Deus Misereatur

  The End of the Christian Life: How Embracing Our Mortality Frees Us to Truly Live J. Todd Billings Brazos Press ISBN: 9781587434204; September 2020; $19.99   Today, it came at me again. I was teaching a small group of people at our State Capitol and we were hunkered down examining James 4:13-17. James was correcting the brazen outlook that thinks we have control of our lives and our outcomes, while not having God anywhere in the equation (4:13). And part of James’s remedy was to point out that in light of our brevity (4:14) what we should say is, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (4:15). If the Lord – the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1 and 2:1) wills, we will live…and then engage in our activities. And that thought is what “The End of the Christian Life: How Embracing Our Mortality Frees Us to Truly Live” occupies itself with in 240 softback pages. The author, J. Todd Billings, Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology at Western Theological...

Departing In Peace 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...