***

Absolutely! 

Short of an entity appearing in my studio flat, and performing tricks like turning water into wine, I don't think anything could convert me.

Deluded wanker. 

My grandmother had a wonderful humanist funeral where we honoured her life. No ministers, Biblical verses or religion needed.

I could only read the first two paragraphs, but it seems as if this woman felt a desperate need to express herself and her feelings and Prof. Hawking's passing was her excuse to talk about herself, with a faint acknowledgement to him.

I'd wager that if she had to spend 20 minutes with his condition, she'd be half-insane and begging to have her current situation - and that it would feel "free."

I'm not really angry quite as much as sympathetic for her. Her lot is awful, no doubt... and so bad, or ignored, that she needs to use anything to highlight her plight.

And a funeral service in a church, with Bible passages... well, they say that the funeral and sitting are for those left behind, not those who have passed. It kinda causes me discomfort to consider how many people thought, "Oh, that poor man! Now, at least, he's with Jesus."

But if it gives them comfort... great. (If they inflict it on others, THEN I got a problem.)

But talk about missing the point!