Christian hope and the ethos of bereavement

Of the many facets of the Christian response to bereavement I have chosen for emphasis what I call the current attempt to use empiricism without adequate attention to the spiritual as well as intellectual preparation and investigative experience the thinker must bring to his study of bereavement. My thesis is that as important as any aspect of the investigation of Christian responses to bereavement is the individual investigator's capacity to understand the Christian's love of God, his trust in God, and his hope far eternal life, which are the very essence of Christian faith and hence of the response to bereavement. I also mention as desiderata in the preparation of the investigator an openness to understand the teaching of the world religions and a commitment to a non-Christian world religion which will enable the individual to comprehend the nature and import of religious commitment.