Wondering if Anyone Has Heard of This Particular Belief

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I was wondering if anyone has heard of this particular belief.

My Grandmother passed away earlier this week after slowly deteriorating due to Alzheimer’s for over five years. While most of the family is relieved that she is finally at peace and free of her body after years of slipping away I have one Aunt that is causing a great deal of drama and upsetting everyone, and she is doing it based on what she claims is the belief in her church.

She lives in Southern Carolina and after talking to my Uncle who had been with her during her last days (along with the rest of the family, with the exception of my Aunt) heard that during the last week she could not open her hands. The nurses put gauze in them so that her nails wouldn’t cut into her palms because they were balled up in little fists. From what I understand this is very typical with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients towards the end.

My Aunt however, is now going around upsetting the entire family with this statement:

“Well I was told in my church that when a person has rejected Jesus Christ as their personal savior and they are on the verge of death, they ball up their hands to turn him away. And if she was saved she would open her hands to her savior. So it’s a sign that she was going to Hell.”

I know that this is not the belief of the vast majority of Christians, my question is whether anyone has heard of any church that teaches this? My husband thinks (hopes) that it’s something she just made up (it wouldn’t really be out of character) to upset people. Has anyone heard of this?

Thanks.
 
I am not aware of a church that holds this teaching (although I have read the notion that we should strive for an attitude of open-handedness as opposed to clenched fists, but that’s metaphoric). However, since many of the non-denominational Protestant churches are completely autonomous and essentially follow the doctrine of whoever their preacher is, it’s certainly possible that she heard this from some ill-informed pastor.

I can tell you that the condition is called Corticobasal Ganglionic Degeneration and it is common in advanced Alzheimer’s as well as other neurological diseases. It would be quite wicked for someone who knew this to suggest that it was a symptom of the victim’s spiritual condition! (Hence my suggestion that whoever told her was ill-informed.)

The Church does not claim to know that anyone has been condemned and trusts every soul to the mercy of God. I pray for peace, for your Aunt and for you and your husband.
 
Sorry to hear about your Grandmother.

I have never heard about this before, it isn’t part of Catholic theology. It seems insensitive to me to judge a poor dieing woman’s soul on the position of her hands. Aunt should have the sensitivity to not say these things.

Sorry again.
 
First of all, I’m so terribly sorry about your grandmother’s passing. I will say a prayer for her.

As a catholic I have NEVER heard of this. How awful to have this statement made!

My boyfriend’s grandmother died of Alzheimer’s. She lived with him and his family for the last 10 years of her life and I hear it got pretty bad. I will ask him and his mother if their grandmother had her hands clenched as a fist.

Further, I just thought of arthritis patients. What of them???

Anyway, it may be that your aunt needs to be corrected or told to STFU. Ok, that’s harsh, but seriously. What a way to talk about a beloved family member who has passed. :mad: That would NOT have stood in our family.

I will also pray for your aunt’s conversion. :signofcross:
 
Never heard of this.

But I have heard that Jesus doesn’t like it when people judge the condition of other people’s souls. Maybe you should mention that to your Aunt.
 
Tell your aunt that I said your grandmother was closing her hands to cling as closely to Christ as possible!
 
I’m sorry for the loss of your grandmother and I’m sorry that your aunt is acting this way. I have never heard of this either. My family is Protestant so I’m checking with them to see if any of them have heard such a thing. I think it’s just a misguided teaching and/or belief. I will get back to you though.
 
RedSoxWife said:
I was wondering if anyone has heard of this particular belief.

My Grandmother passed away earlier this week after slowly deteriorating due to Alzheimer’s for over five years. While most of the family is relieved that she is finally at peace and free of her body after years of slipping away I have one Aunt that is causing a great deal of drama and upsetting everyone, and she is doing it based on what she claims is the belief in her church.

She lives in Southern Carolina and after talking to my Uncle who had been with her during her last days (along with the rest of the family, with the exception of my Aunt) heard that during the last week she could not open her hands. The nurses put gauze in them so that her nails wouldn’t cut into her palms because they were balled up in little fists. From what I understand this is very typical with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients towards the end.

My Aunt however, is now going around upsetting the entire family with this statement:

“Well I was told in my church that when a person has rejected Jesus Christ as their personal savior and they are on the verge of death, they ball up their hands to turn him away. And if she was saved she would open her hands to her savior. So it’s a sign that she was going to Hell.”

I know that this is not the belief of the vast majority of Christians, my question is whether anyone has heard of any church that teaches this? My husband thinks (hopes) that it’s something she just made up (it wouldn’t really be out of character) to upset people. Has anyone heard of this?

Thanks.
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My Mother has Alzheimer’s and, at times, her hands freeze. Part of the disease.

My husband’s hands also freeze because of arthritist.

Very superstitious of your aunt. and none of you should have even given this ridiculous statment any thought other than to tell her go see a priest. What would ever make you think this was a teaching of the church?
 
I never heard of it. I have frequently accompanied a priest bringing the sacraments to Alzheimer’ patients. I am sure he would have said something if there had been a problem.
 
RedSoxWife said:
My Aunt however, is now going around upsetting the entire family with this statement:

“Well I was told in my church that when a person has rejected Jesus Christ as their personal savior and they are on the verge of death, they ball up their hands to turn him away. And if she was saved she would open her hands to her savior. So it’s a sign that she was going to Hell.”

