of calling down ‘fire and brimstone’ on the dead

Regrets, I’ve had a few

But then again, too few to mention

I did what I had to do

And saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course

Each careful step along the byway

And more, much more than this

I did it my way.

– Frank Sinatra, My Way

The preacher stood at the pulpit and railed against the life the deceased had lived. He spoke about the many times he had visited the man and tried to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with him but to no avail as the man always shunned the message. He also revealed to the congregation that the man was no ordinary womaniser.

The preacher continued to lambast the deceased until one irate member of his family got up and made a gesture of slashing his throat, which the goodly preacher took as a warning that he should lay off with the condemnation and continue with the rest of the thanksgiving service. This he wisely did.

The damage, however, had already been done because the preacher’s intemperate outburst had left a bad taste in the mouths of the mourners.

The above scenario is one that has played out repeatedly at funerals of so-called ‘unsaved’ persons, where their lives of ‘riotous living’ are highlighted and condemned.

With that in mind, Family & Religion asked Dr Rev Zebulah Aiken of the Miracle Tabernacle Free Town Church of God of Prophecy to opine on the practice.

Aiken, who has conducted numerous funeral services for members and non-members of her church alike, including the unsaved, said it is not her job to speculate on the final resting place of the deceased.

She also said that pastors, although having a duty to point souls to the Lord, should exercise sensitivity and compassion for those left behind who are mourning.

Follow-up Visitations

According to her, there will be other opportunities after the funeral service when follow-up visitations can be done and, while cheering up or comforting the bereaved, the pastor can point relatives in the direction of the ultimate Comforter. “In a gentle, non-abrasive manner, the gospel can be presented to them,” Aiken opined.

She mentioned a story carried in The Gleaner on January 14 in which an elderly shopkeeper collapsed and was pronounced dead at the Mandeville Regional Hospital after a preacher pronounced hell for her deceased relative at his funeral service.

“I know preachers can get passionate about lost souls, but we have to follow Jesus’ example, where he chose, rather, to have compassion than to condemn. Think about the woman caught in adultery. When faced with an angry mob who wanted nothing else than to stone her to death, Jesus instead chose to forgive her,” noted Aiken.

According to Aiken, each person will have to take responsibility for how they lived their life on Judgment Day. What that will be like, only the Lord knows; no one can tell what happened in those final moments before a person’s last breath left their body.

She said preachers can find more delicate ways of bringing the message of salvation across by urging the unsaved to accept Christ before it is too late.

Aiken said that although she empathises with the preacher’s motive, she is not in agreement with the method because it was not the appropriate time or place.

“During times of bereavement, persons’ emotions can run high, and statements like those can leave mourners angry, upset, and antagonistic towards the Church. That soul might not have made it, so why make it harder to save the others?” she asked rhetorically.

Aiken said that those officiating at funerals of persons who were not known to frequent church or ever voice accepting Christ as their Saviour can easily encourage mourners to focus on the fond memories of the deceased and even encourage them to look to God for comfort and point them in the direction of the Saviour.

“Breathing out hellfire and brimstone on the dead really is pointless. They can’t hear it. Their fates are already decided, one way or the other. Focus, instead, on those who remain, to win their souls,” Aiken advised.

editorial@gleanerjm.com