A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
Part One: Defining Death
1 What Is Death? (Part 1)
2 What Is Death? (Part 2
3 What Happens after Death?
4 Why Did Christ Die?
5 Why Do Christians Die?
Part Two: Encountering Death
6 How Do I Face the Deaths of Others?
7 How Do I Help the Dying and Grieving?
8 How Do I Prepare for Death? (Part 1)
9 How Do I Prepare for Death? (Part 2)
Part Three: Beyond Death
10 What Does the Bible Teach about the Resurrection?
11 What Does the Bible Teach about the Final Judgment?
12 What Does the Bible Teach about Heaven and Hell?
Summary
Chapter 1: What is Death? (Part 1)
Human beings have many questions about death, and there are aspects of contemporary Western culture that make thinking and talking about death difficult for us. In any discussion of death, we need to seek answers in the Bible, God’s holy Word. Our culture is currently filled with distractions that are designed to keep people from thinking deeply about the serious issues of life and death. Unlike other cultures—and unlike the experience of many peoples throughout history—we usually experience the death of others at a distance rather than at home or up-close. Today, many people die in nursing homes and hospitals, often without many of their loved ones around them. This distance, coupled with decreased infant mortality rates and extended life-expectancies, allows us to live in denial about our death.
Regrettably, the church has also made thinking about death difficult. Too many churches have sought to entertain and pander to a consumerist mindset. Churches tend to divide internally by age and stage of life, and this means that many young people do not have exposure to the elderly who are aging and going through the process of dying. Genesis 1-3 clearly teaches that death is not part of God’s original, good, created order. God made human beings as living beings with body and soul; God is the source of life and loves life. Sin, however, brings with it the just penalty of death, and it was Adam’s sin that brought death into the world. Death is now universal in scope; every human being dies. The world is now cursed as a place of death, but the good news of Jesus Christ is that death has been conquered in resurrection glory. . . .
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