Monthly Archives: April 2021

IS DYING AN ART?

Dugdale brings both her medical background as a doctor and her training in ethics to bear in this wonderful book.

The title may seem a bit odd. How is dying an art? That is a big question and one the book addresses in helpful and poignant detail. Suffice it to say, you will become convinced that there are practices that go way back in history to help us wisely navigate the ravages of death…for our loved ones and ourselves!

One of the biggest helps I found in this book was the counsel about the misuse and overuse of hospitals. Dugdale knows this terrain very well and I found myself realigning some of my thinking accordingly.

Dugdale writes as a Christian. Her comments about the resurrection are insightful and much appreciated. My only disappointment is that the author never addressed the truths found in Heb. 2:14,15: “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

A beautiful and practical book…two words that I don’t juxtapose very often!

THE NEW TESTAMENT IN ITS WORLD

The New Testament in its World by N.T. Wright and Michael Bird

I typically read 4-6 books at the same time. Being a person of many interests, it fits my personality, and dare I say, my calling.

When one of the books I am reading is long (500 pages plus) and/or technical, I tend to read no more than 5-20 pages at a sitting. It gives me ample time to ponder and scribble my many marginal notes.

One large book (almost 900 pages) I am now finishing is The New Testament in its World by N.T. Wright and Michael Bird. I saw it highly recommended by many I respect so I decided to read it. I am glad that I did. It would fit in the long, but not technical category.

Instead of a traditional book review, let me mention (in no particular order) five things I appreciated about this book:

*Even though this a dual authored book, it is clear and smooth in its presentation.

*It is amply supplied with graphs, timelines, maps, and other visuals that wonderfully augment the text.

*The authors do a terrific job of modeling how history is crucial for the best understanding of the New Testament. My own book, Stuck in the Present, highlights this need.

*Various positions on the different books of the New Testament are offered. The authors are fair and balanced in telling the reader why they hold, or at least lean in one direction.

*There is a good use of both ancient and modern scholarship. This regularly reminds the reader that the Christian faith has a rich history.

Highly recommended!