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poliphiloMy sister-in-law's brother died yesterday. I didn't know him well, but I liked him. He was eccentric and counter-cultural and lived by his own rules. He was 51.
I have reached the age at which it is no longer startling when a contemporary drops dead.
Brandon wasn't religious. I don't know what the family will finally decide, but my sister in law is mildly uneasy at the prospect of having a clergy-person officiate. I did a Google search and discovered something I didn't know before, that it is possible to book a non-religious celebrant through the Registry Office. Excellent. I've let Ailz know that when I get called to the choir invisible I want a Registry Office Person to wave me off.
It's not that I'm Godless. I believe in God right enough. Though Goddess suits me better. No, it's dogma I want to steer clear of. I don't think anyone knows with certainty what happens to a person after death, and I don't fancy having some sectarian breathing his/her personal opinions or party dogma over my sainted remains.
Call me Agnostic. I think of Agnosticism as a positive thing. What's so shameful about admitting you don't have the answers? None of us can actually prove our beliefs. Faith divides; acknowledgement of ignorance unites. I know nuthin and you know nuthin- we all know nuthin together.
I have reached the age at which it is no longer startling when a contemporary drops dead.
Brandon wasn't religious. I don't know what the family will finally decide, but my sister in law is mildly uneasy at the prospect of having a clergy-person officiate. I did a Google search and discovered something I didn't know before, that it is possible to book a non-religious celebrant through the Registry Office. Excellent. I've let Ailz know that when I get called to the choir invisible I want a Registry Office Person to wave me off.
It's not that I'm Godless. I believe in God right enough. Though Goddess suits me better. No, it's dogma I want to steer clear of. I don't think anyone knows with certainty what happens to a person after death, and I don't fancy having some sectarian breathing his/her personal opinions or party dogma over my sainted remains.
Call me Agnostic. I think of Agnosticism as a positive thing. What's so shameful about admitting you don't have the answers? None of us can actually prove our beliefs. Faith divides; acknowledgement of ignorance unites. I know nuthin and you know nuthin- we all know nuthin together.
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Date: 2005-05-12 04:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-12 05:14 am (UTC)I'm still struggling with the fact that my mother cries every time I tell her I want to be cremated. She has some kind of attachment to the idea of a grave. And my, this little thread is getting morbid, no? :)
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Date: 2005-05-12 07:54 am (UTC)Since I posted this morning my sister-in-law has booked the funeral. She's got hold of a humanist minister (I don't know the name) and I've been "volunteered" to deliver a eulogy. I don't have to write it myself- friends and family will all chip in with their tributes and memories- but I'm the one with the experience in public speaking.