Abstract
Individuals with a life-threatening illness need space to talk about death, but they also need guides to help them form a meaningful life until they die. Since the medical narrative seeks to fix broken bodies, there is no cultural place for those who are unhealed but not yet dead. Focusing on the Christian faith, the author reviews holistic healing prayer, vocational commitment, and the ars moriendi (art of dying) tradition as resources for retaining identity and agency in this slower kind of death.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
Anderson, J. W. (2014). How D. W. Winnicott conducted psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 31(3),375–395. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035374
Ariès, P., & Ranum, P. (1974). Western attitudes toward death: From the Middle Ages to the present. Johns Hopkins University Press
Belting, H. (1993). Likeness and presence: a history of the image before the era of art. University of Chicago Press
Booth, P., & Tingle, E. C. (Eds.). (2021). A companion to death, burial, and remembrance in late medieval and early modern Europe c.1300–1700. Brill
Chen, M., & Giblin, N. (2018). Individual counseling and therapy: Skills and techniques (3rd ed.). Routledge
Clifton, S. (2014). The dark side of prayer for healing: Toward a theology of well-being. Pneuma, 36, 204–225. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700747-03602003
Davies, D. (2008). The theology of death. Bloomsbury
Duff, N. (2018). Making faithful decisions at the end of life. Westminster John Knox Press
Frank, A. (2004). Narratives of spirituality and religion in end-of-life care. In B. Hurwitz, & T. Greenhalgh (Eds.), Narrative research in health and illness (pp. 132–146). BMA Blackwell
Frank, A. (2013). The wounded storyteller: Body, illness, and ethics (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1995)
Kleinman, A. (1988). The illness narratives: Suffering, healing, and the human condition. Basic Books
Kübler-Ross, E. (2014). On death and dying, 50th anniversary edition. Scribner. (Original work published 1969)
Long, T. (2009). Accompany them with singing. Westminster John Knox Press
Long, T., & Lynch, T. (2013). The good funeral: Death, grief, and the community of care. Westminster John Knox Press
Luther, M. (2016). On preparing to die. In M. J. Haemig (Ed.), The annotated Luther, Volume 4: Pastoral writings (pp. 283–306). Fortress Press
McClure, B. (2010). Moving beyond individualism in pastoral care and counseling: Reflections on theory, theology, and practice. Cascade Books
McKenny, G. P. (1997). To relieve the human condition: Bioethics, technology, and the body. State University of New York Press
Rogers, C. (2007). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Psychotherapy: Theory Research Practice Training, 44(3), 240–248. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.44.3.240
Swinton, J. (2009a). Practicing the presence of God: Earthly practices in heavenly perspective. In J. Swinton, & R. Payne (Eds.), Living well and dying faithfully: Christian practices for end-of-life care (pp. 3–16). William B. Eerdmans
Swinton, J. (2009b). Why me, Lord? Practicing lament at the foot of the cross. In J. Swinton, & R. Payne (Eds.), Living well and dying faithfully: Christian practices for end-of-life care (pp. 107–138). William B. Eerdmans
Swinton, J., & Payne, R. (2009). Introduction to J. In Swinton, & R. Payne (Eds.), Living well and dying faithfully: Christian practices for end-of-life care (pp. xv–xxiv). William B. Eerdmans
Thomas, J. H. (2013). Theology and issues of life and death. James Clarke & Co: Lutterworth Press
Verheys, A. (2011). The Christian art of dying: Learning from Jesus. William B. Eerdmans.
Williams, T. (2002). Is there a doctor in the house? Reflections on the practice of healing in African American churches. In Mi. Volf & D. Bass (Eds.), Practicing theology: Beliefs and practices in Christian life (pp. 94–120). William B. Eerdmans
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Waters, S. Living Into One’s Death: Reclaiming Christian Identity and Agency When Facing a Life-Threatening Illness. Pastoral Psychol 71, 569–581 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-022-01029-9
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-022-01029-9