Describing the Alabama soldiers who died as having fallen asleep is a Biblical allusion. There are at least two instances where Jesus is said to have raised the dead; for example, when he heard that his friend Lazarus had died, he told his followers something along the lines of, "He is not dead, but sleeping, but I go that I may awaken h…
Describing the Alabama soldiers who died as having fallen asleep is a Biblical allusion. There are at least two instances where Jesus is said to have raised the dead; for example, when he heard that his friend Lazarus had died, he told his followers something along the lines of, "He is not dead, but sleeping, but I go that I may awaken him." This sleep metaphor is carried forward in the New Testament Epistles, where believers who have died are said to have "fallen asleep in Christ" (a phrase meant to affirm the continuation of their spirit or conscious existence in heaven as well as the hope of their--eventual--resurrection).
Also, Ted's partly incorrect that "Nobody is “called home” anymore, in E.T. fashion—at least not in a newspaper writeup." Even in 2023, obituaries in the South from rural and/or African-American families will still use this phrase. True, those obits are written by the family and not by journalists, but in 2023 there aren't that many journalists writing copy for papers anymore. "Contributed" material from non-journalistic sources makes up more and more newspaper content.
Describing the Alabama soldiers who died as having fallen asleep is a Biblical allusion. There are at least two instances where Jesus is said to have raised the dead; for example, when he heard that his friend Lazarus had died, he told his followers something along the lines of, "He is not dead, but sleeping, but I go that I may awaken him." This sleep metaphor is carried forward in the New Testament Epistles, where believers who have died are said to have "fallen asleep in Christ" (a phrase meant to affirm the continuation of their spirit or conscious existence in heaven as well as the hope of their--eventual--resurrection).
A third is Jesus's resurrection of Jairus' daughter in Luke 8, where He says, "Do not weep, for she is not dead, but sleeping."
Someone, I think it was James hillman, said that Lazarus was never debriefed.
Also, Ted's partly incorrect that "Nobody is “called home” anymore, in E.T. fashion—at least not in a newspaper writeup." Even in 2023, obituaries in the South from rural and/or African-American families will still use this phrase. True, those obits are written by the family and not by journalists, but in 2023 there aren't that many journalists writing copy for papers anymore. "Contributed" material from non-journalistic sources makes up more and more newspaper content.