Question

1. Explain the five stages of grief and identify them in Wolterstorff's experiences.
2. How does Wolterstorff find joy after his loss? How does the hope of the resurrection play a role in comforting Wolterstorff?
3. What is the meaning and significance of death in light of the Christian narrative?
4. What is the importance of understanding the grieving process, approaches, and practices in various faith traditions different than one's own?

Answer 1

• The five stages of grief involve a series of emotions. These emotions include denial/isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. It is not important for a person to follow the stages of grief in series. A person can revisit the stages in a no particular order. All these five stages are experienced and mentioned in the Wolterstorff’s narrative. He initially felt isolated from friends and family and then show anger with god and his beliefs. He then experienced crisis of faiths and became depressed. But he redoubled his faith in god and accepted his grief which made his beliefs stronger.
• Resurrection is defined as the time in which the fate of the dead is decided and he will come back to life. Wolterstorff doubted the process of resurrection and wanted his son back to life. He showed anger toward god but he redoubled his faith toward god and resurrection. This bought him some relief and he accepted resurrection as a process to assess his grief.
• The Christianity narrative has defined that death is not the end of life. It has described death to be a step before resurrection and it is not the last time of seeing their loved ones. Although it does not completely take away the pain but it has a comforting aspect toward the grief.
• It is important to understand the grieving process and practices in different faith traditions as some practices and beliefs can comfort the grieving person. For example, the concept of resurrection in the Christianity can comfort some people. Grief is considered as a personal process and it cannot be ignored due to some religious beliefs. But it can be reduced and comforted by some positive aspects.