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→Atheist funeral eulogies
And one unexpected consequence of the rise of the secular memorial service is that funerals are more full of half truths and evasions. Yes, the atheistic mindset is happy that the lie of God has been eliminated. Everything is more honest now, they say. Death is death. No more dressing it up. But things turn out to be far more complicated – for in the secular funeral this so-called lie about God is commonly replaced by another sort of lie, a lie about humanity. Or, at least, a lie about how good this particular person was.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2015/aug/21/at-a-christian-funeral-all-are-equal-before-god-even-cilla-black At a Christian funeral all are equal before God – even Cilla Black], ''The Guardian'', Reverend Giles Frasier</ref>}}
And one unexpected consequence of the rise of the secular memorial service is that funerals are more full of half truths and evasions. Yes, the atheistic mindset is happy that the lie of God has been eliminated. Everything is more honest now, they say. Death is death. No more dressing it up. But things turn out to be far more complicated – for in the secular funeral this so-called lie about God is commonly replaced by another sort of lie, a lie about humanity. Or, at least, a lie about how good this particular person was.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2015/aug/21/at-a-christian-funeral-all-are-equal-before-god-even-cilla-black At a Christian funeral all are equal before God – even Cilla Black], ''The Guardian'', Reverend Giles Frasier</ref>}}
[[File:Madalyn Murray O'Hair-Wikimedia.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|The [[Atheism|atheist]] [[Madalyn Murray O'Hair]], founder of the [[American Atheists]], had a public relations controversy when one of her supporters suggested that an atheist funeral was a contradiction. The supporter said it was best to throw the body in a hole and move on.<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unreasonablefaith/2012/05/atheist-funerals/ Atheist funerals]</ref>]]
Penelope Nixon, ''The Guardian'', letter to the editor concerning a ''Guardian'' article by the Reverend Giles Fraser:
Penelope Nixon, ''The Guardian'', letter to the editor concerning a ''Guardian'' article by the Reverend Giles Fraser:
{{cquote|Life tends to be short in east London, so I have attended scores of funerals in my 68 years. Secular funerals are often dominated by those with the loudest voices and the crassest anecdotes. They confuse the function of the funeral with the function of the post-funeral wake.
{{cquote|Life tends to be short in east London, so I have attended scores of funerals in my 68 years. Secular funerals are often dominated by those with the loudest voices and the crassest anecdotes. They confuse the function of the funeral with the function of the post-funeral wake.