Jul 3, 2020
Modernity treats the human body pretty much as a machine for the production of pleasure. It is tuned up, fueled, and oiled for peak performance, and then when it is no longer of use, it is burnt and disposed of in a maximally efficient manner.
Paradoxically, the denial of a soul which persists after bodily death has led us to deny the body itself as fundamental to human identity. The allegedly soulless modern has less hope of resurrection than the Saducees ever did. We somehow fear death more yet never engage with the reality of death.
Scott Hahn joins the show to talk about how the incarnation, death and resurrection of the Son of God changed how our civilization viewed the body, death and the afterlife. Unfortunately, even Catholics today treat dead bodies in a way that does not convey this reality. Yet how we approach death & burial has the potential to show the Catholic difference and evangelize our culture.
Contents
[1:24] The present confrontation (or lack thereof) with mortality and death
[4:28] Modern Gnostic attitudes towards the body
[7:21] The ancient pagan sense of reverence for dead bodies vs. that of the Hebrews
[15:08] The duality in Jewish treatment of corpses
[23:48] Shift to early Christian attitudes
[29:12] Rediscovering a healthy, balanced and hopeful view of the human body
[31:41] What does it mean that we will have “spiritual bodies” after the resurrection?
[47:07] Catholic beliefs about the consequences of failing to properly bury the dead
[53:50] Revival of cremation by French revolutionaries, Masons, Communists and neo-pagans as a deliberate attack on the Church
[59:51] The relevance of sacramentals and relics to the question of cremation
[1:05:05] Inordinate fear of death during the present pandemic; reasons for hope
Links
Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body https://stpaulcenter.com/product/hope-to-die-the-christian-meaning-of-death-and-the-resurrection-of-the-body/
“In all things, charity (even pandemics)” https://www.lincolndiocese.org/news/diocesan-news/13928-in-all-things-charity-even-pandemics
Scott Hahn http://www.scotthahn.com/
Emily Stimpson Chapman https://thecatholictable.com/about-emily-stimpson/
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