The Role of Death in Life: A Multidisciplinary Examination of the Relationship Between Life and Death

by Assistant Professor of Patristics John Behr (editor), Conor Cunningham (Editor)

The relation between life and death is a subject of perennial relevance for all human beings--and indeed, the whole world and the entire universe, in as much as, according to the saying of ancient Greek philosophy, all things that come into being pass away. Yet it is also a topic of increasing complexity, for life and death now appear to be more intertwined than previously or commonly thought. Moreover, the relation between life and death is also one of increasing urgency, as through the twin phenomena of an increase in longevity unprecedented in human history and the rendering of death, dying, and the dead person all but invisible, people living in the industrialized and post-industrialized Western world of today have lost touch with the reality of death. This radically new situation, and predicament, has implications--medical, ethical, economic, philosophical, and, not least, theological--that have barely begun to be addressed. This volume gathers together essays by a distinguished and diverse group of scientists, theologians, philosophers, and health practitioners, originally presented in a symposium sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation. ""In this book, the mutual implication of death and life is demonstrated from an astronomical level, in the emergence of human life from the death of stars, to the molecular level where death enables the emergence of cellular life, through anthropological, philosophical, and theological insights, to the realm of medical care for the dying, where it is claimed that 'only theology can save medicine.' A profound and challenging book."" --Andrew Louth, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University, United Kingdom ""How can Christians defend the place of natural death and the death consequent upon sin, while continuing to insist upon the undying character of true life as such and so the reality of resurrection? These penetrating essays by several of the leading theological thinkers of our times will powerfully help the reader to ponder these crucial matters of our contemporary mortality."" --John Milbank, Research Professor and Director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy, University of Nottingham ""For once, it is not a polite exaggeration to say this is a 'unique' book. The breadth of disciplines represented and the originality of the analysis offered make it an exceptional contribution to current debates. Anyone who thinks the dialogue between theology and the natural sciences is, at best, an exchange of uncomprehending platitudes, will have to think again in the face of these expert, challenging essays, which show that an orthodox theology of our embodied condition can be culturally transformative."" --Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge ""A substantive, important, and provocative volume. The insights of the essays it encompasses will richly reward the reader."" --H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr., Professor of Philosophy, Rice University, Professor Emeritus, Baylor College of Medicine John Behr is the Dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York. He has published numerous monographs with SVS Press and OUP, most recently an edition and translation of the fragments of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia and a monograph on Irenaeus. Conor Cunningham, Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham, serves as codirector of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy. He is the author of the Genealogy of Nihilism (2002) and the award-winning Darwin's Pious Why the Ultra-Darwinists and Creationists Both Get It Wrong (2010). Cunningham was also the writer and presenter of the multi award-winning BBC documentary Did Darwin Kill God?

Genres: Theology, Philosophy

206 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 2015

Reviews

[Luke Merrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally speaking, death is emphasized as the enemy of life, the darkness to the light, an alien plague to God's creation project. In fact we even herald that it is this very thing Jesus came to overthrow. But as I observe nature and ponder the various uses of death, I’ve come to grow suspicious of this broad brushed theology. These collections of essays explore that exact suspicion and offer ways of integrating our contemporary understanding within the soteriological. Perhaps we can imagine our death as a kenosis akin to the incarnation - As we die, we are drained of any egotistical notions and are handed to the creator in complete weakness. And in our weakness, we (He) are made strong - we are resurrected. Or perhaps we may view our death as an inevitability ontologically tethered to the fabric of being. Seeds “die” so that tree’s may form, stars explode so that planets may accumulate and cells die so that stronger forms survive. In our resistance to this reality, our ego inflates and resists the future work of God and so in a sense our life has to be taken from us (Perhaps like our progenitors), but in our acceptance, integration or baptism of this reality our ego’s die before the die and we can then offer our lives as living sacrifices (more like the Christ).

I really loved this book, the multidisciplinary approach was fantastic and John Behr’s and Conor Cunningham’s explanations were mind blowing. Jesus bows his head and proclaims “it is finished” not because his suffering has concluded but because the creation project of humanity was completed in his death! The sixth day until the cross, the seventh after. To be human is to be like Chirst, which means that to become fully human - we die.