Physical Death

AI-powered “griefbots”-chatbots that mimic deceased loved ones-are rapidly gaining popularity as artificial intelligence advances. These chatbots are created by training AI on a person’s digital data, such as emails, texts, and social media posts, allowing them to generate responses that closely resemble the speech and personality of the departed. Services like Rememory, HereAfter AI, and Digital Souls now offer families the chance to interact with digital versions of lost relatives, sometimes even using their actual voices and memories.

The rise of griefbots is partly attributed to the decline of traditional community and spiritual support in the industrialized West, leaving many people with fewer resources for processing grief. Instead of new spiritual solutions, modern technology offers tools that can help people avoid confronting death directly, from medical advances to digital memorials. Griefbots, in this context, promise a way to maintain connections with the dead, but can also blur the line between reality and illusion.

While some find comfort and a sense of ongoing relationship through these digital avatars, others warn of psychological risks. Experts caution that griefbots may hinder healthy grieving, complicate emotional closure, or even cause confusion, especially if the AI generates unexpected or unsettling responses. Ethical concerns also arise regarding privacy, consent, and the potential misuse of a deceased person’s data.

Ultimately, while griefbots offer innovative ways to remember and interact with loved ones, critics argue that technology cannot fully address spiritual or existential needs. These digital tools may provide temporary solace, but they risk masking the reality of loss rather than helping people truly process it.

"My husband Jerry was a ginormous presence. Such a happy guy," said his wife, Lori Belum. "He did everything for us. And he just loved Christmas."

The Belums were married in 2010 and had two sons, Benjamin and Sammy. Both boys love playing flag football and their dad loved supporting them even more. But the day after Thanksgiving, right after Benjamin scored the game-winning touchdown, an unbelievable tragedy occurred on the sidelines. Lori said, “Jerry just collapsed ... and that was it. A ruptured aortic dissection is what they called it and it's pretty much instant death."

In many ways, the Belums don't know how to move on. But they did know one way of honoring their beloved husband and father. The Belums took a trip to New York City to see Rockefeller Plaza, something they had planned to do with Jerry just a week prior to his death. And while they were away, neighbors got to work planning something special.

Neighbor Tracy Clancy said, “I think I labeled it 'Project Illumination' in the group chat.” The Belum's exterior Christmas decorations had already been unpacked. Jerry was planning to decorate the day he died. Then the neighbors huddled up to make sure his intentions came to light.

One neighbor said, “We wanted to do what Jerry had previously done to the house. But a little different because you know it can't be the exact same.” So, using a photograph of Jerry's decorations last year, the neighbors completed the house to near-perfection.

And upon returning home from New York, the Belums were shocked. "Who did it?" "Did Santa's helpers come by?" "They might have!" Those voices echoed from the backseat of the car in a video taken upon arrival. And the Belums now have a little more light to guide their way through life without Jerry.

Lori said, “We'll be together on Christmas and talk about him and get through it. It'll be hard, but we'll do it and we'll laugh and we'll cry and you know, we'll be okay. Right?”

Three members of a local family set off on a long-term camping adventure, intent on living off the grid. Their endeavor took a fatal turn when their three decomposed bodies were discovered recently at a remote campsite.

Gunnison County Coroner Michael Barnes identified the deceased as Rebecca Vance, 42; her 14-year-old son whose name is undisclosed for privacy reasons, and Christine Vance, 41, all from Colorado Springs. Trevala Jara, a Vance stepsister, revealed they didn't disclose their destination before embarking on the journey. The family likely began camping in July 2022, and eventually succumbed to the elements during the harsh winter months.

Friends and family say that Rebecca Vance was motivated by an intense dissatisfaction with the direction of ongoing world and local events—including fallout from the pandemic—and sought an isolated life to shield her family from external influences. The Vances remained committed to their off-grid choice, despite attempts to dissuade them. “We tried to stop them,” said Jara. “But they wouldn’t listen.”

The Vances attempted to subsist on canned food and prepackaged items. After the bodies were discovered, exact causes of death were uncertain, but malnutrition and exposure in the high-altitude winter remain undeniable factors. Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie highlighted the unusual nature of the incident. “This is not a typical occurrence anywhere, by any means,” said Murdie.

