Why Great Occultists are Cremated
or
Everything I need to Know I Learned from Highland Lawn
April 7, 2014
G.D.O'Bradovich III
1
As previously mentioned, we enjoy wandering Highland Lawn. Truth be told, we wander the cemetery after we visit Demas Deming, Chauncey Rose, and Max Ehrmann. As a historian, our visits are therapeutic; mingling with the men who have influenced world history, mostly in obscure and indirect ways.
We are always surprised that we find anything new and of interest in the cemetery. On this excursion, we found not one, but three former "Baby Lands". "Baby Land" is the technical jargon used by the office staff at Highland Lawn Cemetery. Baby Land® specifically refers to the section on the east side of the cemetery currently used and dedicated to infants that have gone to the West.
We don't always visit Baby Land, since it is on the far side of the cemetery entrance and we must be in the right frame of mind; in the wrong state of mind, we find myself overwhelmed with the sight of children's toys left as tokens. Even after several decades, presents are being presented and placed on the headstones. In one of the Baby Lands we found, there was a marker from 1948 with recent gifts. It was a moving experience, moving in the sense that we needed to move quickly to familiar surroundings, to terrain that is firmer and higher.
The cemetery is expanding to the north and these newer graves, when compared to the cemetery as a whole, are less elaborate[ in a word, cheap.
We are always surprised that we find anything new and of interest in the cemetery. On this excursion, we found not one, but three former "Baby Lands". "Baby Land" is the technical jargon used by the office staff at Highland Lawn Cemetery. Baby Land® specifically refers to the section on the east side of the cemetery currently used and dedicated to infants that have gone to the West.
We don't always visit Baby Land, since it is on the far side of the cemetery entrance and we must be in the right frame of mind; in the wrong state of mind, we find myself overwhelmed with the sight of children's toys left as tokens. Even after several decades, presents are being presented and placed on the headstones. In one of the Baby Lands we found, there was a marker from 1948 with recent gifts. It was a moving experience, moving in the sense that we needed to move quickly to familiar surroundings, to terrain that is firmer and higher.
The cemetery is expanding to the north and these newer graves, when compared to the cemetery as a whole, are less elaborate[ in a word, cheap.
The disheartening feeling that overcame us at this moment can not be adequately described. The sense of futility, of striving against chance to leave a mark for posterity that says "I was here". We can be certain that this person's relations attempted to place a marker. We infer that no one has visited in some time, because the old sign has not been replaced and a replacement is economically feasible. We are now in a position to explain why Great Occultists are cremated.
Christians who are planning to be cremated are an endless source of amusement. We ask them if they deny the Resurrection of the Dead and other specific questions concerning various tenets of Christianity. When we are told that it is OK for Christians to be cremated either because their priest, pastor, or minister say it is acceptable, we respond with "Since when? For over 2,000 years Christianity has equated cremation with denial of a bodily resurrection, but now in this Modern Age, cremations are acceptable?"
The acceptance of the fact of cremation leads to no future Resurrection can perhaps explain why hundreds of thousand of bodies were disinterred by the Germans during World War II and cremated. The inherent Christian logic of cremating long dead bodies can be explained by the fact that cremated corpses do not resurrect and by extension, there will be fewer witnesses to wrong doing, mostly Jews, on the Day of Judgement.
We have been designing mausoleums for longer than I care to remember- all large and imposing, some three stories, all with interior marble, one with 72 columns arranged over an acre surrounding a simple marker. As is well documented, the Great Work is not only time consuming, but expensive and this fact explains why Great Occultists always die in poverty. Since the Great Work does not include a provision for monument construction, Great Occultists do not erect obelisks in their memory.
Since Great Occultists tend to be prolific writers, we can be confident that their memory will endure. For some fortunate occultists whose legacy will overcome chance, perhaps their work will endure to the end of humanity.
Christians who are planning to be cremated are an endless source of amusement. We ask them if they deny the Resurrection of the Dead and other specific questions concerning various tenets of Christianity. When we are told that it is OK for Christians to be cremated either because their priest, pastor, or minister say it is acceptable, we respond with "Since when? For over 2,000 years Christianity has equated cremation with denial of a bodily resurrection, but now in this Modern Age, cremations are acceptable?"
The acceptance of the fact of cremation leads to no future Resurrection can perhaps explain why hundreds of thousand of bodies were disinterred by the Germans during World War II and cremated. The inherent Christian logic of cremating long dead bodies can be explained by the fact that cremated corpses do not resurrect and by extension, there will be fewer witnesses to wrong doing, mostly Jews, on the Day of Judgement.
We have been designing mausoleums for longer than I care to remember- all large and imposing, some three stories, all with interior marble, one with 72 columns arranged over an acre surrounding a simple marker. As is well documented, the Great Work is not only time consuming, but expensive and this fact explains why Great Occultists always die in poverty. Since the Great Work does not include a provision for monument construction, Great Occultists do not erect obelisks in their memory.
Since Great Occultists tend to be prolific writers, we can be confident that their memory will endure. For some fortunate occultists whose legacy will overcome chance, perhaps their work will endure to the end of humanity.
Baby Land from the road.
Baby Land from a distance.
Chauncey Rose monument.
Ehrmann Family monument.
Crosses and angels are commonly seen in cemeteries. Sometimes a cross and an angel are together in one memorial. The angel has her back to the cross and, judging by the robe, is moving away from the cross. Is this a subtle indication of a denial of the power of the cross and, by extension, a denial of Jesus' Resurrection and a future resurrection?
Crosses and angels are commonly seen in cemeteries. Sometimes a cross and an angel are together in one memorial. The angel has her back to the cross and, judging by the robe, is moving away from the cross. Is this a subtle indication of a denial of the power of the cross and, by extension, a denial of Jesus' Resurrection and a future resurrection?