Posts by Terri Daniel
Rapture Anxiety
By AJ Willingham from CNN September 27, 2022 Thirteen-year-old April Ajoy had a sense something wasn’t right. It was quiet in her Dallas house. Too quiet. Her brothers were gone. Her parents were gone. On her parents’ bed, a pile of her mother’s clothes signaled something terrifying. Ajoy’s mind began churning, trying to remember, trying to…
Read MorePondering the Death Penalty
In the wake of the recent trial for Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people in the Parkland, Florida school shooting, debate about the death penalty has reached new heights. He was sentenced to life in prison, and there is a loud outcry from those who feel that he should be put do death. The ACLU…
Read MoreWhy the Death of a Celebrity Feels Like a Personal Loss
This article was originally published in 2020, after the death of Kobe Bryant. I am re-publishing it today because of the world’s response to the death of Queen Elizabeth. By Dr. Terri Daniel, CT, CCTP As America grieves the tragic death of sports hero Kobe Bryant, we are stunned not only by the…
Read MoreFree Will vs. “God’s” Will
I met with a hospice family recently that exemplified the kind of confusion and disempowerment that many people experience as a result of their childhood religious teachings. The patient wanted to do death with dignity, but because of his dementia, he did not qualify. His wife talked with me about her religious/ethical questions, specifically,…
Read MoreAre Death Doula Training Programs Substantial Enough?
A few weeks ago I was asked by an aspiring death doula for recommendations about the best training programs. The poor woman had no idea what she was in for by opening the door to one of my favorite rants. I encounter self-proclaimed death doulas on a regular basis, and when I ask about their…
Read MoreAcknowledging Grief and Trauma in The Bible
At The Conference on Death, Grief and Belief last weekend, one of the presenters — Dr. Jamie Eaddy — gave a brilliant talk about how the violence and trauma in the Old Testament (i.e, Hebrew Bible) is never identified as violent or traumatic. These events are not acknowledged as hurtful, and the pain of…
Read MoreHow Doctors Die
This article has been around since 2011, but it’s always worth revisiting, and frequently comes up in conversations and in social media posts among end-of-life professionals. If you — or someone you know — is looking at a future of endless medical interventions to address life-threatening conditions, please read and consider the excellent advice shared…
Read MoreLeaving Christianity is a Lot Harder than it Looks
by Clint Heacock, PhD If you are in the process of deconstructing your belief system, and possibly thinking of leaving your Christian faith behind, be aware of one sobering reality: it is potentially far more difficult than you might think, for a variety of reasons. Disentangling oneself from one’s religion can be incredibly difficult and…
Read MoreWhat the Bible Says About Abortion
by Dr. Terri Daniel Ooops. I did it again. I got caught up in a stupid argument on NextDoor.com. But my response was so good that I just had to share it here. Some guy posted about how “God said” something about some issue or another, quoting some scripture passage that he felt made a…
Read MoreReligious Trauma is Real
Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash by Christine Greenwald Many folks are familiar with the kind of trauma referred to as “shock trauma.” This is the classic terrible-event-occurred and now the individual is suffering symptoms because of what happened. We call it “shock” because it is a shock to the nervous system. It can result in classic post-traumatic…
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