Living off the grid, a pursuit of self-sufficiency without public utilities, has gained attention, though experts suggest that for people it's not economically practical. This tragedy underscores the challenges of disconnecting from society, emphasizing the need for balance between safety, security, and self-sufficiency.

Possible Preaching Angle:

As followers of Christ, we are called to be a united family, supporting, and uplifting one another. Let us not retreat into isolation, but rather open our hearts to the blessings of fellowship and community.

Kim Kuo tells of the 10-year-long battle her late husband, David, had with terminal cancer. David was the former deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Much of his time was spent in pain from the vicious side effects of surgeries, radiation, and medications. But, instead of considering the alternative of euthanasia or becoming passive, he chose to focus his remaining time to spiritually touch the lives of people.

Especially in suffering, we can dive below the shallow waters and touch another’s heart and soul. Steve Jobs, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2011, shared this wisdom at a commencement speech at Stanford University: ‘No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent.’

Many funerals today are not about mourning death but a “celebration of life.” As our culture discards all-black attire and other formalities of a traditional funeral, families create more personalized—and often more up-beat—experiences to honor the deceased.

The BBC has reported on the trend of “happy funerals,” noting that Monty Python’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” had become the UK’s most popular song played at memorial services—replacing Verdi’s Requiem.

After celebratory memorial services, we are encouraged to “move on,” comforted by memories and knowing that the person we’ve lost is no longer in pain. But this positive focus can afflict and baffle people deep in grief.

As Daily Mail columnist Bel Mooney wrote, “Even though modern, cheerful funerals can be hugely touching and beautiful, a part of me wonders whether they show how petrified people are of death, and of the long agony of bereavement.”

Jesus, the One who sustains every life, was not immune to the ravages of death. In John 11, Jesus learns that his friend Lazarus has died. He goes to his grieving friends and does what anyone would do: he cries.

Jesus knew that while death is not the final word for the deceased believer, it brings a full range of heartache to those left behind. Jesus’ response shows us that the gospel promise does not exempt us from sadness over death. Death is real, it is sad, and Jesus himself felt it.

We can grieve over this, while also recognizing the hope of a resurrected body for all of us who cling to the Jesus who perfectly did both. This same Jesus who wept over the reality of death sent blood rushing back through the cold veins of his dead friend—and promises to give us new life too. Death is imminent, but Sunday is coming.

Reporter Melissa Daniels was walking across the street to cover a council meeting at City Hall when she was struck by a white SUV. The impact knocked her 20 feet in the air and landed her in the hospital with various life-threatening injuries. Daniels remembers, “My head cracked on the pavement super, super hard. I still remember the sound of my skull hitting that pavement. It haunts me in my sleep.”

The numbers bear out an inconvenient truth: Daniels was not alone in danger. According to transportation consultants, pedestrian deaths increased by 50% between 2009 and 2019. One of the reasons why is that SUVs have become the vehicle of choice for a large percentage of US drivers. Not only are more Americans driving SUVs, but the vehicles themselves have gotten larger and larger.

The problems with heavier and larger vehicles are compounded by lowered passenger visibility, which is typically obscured by larger heights and grill sizes. Graphic designer Andy Arthur recently compared the dimensions of a 1942 M4 Sherman tank with a 2021 Ford Ranger Wildtrack, and found that in length, the two are nearly identical (17.7 feet vs. 19 feet).

Because Daniels herself drives an SUV, she hopes that other SUV drivers will take more responsibility for the additional dangers their vehicles pose on the roadway. She says, “I just try to be grateful that it wasn’t worse, because I see the statistics about how many people die because of traffic crashes. And they seem to me to be very needless deaths.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Large vehicles can give us a false sense of security and cause us to pay less attention to those around us. God wants us to be concerned not just with our own safety, but that of those around us, especially those who are less privileged.

Throughout the coasts of the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and even in south Florida, there can be found a pleasant-looking beachy sort of tree, often laden with small greenish-yellow fruits that look like apples.

You might be tempted to eat the fruit. Do not eat the fruit. You might want to rest your hand on the trunk, or touch a branch. Do not touch the tree trunk or any branches. Do not stand under or even near the tree for any length of time whatsoever. Do not touch your eyes while near the tree. Do not pick up any of the ominously shiny, tropic-green leaves.