I know that this is not the belief of the vast majority of Christians, my question is whether anyone has heard of any church that teaches this? My husband thinks (hopes) that it’s something she just made up (it wouldn’t really be out of character) to upset people. Has anyone heard of this?

Thanks.
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What a hideous thing to say. Her hands were tightly closed around those of Christ, that’s what I would tell your aunt.
God bless you and your family,
Jon
 
I with all the others offer my prayers to you and your family. I have had 4 members of my family to go to Gods grace from Alzheimer’s. Near then end their hand clenched and at times their feet/ toes did to. they also would go into a sort of fetal position. There is noting to what your Aunt is saying. Take rest in knowing that you Grandmother Is with the Lord and no longer held captive by a body that could not let her express her love to her family or her God any longer.
 
My grandmother has had Alzheimer’s for over ten years now. I suppose it must be a different form for her to have lasted so long with it. But she retains very little control over anything, including her hands, which most of the time hold a sort of L shape.

Your aunt needs to stop presuming she can judge the condition of someone’s soul.
 
I just asked my boyfriend about his grandmother. He said her hands used to clench up all the time. (She had Alzheimer’s for a very long time.)
 
I have never heard of this being a religious teaching. I did Google a few of the terms in your description and I found numerous evil characters in literature who were described as having “clenched hands.” There was a vampire in The Vampire Diaries, a character in Moby Dick, and in one of Hawthorne’s stories, a character named Zenobia dies with clenched hands, ready to rise in the day of judgment in the same posture of defiance.

So perhaps your aunt just reads a lot and thinks that those literary devices are actually true.
 
I have NEVER heard of this teaching. That is such a cruel thing for your relative to say. My prayers are with you in this time of loss.
 
RedSoxWife said:
I was wondering if anyone has heard of this particular belief.

My Grandmother passed away earlier this week after slowly deteriorating due to Alzheimer’s for over five years. While most of the family is relieved that she is finally at peace and free of her body after years of slipping away I have one Aunt that is causing a great deal of drama and upsetting everyone, and she is doing it based on what she claims is the belief in her church.

She lives in Southern Carolina and after talking to my Uncle who had been with her during her last days (along with the rest of the family, with the exception of my Aunt) heard that during the last week she could not open her hands. The nurses put gauze in them so that her nails wouldn’t cut into her palms because they were balled up in little fists. From what I understand this is very typical with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients towards the end.

My Aunt however, is now going around upsetting the entire family with this statement:

“Well I was told in my church that when a person has rejected Jesus Christ as their personal savior and they are on the verge of death, they ball up their hands to turn him away. And if she was saved she would open her hands to her savior. So it’s a sign that she was going to Hell.”

I know that this is not the belief of the vast majority of Christians, my question is whether anyone has heard of any church that teaches this? My husband thinks (hopes) that it’s something she just made up (it wouldn’t really be out of character) to upset people. Has anyone heard of this?

Thanks.
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Red,
I’m sorry to hear of your beloved grandmothers passing.

Ball up their hands? This isn’t believed by any church. The Bible tells us we are not to judge the salvation of others. Only the Lord knows the heart of man.
If your grandmother was a christian she is at home with the Lord. That is our hope, that we have when we loose a loved one.
Is your aunt a christian? Ask her to find her teaching about ‘hands and death’ in the Bible.

God bless,
jean
 
I just thought of something else and I hope it will give you some peace. Ask your aunt this question. How could someone with Alzheimer’s** consciously and knowingly reject Jesus when they are near death and in the final stages of Alzheimer’s?** They can’t. Luckily your aunt doesn’t get to decide who goes to heaven and I would remind her that the Bible says do not judge or you yourself will be judged.
 
I have not heard of this particular thing; but similar statements or superstitious beliefs show up in small independent churches. I grew up in an area where there tended to be a lot of this sort of thing.

Having said that, it is mean and ignorant of the aunt to go around saying that. The contractures are part of the disease of Alzheimer’s. Someone needs to tell the aunt to be quiet. My condolences to you on your grandmother’s passing and I’ll keep you all in my prayers.
 
I worked in the medical field for a number of years. There are numerous diseases that cause the clenching of the hands. Some of them go on for a very long time.

Be patient with your aunt. But do inform her that her source was mistaken.

And pray for her. I think this was more a personal belief of the person she listened to than a church belief. If it was indeed a church belief, I would really pray for her…and the other members of that church.
 
aicirt said:
My Mother has Alzheimer’s and, at times, her hands freeze. Part of the disease.

My husband’s hands also freeze because of arthritist.

Very superstitious of your aunt. and none of you should have even given this ridiculous statment any thought other than to tell her go see a priest. What would ever make you think this was a teaching of the church?
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Please reread the original post. I never said that I thought that it was a teaching of The Church. I asked anyone if they had ever heard of a church (notice the lowercase c) teaching this. And since no one in my family is Catholic telling her to see a priest probably wouldn’t go over to well. That’s why it’s posted under the non-catholic section.

To reiterate: I know that it’s not true. I was trying to figure out if there is a church that really actually teaches this.

I’m sorry about your mother. It’s very hard to watch someone go through this.
 
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