"Departing In Peace" by Bill Davis. A Review
Many years back I was hired on as a part-time hospice
chaplain in Midland Texas. Sometimes emotionally exhausting, at other times extremely
enriching. It was during that 1 ½ year time I gained a deep appreciation for
end-of-life occurrences and comprehension that came in handy as my own father reached
the end of his days. And that period as a hospice chaplain has confronted me
with my own mortality and brevity of life. That’s what makes “Departing in
Peace: Biblical Decision-Making at the End of Life” such a valuable volume.
This 328-page paperback, penned by Bill Davis, professor of philosophy at
Covenant College, adjunct professor of systematic theology at Reformed
Theological Seminary, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA),
brings readers to address important questions for themselves and their loved
ones when they approach their final season. It may well bring one to tears, but
more importantly, it will give a person biblical and practical tools that will
help readers immensely. For those in my Christian denomination (the PCA), they
will appreciate that Bill Davis employs and interacts with the 1988 PCA Report
on Heroic Measures.
The first three chapters lay down the biblical perspective
on death, dying, preserving life and end-of-life treatments. Basically, the skeletal
and muscular aspects of the volume are formed in these pages, so that once a
reader grasps this material, the remainder of the book will make greater sense
and become resource material for future decisions. Chapter 4 are six real-life
scenarios, true stories, that are broken up into alternative decisions and
which part of the path is the better direction and why. The author even guides readers
through the proper and inappropriate language used in these settings. The next
three chapters get into the nitty-gritty of advance directives, money, and
hospital experiences. The final, short chapter concludes the book with a few “now
what” ideas. And there is more helpful material in the appendices and glossary.
Though the book looks “big” it is easy to read and reason through.
Throughout the manuscript Davis highlights various biblical
principles that are God-honoring, Scriptural, and thoughtful. One of the
underlying premises of the volume is that “God’s Word permits us to decline
life-sustaining medical treatment that is ineffective or that we, as servants
of Christ, judge to be excessively burdensome” (11). Most of the book comes
back around to this premise and works it out in various situations. Yet, in the
end, we are “not to hasten our own death or the death of others… but avoiding
death should not be our primary goal. We are made to glorify God and enjoy him
forever, and the end of physical life will be only one moment in that greater objective”
(41). I found this manuscript meaningful in its conclusions and
thought-provoking approach. If I have any reason to pause and wonder about any
particular subject in the book it would be the chapter on the role of finances
and making promises to pay medical expenses that one can’t possibly remunerate with
regard to medical treatments and end-of-life matters. I get what the author was
stating that not only is one’s life precious, but so is one’s integrity and the
honor of God’s name (205). Yet the chapter made me stop, think, and left me
undecided about its conclusions. I think Davis is on to something, I just haven’t
decided how much I agree. Nevertheless, it is a well-thought-out set of
observations.
“Departing in Peace” will add peace-of-mind to many who are in troubled circumstances related to death and dying. It is essential in aiding us in remembering our own deaths, and that none of us are getting out of here alive. Yet it is also a vital resource in assisting us as we face decisions about our own, or our loved one’s dying moments. I wished I had had this volume when I was a hospice chaplain but am glad to have digested it now that I am moving out to the edges of mid-life. This book should be picked up by every Christian. And it needs to be read and discussed by every elder and deacon board. I highly recommend the book.
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