The aboriginal peoples of the Caribbean were familiar with the tree and the sap was used to tip arrows. It is believed that the Calusa people of Florida used it in that manner to kill Juan Ponce de Leon on his second trip to Florida in 1521.

This is the manchineel, known in Spanish-speaking countries as “la manzanilla de la muerte,” which translates to “the little apple of death,” or as “arbol de la muerte,” “tree of death.” The fruit, though described as sweet and tasty, is extraordinarily toxic.

Nicola Strickland, who unwisely chomped down on a manchineel fruit on the Caribbean Island of Tobago, describes what it was like:

I rashly took a bite from this fruit and found it pleasantly sweet. My friend also partook (at my suggestion). Moments later we noticed a strange peppery feeling in our mouths, which gradually progressed to a burning, tearing sensation and tightness of the throat. The symptoms worsened over a couple of hours until we could barely swallow solid food because of the excruciating pain.

Over the next eight hours our oral symptoms slowly began to subside. Recounting our experience to the locals elicited frank horror and incredulity, such was the fruit’s poisonous reputation.

Possible Preaching Angle:

God also warned Adam and Eve about the far deadlier physical and spiritual consequences which would come from eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Sadly, just as in this story, Eve not only ate but shared the fruit with Adam.

Viktor Frankl was an Austrian Holocaust survivor, neurologist, psychiatrist, and author. His writings on man’s search for meaning in the face of horrors like the Holocaust made him a highly regarded source for thoughts on the subject. When life’s trials and sufferings are overwhelming, how and where can meaning be found? He lived when global consumerism was at its beginnings. In this analogy, he asserts that consumerism’s offerings of pleasure, as well as other types of pleasure, do not and cannot contribute to any useful meaning or understanding of life:

Let us imagine a man who has been sentenced to death and, a few hours before his execution, has been told he is free to decide on the menu for his last meal. The guard comes into his cell and asks him what he wants to eat, offers him all kinds of delicacies; but the man rejects all his suggestions. He thinks to himself that it is quite irrelevant whether he stuffs good food into the stomach of his organism or not, as in a few hours it will be a corpse. And even the feelings of pleasure that could still be felt in the organism’s cerebral ganglia seem pointless in view of the fact that in two hours they will be destroyed forever.

But the whole of life stands in the face of death, and if this man had been right, then our whole lives would also be meaningless, were we only to strive for pleasure and nothing else—preferably the most pleasure and the highest degree of pleasure possible. Pleasure in itself cannot give our existence meaning; thus, the lack of pleasure cannot take away meaning from life, which now seems obvious to us.

The essential point is that when suffering is crushing and life holds no luster, our lack of enjoyment of life’s pleasures should not doom us to meaninglessness and despair.

A South Korean virtual reality (VR) company has undertaken the challenging task of reuniting a mother with her deceased daughter in VR. Jang Ji-sung wanted to see her 7-year-old daughter again, who she lost to blood cancer in 2016. It took the company almost a year to create the simulation. The documentary on the project, titled Meeting You, aired in South Korea on February 2020. A segment of the documentary has more than 20 million views on YouTube.

Nineteenth century inventions like the photograph and motion picture were heralded at the time as preserving life after death and declared as “man’s triumph over death.” VR resurrection allows the mother to “touch her hand, and they float into the sky to a twilight-toned afterlife.” The daughter falls asleep “after telling her mother that she’s no longer in pain. ‘I love you, Mom,’ she says.” The mother’s emotions are real. She later described the experience as a “wonderful dream.” The daughter’s character and personality were developed through extensive family interviews.

Psychologists and ethicists caution, “We just don't know the psychological effects of being reunited with someone in this way. ... Is it a one-time opportunity to enable closure or do you then prolong that relationship? ... The story strikes me as very much high-tech spiritualism with all the potential for fraud and deception that used to be associated with fraudulent mediums.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus is the only true comfort for grief and the only true hope of reunion with loved ones (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

In an interview on the Fresh Air podcast regarding his film The Irishman, Martin Scorsese commented about growing up in New York City's Little Italy. As a kid he spent a great deal of time surrounded by images of saints and martyrs at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. He said, “Those images certainly stayed with me. As did the sermons, which often focused on ‘death approaching like a thief in the night.’ You never know when. You never know how.”

