Why Die? The Quest For Immortality


Death has been a primary topic of religions for centuries. Some religious people believe we stay exactly as we are after death—but add a robe and a harp! And some scientists are working to figure out how to stop the dying process. Why do we humans fear death so much? Is immortality likely to be any better?

by Barbara W. ten Hove, co-minister
Cedars Unitarian Universalist Church, Bainbridge Island & Greater Kitsap County, WA
— January 29, 2012 —

Death is ultimately about balance. It is the dark other side of life. It is a mystery that generations of humans have sought to understand. It happens to us all, yet it is something most of us deny, even to the very moment it takes us.

I am afraid to die. There, I’ve said it. But I don’t say it easily. I’m a minister. I’m supposed to know how to face death. I have dealt with death often. I have seen it come unwilling and unasked for like a villain, and I have seen it come as a welcome friend. But I have only seen death come to others. I can’t be a witness at my own deathbed. I must leave that job to others.

Read the whole sermon (PDF)