Tim Keller has doen it again with a brilliant little essay on death, titled, On Death.Catchy huh?
This little, admittedly over-priced, book is barely 100 short pages. It is apparently based on a funeral sermon for his sister-in-law. It is an excellent book that succinctly covers the key issues. he begins with a nice discussion of our fear of death and how our modern culture separates us from death in ways foreign to our ancestors. In the old days, the death rate was higher, and much more personal. People died at home rather than hospice, and most of the populace had seen death near-at-hand.
What he doesn't mention was that in a rural farm-based community, people had to participate in killing food to eat. Brenda recalls slaughtering a poor chicken for Sunday dinner. People routinely killed chickens, sheep, cows, and other living things.
Today, a person can actually write a letter to a newspaper decrying people who hunt saying, "I buy my meat from the grocery store where no animals have to be harmed." Yep, this is a real quote.
Coincidentally I just saw a reprint of a Bart Ehrman essay in Time magazine claiming that the Bible really does NOT mention people going to heaven or hell. If you know Professor Ehrman, you know he is NOT a Christian, and his view of Scripture seems more than a bit suspect. The essay is, in reality, a plug for his book about heaven and hell. Please understand I do NOT recommend this book or anything Mr. Ehrman says or sells.
But Keller is a different story. COVID-19 is killing folks at a noteworthy rate. Many folks will be facing death for themselves, loved ones or friends.
I highly recommend On Death. It is a short, but very worthwhile, read.
Enjoy.
This little, admittedly over-priced, book is barely 100 short pages. It is apparently based on a funeral sermon for his sister-in-law. It is an excellent book that succinctly covers the key issues. he begins with a nice discussion of our fear of death and how our modern culture separates us from death in ways foreign to our ancestors. In the old days, the death rate was higher, and much more personal. People died at home rather than hospice, and most of the populace had seen death near-at-hand.
What he doesn't mention was that in a rural farm-based community, people had to participate in killing food to eat. Brenda recalls slaughtering a poor chicken for Sunday dinner. People routinely killed chickens, sheep, cows, and other living things.
Today, a person can actually write a letter to a newspaper decrying people who hunt saying, "I buy my meat from the grocery store where no animals have to be harmed." Yep, this is a real quote.
Coincidentally I just saw a reprint of a Bart Ehrman essay in Time magazine claiming that the Bible really does NOT mention people going to heaven or hell. If you know Professor Ehrman, you know he is NOT a Christian, and his view of Scripture seems more than a bit suspect. The essay is, in reality, a plug for his book about heaven and hell. Please understand I do NOT recommend this book or anything Mr. Ehrman says or sells.
But Keller is a different story. COVID-19 is killing folks at a noteworthy rate. Many folks will be facing death for themselves, loved ones or friends.
I highly recommend On Death. It is a short, but very worthwhile, read.
Enjoy.
Available on Amazon?
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