Death, Ritual, and Belief: The Rhetoric of Funerary RitesBloomsbury Publishing, 2002 M06 1 - 272 pages Describing a great variety of funeral ritual from major world religions and from local traditions, this book shows how cultures not only cope with corpses but also create an added value for living through the encouragement of afterlife beliefs. The explosion of interest in death in recent years reflects the key theme of this book - the rhetoric of death - the way cultures use the most potent weapon of words to bring new power to life. This new edition is one third longer than the original with new material on the death of Jesus, the most theorized death ever which offers a useful case study for students. There is also empirical material from contemporary/recent events such as the death of Diana and an expanded section on theories of grief which will make the book more attractive to death counsellors. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 85
Page 2
... ideas of ' sophistication ( in the less . positive sense of that word ) , cant and emptiness ' ( Andrews , 1992 : 2 ) ... idea of the conversational construction of biographies of the dead ( 1996b : 7–25 ) , the analysis of sermons on the ...
... ideas of ' sophistication ( in the less . positive sense of that word ) , cant and emptiness ' ( Andrews , 1992 : 2 ) ... idea of the conversational construction of biographies of the dead ( 1996b : 7–25 ) , the analysis of sermons on the ...
Page 5
... idea of ' words against death ' reflects this self - consciousness , this awareness of a strange aspect of the human situation , in a wide variety of ways , from asserting belief in an immortal soul to emphasizing the continuity of ...
... idea of ' words against death ' reflects this self - consciousness , this awareness of a strange aspect of the human situation , in a wide variety of ways , from asserting belief in an immortal soul to emphasizing the continuity of ...
Page 8
... idea still awaits serious consideration in the context of funerary rites . In Britain , for example , we can see how the traditional statement ' we commit his body to the ground , earth to earth , ashes to ashes , dust to dust ...
... idea still awaits serious consideration in the context of funerary rites . In Britain , for example , we can see how the traditional statement ' we commit his body to the ground , earth to earth , ashes to ashes , dust to dust ...
Page 10
... idea that society has a close relationship with the physical bodies of its constituent members : Society imparts its own character of permanence to the individuals who compose it : because it feels itself immortal and wants to be so ...
... idea that society has a close relationship with the physical bodies of its constituent members : Society imparts its own character of permanence to the individuals who compose it : because it feels itself immortal and wants to be so ...
Page 11
... idea . This distinction raises the question of how these two realms may be linked . One easy answer is to say that people acting for society write down its laws and beliefs which can then be read and learned by each individual member ...
... idea . This distinction raises the question of how these two realms may be linked . One easy answer is to say that people acting for society write down its laws and beliefs which can then be read and learned by each individual member ...
Contents
1 | |
Impurity Fertility and Fear | 24 |
3 Theories of Grief | 43 |
4 Violence Sacrifice and Conquest | 62 |
5 Eastern Destiny and Death | 81 |
6 Ancestors Cemeteries and Local Identity | 91 |
7 Jewish and Islamic Destinies | 118 |
8 Christianity and the Death of Jesus | 125 |
10 Somewhere to Die | 155 |
11 Souls and the Presence of the Dead | 163 |
12 Pet and Animal Death | 182 |
13 Book Film and Building | 196 |
14 Offending Death Grief and Religions | 211 |
15 Secular Death and Life | 224 |
Bibliography | 240 |
Index | 258 |
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Common terms and phrases
afterlife amongst ancestors animals anthropologist argued ashes aspects associated become belief bereavement Bloch body Britain British British Humanist Association Buddhism burial buried cemeteries cent Chapter Christian church concerned contemporary context corpse cremated remains crematoria cultures D. J. Davies death rites deceased described dying emotion emphasize especially euthanasia example existence express fact fact of death focused funeral rites funerary rites grave grief groups human idea identity important increasingly individual interpreted involved issue Jesus kind living major memory modern Mormon mortuary mummification nature near-death experience offending death particular performative utterance period pet death popular post-modernity practice psychological realm rebounding violence reflects reincarnation relationship relatively religion religious response resurrection rhetoric ritual sacrifice salvation secular sense shamanism significance social society sociological soul speak spiritual status stress stupa symbolic theological theory tomb traditional transcendence twentieth century words against death Zoroastrians