Celebrating Life to the End

some notes.

A few weeks back I presented on the topic “Celebrating Life to the End” in Houston, TX.

I put together a bunch of notes for the conference, and you can find those here: www.wolfmueller.co/lifetotheend.

Here’s a taste, just to get to you click the link.

"They threaten us with death. If they were as wise as they are foolish, they would threaten us with life. ... It is a ridiculous, laughable threat to frighten Christ and His Christians with death when they are lords and victors over death." (Martin Luther, from a letter in 1522, quoted in "The Joy of Eternal Life", Philip Nicolai (St Louis: CPH, 2021), 101)

"During the centuries of Christian domination of European thought, the ethical attitudes [toward killing] based on these doctrines [i.e. human exceptionalism and immortality] became part of the unquestioned moral orthodoxy of European civilization. Today the doctrines are no longer generally accepted, but the ethical attitudes to which they gave rise fit in with the deep-seated Western belief in the uniqueness and special privileges of our species, and have survived." (Writings on an Ethical Life, Peter Singer (New York: Ecco, 2000), 129-130. Quoted in The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Carl Truman (Wheaton: Crossway, 2020), 316 n. 13.)

It is also important to note that Christianity stands almost alone in its condemnation of suicide. Even the ancient Stoics, who were common allies against the Epicureans, allowed the taking of one's own life. The foundation of the Christian prohibition against suicide is twofold. First, it is a kind of murder the murder of oneself. Second, it is an act of despair, which is a mortal sin contrary to the theological virtue of hope. Over and above these things, the centrality of Christ's passion made the bearing of severe suffering the very model of redemption. Christians were commanded to take up their cross and, as Christ did, bear their suffering to the bitter end, for bearing such suffering in imitation of Christ was taken to be the path to holiness and eternal life. (Moral Darwinism, Benjamin Wiker, page 90)

You can watch the presentation here:

RESOURCES:

• Article: True “Euthanasia”: What is the Good Death?

• Free Booklet: Five Things to Do at the Deathbed of a Loved One

• Free Booklet: A Catechism on Death, Life, and the Resurrection

• Book (CPH): Final Victory, Contemplating the Death and Funeral of a Christian

• Free Book (PDF and Audio): And Take They Our Life, Martin Luther’s Theology of Martyrdom

• PDF Download: Funeral Planning Worksheet

• Blog: The Sweet Names of Death

FOR FURTHER STUDY:

• Video: Seven Myths about Death and Dying

• Article: On the Strange Christian View of Death

• Blog: T. S. Eliot on the Deathwork of Science and the Lifework of the Church (or better: The Faith)

• Audio: Living Away from DeathLiving Away from Death

• Video: The Good Work of Grief

• Issues, Etc.: The Sweet Names of Death

• Article: Myths about Death: Why Easter Matters

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For more theology, upcoming events, and links to video, audio, etc. visit www.wolfmueller.co.