Few things in life get your attention like the subject of infectious disease. And this is especially true of pandemics (“all people” threatened by illness). It is, of course, natural to experience fear and concern during extraordinary times like this. There is great alarm about the illness and death caused by the coronavirus both in our country and worldwide. And there is also…
Throughout my professional career as both a college professor and a Christian scholar I have been asked thousands of questions. However, whenever I’m asked about suicide it always strikes an emotional chord deep within me. A close member of my family died by suicide more than 40 years ago when I was just a teenager. My wife also lost a member of…
Today I offer an article by guest author Mark Perez. *** The recent string of mass shootings in the US and worldwide has understandably rattled people’s nerves. Many wonder what they can do to protect themselves and, more importantly, what they can do to make sense of such acts of terror. I spent 36 years in law enforcement, retiring last…
Upon losing his wife to cancer, C. S. Lewis wrote, “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.”1 Life offers no exit from suffering. In fact, the older you get…
This might sound morbid to some people, but I’ve always been fascinated by the subject of death. As a youth, I found funerals much more interesting than weddings. And growing up in the Roman Catholic tradition, I thought Catholic funerals were particularly remarkable ceremonies. I can still remember the unique smell of incense filling the church at the first funeral…
Providence in certain ways is central to the conduct of the Christian life. It means that we are able to live in the assurance that God is present and active in our lives. We are in his care and can therefore face the future confidently, knowing that things are not happening merely by chance. We can pray, knowing that God…
No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. — C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, 15. My historic Christian faith and worldview teach me that God has good reasons for allowing evil, pain, and suffering in the good world that he created. The principal apologetics argument is that God has greater goods that necessarily accompany malevolence and…
One of the most important roles of a spiritual community is to give hope for the hurting. — Dr. Ken Jung, “Giving Hope for the Hurting”1 Why would a good and all-powerful God allow evil and suffering to exist in the world? This tough question has troubled people throughout every era of history, but I believe the historic Christian worldview…
I recently underwent some rather invasive medical exams that required me to spend some time in a medical facility. Lying in a hospital bed staring at the ceiling and waiting to see the doctor forced me, once again, to philosophize about the big questions of life and death. A lot of people go to great lengths to avoid thinking about…
Christians often talk about what it means to live well but seldom do they discuss what it means to die well. So what is a “good death”? In the context of hospice, the concept of a good death involves the easing of a dying person’s suffering. But in the broader scope of life, what constitutes a good death?
Reflections 