Saint Paul's approach to grief: Clarifying the ambiguity

There is a certain ambiguity in the Christian approach to grief that dates back to St. Paul. Paul stood at the crossroads of two traditional approaches to grief: the lamentation stradition, encouraging the full, free expression of grief emotions, and the consolation tradition, which encouraged restraint, moderation, and patience. Paul's pastoral approach to grief reflects elements of both traditions, synthesized to fit his own unique theological context. The modern pastor, informed by current thinking in psychology, faces a similar challenge. To facilitate one's own synthesis, the pastor must begin by clarifying his/her psychological assumptions about the nature of health and his/her theological assumptions about the nature of loss.