Scorsese says the film is also an expression of his "religious beliefs or concerns or obsessions”—particularly in the way it explores morality and what happens to gangsters at the end of their lives. He says, “I realize gangsters are bad. Can a person change? And can a person be redeemed? ... What are we capable of?"

Asked what he believes about death now, Scorsese responds:

I do believe in something beyond the material. I do believe in this machine we're in, this body, wouldn't be the same without the spiritual part of it, whatever that is. And people would say, “Well, that's the brain and synapses.” Yes, but the brain is just a piece of meat, in a sense. There's something that happens that's transcendent. I think it approaches sometimes when we create something and we feel something from what we create that gets us close, I think, to a sense of transcending the material. And if we go there and stay in that space of transcendence, maybe that's where we wind up. Of course, we don't know, because it's probably the same place we were before we were born.

Bob Mankoff is the cartoon editor for The New Yorker magazine. His jobs is a laugh-a-minute. The New Yorker has published more than 80,000 cartoons since its first issue. In an interview on 60 Minutes, Mankoff said that the Grim Reaper has appeared in the magazine's funny pages more than any other character. For example, in one cartoon the Reaper's latest acquisition is saying: "Thank goodness you are here—I can't accomplish anything unless I have a deadline."

Mankoff told 60 Minutes, "Honestly, if it wasn't for death, I don't think there would be any humor … Grim Reaper's going to get the last laugh. Until then, it's our turn."

Possible Preaching Angles: One day, the Grim Reaper will be fired and abolished. He won't get the last laugh, at least not for the follower of the Risen Christ.

In 2015 The New York Timesreported that television commentator Larry King "is obsessed with death." His day begins with reading obituaries, and he ponders "who will give the eulogy at his funeral." He smiles as he thinks it might be Bill Clinton, and then his face becomes blank. "But I won't be there to see it."

He has had "a heart attack, quintuple bypass, prostate cancer, diabetes, and seven divorces." He was 77 years old when the television news station CNN dropped him, and when this happened he really became aware that there will come a day when he dies. When he learned from television of the death of Osama bin Laden, this drove him to jump up on his feet. "I needed to be on the air. I needed a red light to go on." He realized he "had nowhere to go."

To move against aging and death, he takes hormone pills for human growth, four of them each day. He plans on his body to be frozen so that someday he will live again. The New York Times writer reports: "It's nuts, concedes King—but at least it gives him a shred of hope." Larry King says, "Other people have no hope."

Editor’s Note: Sadly, Larry King’s hope ended in January of 2021 when he passed into eternity at the age of 87.

A life list or a bucket list—the basic idea has been around ever since the fifth century B.C., when Herodotus' History sent Greeks eagerly across the Mediterranean to see Luxor and the pyramids. Phoebe Snetsinger had her "life list." That's what bird watchers call the summation of their years of devotion. Phoebe had long been an enthusiastic birder, but when a doctor gave her a diagnosis of terminal cancer near her 50th birthday, she began traveling to ever more distant and daunting environments to see rare bird species. Meanwhile, her disease went into remission. By the time she died, in 1999, at age 68, she had spotted a then-record 8,400 species, nearly 85 percent of the world's known winged creatures. Her achievement is an admittedly extreme example of what the life list has become in the broader culture: things to experience while you still have time.

Others prefer to use "bucket list," a term from the 2007 film in which Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play stricken men who set out to do all the things they've wanted to do before kicking the bucket. The screenwriter, Justin Zackham, says that phrase just happened to be what he called an epic to-do list pinned to his bulletin board. So he used it in the film.

Life list or bucket list? What's on yours? What should be on your list? Or as a Christian bound for a place of infinite glory and joy, do we even need a bucket list?

The satirical site The Onion ran a humorous (note: fictional) article with a biting truth. The article was titled "World Death Rate Holding Steady at 100 Percent." The article reported:

World Health Organization officials expressed disappointment Monday at the group's finding that, despite the enormous efforts of doctors, rescue workers and other medical professionals worldwide, the global death rate remains constant at 100 percent.

Death, a metabolic affliction causing total shutdown of all life functions, has long been considered humanity's number one health concern. Responsible for 100 percent of all recorded fatalities worldwide, the condition has no cure.

