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Comment by tomwalker

15 years ago

I have met quite a few patients that were undergoing palliative care for their treatments and I heard a lot of the same.

One recurring theme I found was that ministers and priests always ended up doubting or renouncing their faith. It was terribly depressing.

Whenever I think back it always reminds me to spend more time with my family- they provide the best support in these sort of situations and close families always had a happier "vibe".

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tomwalker

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shadowsun7  15 years ago

One recurring theme I found was that ministers and priests always ended up doubting or renouncing their faith. It was terribly depressing.

I'm curious: why?

  • SkyMarshal  15 years ago

    Probably a combination of things, but I suspect one reason is, from a relatively young age they make themselves a standard bearer for a belief system and from then on are never allowed the freedom to question it.

    They spend their lives attempting to persuade others of the truth of a belief system that many people naturally question as they mature, but priests/ministers have to suppress that tendancy.

    It's not until they're on their deathbed do they realize how trapped they were their entire lives, how invested in being trapped they were, and resent it.

    Reminds me of the scene at the end of No Coutry For Old Men:

    Sheriff Bell: "I always figured when I got older, God would sorta come inta my life somehow.

    And he didn't."

  • tomwalker  15 years ago

    I really don't know. They never gave a reason. Loneliness was common for those poor guys.

    • all  15 years ago

      This is very, very true. Ministers of most all religions are among the loneliest of the lot. Because confidence is crucial to their social function and because people breed politics (i.e., backstabbing), many feel they cannot have friends in their congregations/parishes/communities/whatever. Too often they are right.

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  • c00p3r  15 years ago

    Some old Buddhist sayings is "Concepts act as robbers, consciousness becomes waves". So, one should avoid memorizing sayings and living inside conceptual consciousness. ^_^

    Concepts are just tools. The map is not a territory.

Emore  15 years ago

That's extremely interesting; I've never before heard of priests and ministers renouncing their faith on their death beds. Do you know of any article delving into this?