Let’s Talk About Dying (Well)

Last updated on: July 6, 2018 at 12:06 am by Scot McKnight

Let’s Talk About Dying (Well) 2018-07-04T20:07:26-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Dying is not, of course, a common topic of discussion when we awake — unless one had a horrible night of sleep and one feels the creep of death in the body and head. Dying and dying well have been intense topics of Christians for the history of the church, and it is indeed sad that we are afraid to raise the topic in pleasant company.

One doesn’t normally want to go to church to hear a sermon on dying well, either.

But Matt Levering, the wonderful professor of theology at St Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein Illinois, and a truly remarkable Catholic theologian of our day, has a new book called Dying and the Virtues. It’s an extraordinary book. Buy it to read it and read it slowly. Digest it because his writing is paced for those who want to think hard and carefully. Join me for this series on Matt’s book.

What does it mean to die? What is death and dying? He begins with Hans Urs von Balthasar, the theologian with the best name in theological history:

Balthasar, then, offers the following three paths: dying is a devastation and a contradiction, since it seemingly obliterates the meaning that we are sure is there and for which we so urgently strive; dying is basically nothing, since in Christ we have already died and have already begun to share in his resurrected life; and dying is our response to God’s dying for us in Christ, whose death is the source of our true life.

Here is Levering’s big question, and his focus is on virtues:

What would it look like for a dying person to have a “life… hid with Christ in God” and to “blossom” on Christ’s grave? My answer involves what call the “virtues of dying.”

What do the virtues have to do with dying? Here is answer:

Rather, these virtues, given by God, inscribe a Godward and utterly God-dependent mode of living in Christ, as members of his body.

Although true virtues, bestowed by the Holy Spirit, do not take away the radical physical and mental anguish of dying, such virtues do provide an interior path through mortal suffering, in union with Christ and his suffering body the church.

Even if this [centralizing of dying as the aim of ethics] is an exaggeration, as Samuel Johnson insists it is in his novel Rasselas, it remains the case that virtue ethics takes shape around the human journey that culminates in dying, and that the virtues are not worth much if they cannot nourish our dying.

Levering will probe and turn and ask questions by examining the following domains:

The book of Job, Ezekiel 20, the dying of Jesus Christ, the dying of the first martyr (Stephen), Hebrews 11, Gregory of Nyssa’s account of the dying of his sister Macrina, the tradition of ars moriendi (Robert Bellarmine, Francis de Sales, Jean-Pierre de Caussade), the consolations of philosophy (Josef Pieper), the divine mercy (Faustina Kowalska), the sacrament of anointing of the sick, liberation theology’s emphasis on solidarity with those who are suffering, biblical eschatology, and contemporary medical perspectives—in addition to the fear of annihilation expressed so frequently in elite culture today, and to the New Age spirituality that is popular in less intellectual circles. My book is therefore a work on the border of virtue ethics and other theological, exegetical, and cultural domains…

If following Jesus is the way for the Christian, if Christoformity is the core idea, then…

We need to be among those who follow Jesus in this way, because the life of the Lamb—of possessing in order to give away—is the only true and meaningful mode of living, just as it is the only true and meaningful mode of dying.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 5, 2018

Interested In Our MA in New Testament Program?

Next Post

July 6, 2018 Half Free

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Jephthah's daughter?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Unnamed Miriam Ruth Deborah