The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-08-12
nneral Customs.

The Rev. John Snyder, of st. Louis,
makes some very sensible observations on
"Our Barborous Funeral Customs in an
interesting article in the August Forum
1t will hardly be den;a1 that what is called
'christian burial is not in harmony with
the christian belief. In fact, christian peo-
pie seem TO deny the faith, in reStful and
happy hereafter. which They profess. Ihey
declare that death is but the means OF
reaching a better life aud perfect happiness,
and vet they exert themselves TO make
death as dreadful as possible by surround
ing 1t with everything that tends to fill the
mind with gloom.
"What we call in unconscious satire,
saws Mr.. Snyder, "'christian burial, is not
only condemned by sane religion and ra-
tlonal sanitary science; it IL without those
elements of the beautiful, the graceful, the
poetic, by which it can justify itself to the
Imagination. 1t seems to represent, not the
sweet and trustful confidence of an ances-
trial faith, but the gloom and chill of an
Inherited despair. If we could imagine
another Pandora from whose jeweled box
of life the winged Hope alone had fed, we
should have its fttest symbol" Would
it not be better, from every point of view,
to make our funerals harmoniSe with our
christian belief? Instead of lamentations
at the grave, why should there not be songs
in harmony with the assurance, II am the
resurrection and the life,n and ex-
pressive of living fnitha Was not Paul's
cutlery Of victory over the grave glad and
eXultant one' Why, then, should our
homes be draped in black, and why should
we wear badges of mourning for weeks and
months when loved one has gone to dwell
with Christ in everlasting gioryp
Our funeral customs amount to a prac-
teal denial of our christian faith, though,
of course, we do not regard them in
that way. They are simply customs which
have secured such a firm hold upon
the christian world that it seems
about impossible to get rid of them. One of
them, however, has disappeared within the
last half century. 1t is that Of cutting the
skull and cross bones of the pirates flag in
tombStones, but the abandonment of this
one, Mr.. Snyder thinks, is not due to any
change of sentiment relative TO funeral
customs, but to change of fashion in
tombstones.
If there were any practical benefit to
derived from our funeral customs, or if
they expressed anything in harmony with
our belief, there would be some excuse for
them. But nothing can be said in their
bshalf In the words of Mr.. Snyder. they
simply symbolic the doubt, despair,
agony and gloom that shadow the grave.
They express no comfort, breathe no con-.
ISOLATION, suggest no hope, inspire no conf
dence. They represent the natural horror
with which the healthrul mind regards the
thought of physical dissolution"
They do another thing. They impose
heavy burdens upon the poor. 1t is true
that the poor need not have expensive
funerals, but the disposition to follow the
fashion of the rich, and vanity, which inn
pels one to make as good an appearance as
ones neighbor, urge them to lavish upon
funerals the money they need to maintain
their families. 1t is, perhaps, safe to say
that III almost every community there are
families who have stinted themselves in
various ways to meet expenses unneoes-
sarily incurred for funerals. 1t is idle to
expect them to reform in this matter as
long as there is no reform among those who,
on account of their wealth, intellectual &C
quirements, aud social standing, control
public sentiment