Reading Time: 5 minutes Fifteen years ago today, Reverend Jerry Falwell, Sr. went to his reward. Many of those who did not like Falwell were happy that he got this reward, while those who loved him were very, very sad. This is strange. At the time, many of his fellow religious believers shook stern fingers at the rest of […]
Death & Dying
Grappling with the difficult questions of death and dying from a secular, nonreligious point of view.
Posted inMeaning & Purpose
There is a secular afterlife
Reading Time: 4 minutes My family church here in Indonesia offers an online Bible study. One day, at my parents’ request, I helped them navigate to the page. The theme of the day was “Being brave facing death.” In support, a common proverb was offered: urip mung mampir ngombe—”Life is just stopping by to drink.” The proverb invites us […]
Posted inHealthcare
Slowing to listen at the end of life
Reading Time: 12 minutes Marcia sat up on the side of the bed, a hand on each knee, and braced herself as she leaned forward to open the space in her chest for more air. At 52, she was dying of ovarian cancer that had spread to her liver. The critical organ had failed, causing excess fluid to gather […]
Posted inDeath & Dying
The day I almost died laughing at a suicide workshop
Reading Time: 4 minutes When I learned that Philip Nitschke, founder of the euthanasia group Exit International, was about to try his hand at stand-up comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2015, my immediate reaction was “about time too.” Six years earlier, during a controversial suicide workshop I attended in Brighton, on the south coast of Britain, the […]
Posted inPsychology
Should I be mad at my son? Anger and forgiveness after suicide
Reading Time: 5 minutes This entire column, not just this entry, contains a content warning. I will be writing about suicide, depression, post-traumatic stress, and other serious topics. If you are having suicidal thoughts, please reach out to someone you trust, establish care with a therapist, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255), or go to your nearest emergency […]
Posted inPsychology
Remember their whole life, not just their final hours
Reading Time: 4 minutes This entire column, not just this entry, contains a content warning. I will be writing about suicide, depression, post-traumatic stress, and other serious topics. If you are having suicidal thoughts, please reach out to someone you trust, establish care with a therapist, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255), or go to your nearest emergency […]
Posted inFilm/TV
‘The Case for Heaven’ is the stuff of dreams for believers in near-death experiences
Reading Time: 5 minutes The moment I began reading that Lee Strobel, an atheist-turned-evangelist, has released a documentary called A Case for Heaven about his own near-death experience, as well as the NDEs of others, my mind went back to the Malarkey saga dating back 18 years. Alex Malarkey, then six, was badly injured in a car crash that […]
Posted inCulture
Wellness is systemic: A podcast episode for mental health
Reading Time: 4 minutes When I first recorded episodes for Global Humanist Shoptalk last year, I had no idea what 2022 was going to hold. I did suspect that far-right legislation would continue to pose problems, and that pandemic wouldn’t be over so easily after all. But I certainly wouldn’t have put money on a full-on war in Ukraine […]
Posted inDeath & Dying
The cruel arithmetic of a Highland graveyard
Reading Time: 4 minutes At the edge of the Nevis Forest in the Scottish Highlands, up on a hillock barely visible from my hike on the West Highland Way, I saw the rusting spikes of a very old iron fence. A cemetery. Had to be. I climbed up the hill and walked through the small gate into the untended […]
Posted inDeath & Dying
When Christianity becomes a death cult
Reading Time: 4 minutes The logic of Christianity leads to the disturbing conclusion that if heaven is better than this life, then death is a good and desirable outcome.