This paper is to clarify the effective counseling on death & dying in Christian
counseling. According to the Genesis of the old testament, death came from
human’s transgression. A question on death & dying is a foundational question
and ultimate asking for humans’existence. Also, death is painful, threatening,
and powerful being. So human being is making resistance to avoid death by a
lot of medical treatments or methods. Human being, however, is mortal being.
In Christian counseling, a counselor ought to make confrontation with death for
a client. A Christian counselor has to check whether a client has belief on the
Kingdom of heaven beyond death or not. Also, a Christian counselor’s role is
to give desire for the hopeful future: the Kingdom of heaven to a client. Generally,
eschatology in systematic theology and/or biblical theology have dealt with discussion
on death. Eschatology contains things of future, judgement, reward, the
Kingdom of heaven, hell, ect.
Christian counseling must deal with that what the Bible says on death &
dying. Accordingly, this research handled necessity of research for death &
dying, definition and notion of death, origin of death, understanding on death through
metaphor in the Bible, and counseling methods on death & dying.
In conclusion, the researcher emphasized that a Christian counselor ought
more to dealt with confidence on salvation and the Kingdom of God through
Christ to a client than to avoid death anxiety or thanatophobia to a client. Also,
a Christian counselor does not focus on the isolation, nihility, sadness, and regret
of a client in due to death. First of all, a Christian counselor has to get a confidence
on salvation and the Kingdom of heaven in order to do counseling effectively.
The reason to study death in advance is to live meaning life in this world.
To deal with cognition on death biblically is essential of Christian counseling.