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Deplorable comments re David Bowie in Liphook Community Magazine - Giles Gray (10th Apr 2016 - 17:12:03) On page 15 of the Spring 2016 issue, Pastor Jim Downie of the Trinity Church discusses the recent sad death of David Bowie. The news had only just broken when the Pastor was writing. He quotes a line of a song called Lazarus, which is on Bowie’s last album released shortly before he died: “Look up here, I'm in Heaven”. The Pastor comments that “As a consequence, social media is awash with comments about David ‘looking down at us from Heaven’ or ‘getting fitted with angel wings’. “ He states that Bowie will ‘certainly not’ be getting wings because humans do not become angels after death. Then he goes on to give a bible quote on the matter of whether Bowie earned a place in heaven or not…… “That is known only by God, who also knows the heart” Pastor Downie was already treading on sensitive ground and should have left it there, but he did not. He went on to give his personal opinion on whether David Bowie would be accepted into Heaven. He says: “Pushed to give a view, I would have to sadly say no, because spiritual as he certainly was, there was no evidence for a relationship with Christ which (alone) makes such affirmation possible”. This is possibly the most tactless, insensitive, crass, disrespectful and thoughtless comment I have ever read in the Community Magazine and I wonder if the editorial team read the article before accepting it for publication? Mr Downie twists the knife deeper by stating: “For me, there is nothing sadder than to see people riven with grief clutching at straws at the time of death when it need not be so”. I presume he is implying that if only we believed what he believes, we would be certain of Heaven and need not be so sad”. Quite a patronising and arrogant stance. My point is not about whether or not David Bowie does or does not deserve Heaven, (I am not a believer in any god or afterlife and nor am I a specific fan of Bowie). But in this enlightened age, is it right for a Church leader to publicly comment on the eternal destination of a recently deceased person? Should a Pastor use such a sad occasion to preach about his particular interpretation of the way to get to Heaven or to promote an opinion on how we should be living our lives. As well as being a superstar, David Bowie was a fellow human being, and his life and passing deserves to be respected. Pastor Downie is merely using grief as a vehicle to promote his particular brand of religion. The fact that the Pastor is commenting on such sensitive issues whilst grief is raw, is disturbing. Many people need something to cling to after a loss, and for those with a faith, the belief in an afterlife is emotionally comforting. Even if Heaven is a manmade concept and believing in it is a delusion, it undeniably helps some people to cope in times of sorrow. The Pastor does not specifically mention where he thinks souls go if they are not accepted into Heaven, but whatever his personal beliefs, and whatever the truth is, culturally, the alternative that will spring to most people’s minds is hell. It is deeply inconsiderate at any time to raise the issue of an individual person’s eternal salvation or damnation in public, but especially so shortly after their death. This is the kind of judgemental attitude that turns thinking people away from religion and the Church. It's sadly ironic that the Pastor makes his comments immediately following a quote from his own holy book which suggest that only God can judge us. In response, a point from the Sermon on the Mount comes to mind: Matt 7: 1-3 – “Judge not, lest ye be judged”. If a local well-loved pillar of the community had died, would Pastor Downie have felt it appropriate to publically suggest they wouldn’t get to Heaven because they didn’t follow his particular set of beliefs? The sorrow of devoted music fans, most of whom didn’t even meet David personally, is still palpable 3 months later. But even more disconcerting is to consider how it would make David Bowie’s grieving family and close personal friends feel if they happened to read this article in the Community Magazine. The family may or may not be believers, but either way, it’s grossly insensitive to state publicly that David would not go to Heaven. In my opinion, the family would be completely justified in finding the remarks not just ill-judged, but highly offensive. We as a society rightly expect religious leaders, whatever their particular brand of faith, to possess common decency, empathy and humanity, which appear to be sadly lacking on this occasion. I would be deeply offended if someone made a remark like this to me after the death of one of my family or friends, even though I am not a believer. I would like to say to Pastor Downie, “Believe in private what you like about any specific individual’s eternal destination, but please don’t publish your opinion in a magazine or preach it publicly”. The Pastor’s final quote is: Ecclesiastes 3 v11 “He has put eternity into Man’s heart”. My final comment is taken from the same Bible passage…………… Ecclesiastes 3 v1 & v7: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. ….. A time to keep silence and a time to speak”.

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