jabber, I think it's the earthly side of Christians that fears death. How can one not be moved by the thought of missing what they've known for a lifetime (however short or long it was, however good or bad it was)? Crying is a good thing, I think. It releases emotions. Heck, those of us left behind often cry, too, why shouldn't the dying?

I look upon death as a shedding of a shell, a mortal part, something that was necessary to give us form to live this earthly life. To me, death is not so much a transformation, although change is involved, but more an emancipation. What gives our earthly form 'life' lives on. Death takes the body, but not 'us.'