"I was really hoping, what with all those new radiology treatments, rescue helicopters, aerobics TV shows and what have you, that we might at least make a dent in it this year," WHO Director General Dr. Gernst Bladt said. "Unfortunately, it would appear that the death rate remains constant and total, as it has inviolably since the dawn of time."

"Jerry Lee Lewis makes no apologies for his life," said Simon Hattenstone in The Guardian newspaper. He was described as "the rock 'n roll legend and all around bad boy." His career lasting six decades was wild: "pill popping, heavy drinking, nearly constant controversies." This man called the Killer regretted nothing. He shot a man (his bass player) in the chest. In total he had seven wives.

A native of Louisiana with "God-fearing Southern roots" makes him wonder what will happen to him on Judgment Day. He has this to say: "I was always worried whether I was going to heaven or hell. I still am. I worry about it before I go to bed; it's a very serious situation. I mean you worry, when you breathe your last breath, where are you going to go?"

Editor’s Note: Mr. Lewis had this question answered on October 28, 2022 when he passed into eternity.

In It's a Long Story: My Life by Willie Nelson, Willie recounts his time as a "popular" Sunday School teacher at Metropolitan Baptist Church—a popularity he attributed to his "openness in exploring spiritual issues"—an openness that led to his eventual dismissal. Willie's dismissal from the church was an "opportunity to delve deeper in the mystery of the Holy Spirit. More than ever, I sought to learn about the Lord."

One book that had a huge impact upon Willie was The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, which taught that Jesus discovered and embraced the notion of reincarnation. Willie wrote:

From the first moment I considered the concept of reincarnation it made sense. The old paradigm was just too cruel, just too unchristian, to be believed: If you die in your sin, you spend eternity in hell. How could the compassionate God of mercy ever set up such a system? On the other hand, I was drawn to the idea that you keep coming back till you get it right. Reincarnation seemed merciful and completely Christ-like. Jesus got it right the first time around and was, after all, God incarnate, perfect man. But the rest of us would need several lifetimes to shed our sins and learn the lessons necessary to heal our troubled souls.

Friends close to country music artist Willie Nelson say he was deeply affected by the loss of fellow artist Ray price, who died at 87 in December 2013. "'He was my best friend,' says Nelson. He was kind of everything in my career. All the way back when I first started writing songs for him, playing bass for him, he just took me in and raised me."

When Nelson was asked how he managed the reality of death, he said:

Oh, we're all going to die. Who was it, Seneca, the thinker, that said you should look at death and comedy with the same expression of countenance? You can't be afraid of living or dying. You live and you die, that's just what happens, so you can't be afraid of it.

Steve Hayner, the 66-year-old beloved president of Columbia Theological Seminary, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After tests had revealed that the chemotherapy wasn't working, Hayner wrote, "The cancer continues to have the upper hand. What now seems clear from a purely physical perspective is that in all probability the remainder of my life on this earth is now to be counted in weeks and months." In a blog post Hayner addressed the many people who have been praying for a miracle of healing.

Many are praying for one of God's "big" miracles. We are as well. But it is not how God answers prayer that determines our response to God. God is committed to my ultimate healing. But being cured of my cancer may or may not be a part of that healing work … One person told me how disturbing it is to her to watch so many thousands of prayers on my behalf and yet to see a minimal of physical evidence of healing. Does God really heal? … Does the amount of prayer have any special impact? Honestly, while I understand the importance and logic of questions like this … most of these questions are not ones that are important to me.

I truly don't know what God has planned … I could receive "healing" through whatever means, or I could continue to deteriorate. But life is about a lot more than physical health. It is measured by a lot more than medical tests and vital signs. More important than the more particular aspects of God's work with us … is God's overall presence with us, nourishing, equipping, transforming, empowering, and sustaining us for whatever might be God's call to my life today. TODAY, my call might be to learn something new about rest. TODAY, my call might be to encourage another person in some very tangible way. TODAY, my call might be to learn something new about patience, endurance, and the identification with those who suffer. TODAY, my call might be to mull through a new insight about God's truth or character.

He closed by quoting the poet E. E. Cummings: "I thank you God for most this amazing day …"

Editor’s Note: Steve passed into the Lord’s presence in 2015